On Tuesday, The Hill reported that the entire Democratic congressional delegation of New York called on Cuomo to resign after an independent investigation by the state attorney general's office found he had sexually harassed multiple women. All but three of those NY Democrats, including Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, had called on Cuomo to resign in March. Now the holdouts – Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (also the House Democratic Caucus Chair), Gregory Meeks and Tom Suozzi also want Cuomo out.
When asked during his press conference yesterday, President Joe Biden, described as a “ a longtime friend of the governor,” by The New York Times, said Cuomo should resign. The Times said Pelosi has also joined the “ever-growing chorus” of resignation calls.
That chorus keeps growing. Last night, The Hill reported that a group of Democratic governors, all from the northeast, have joined.
“We are appalled at the findings of the independent investigation by the New York Attorney General. Governor Cuomo should resign from office,” Govs. Tom Wolf (D-Pa..), Phil Murphy (D-N.J.), Ned Lamont (D-Conn.) and Dan McKee (D-R.I.) said in a joint statement on Tuesday afternoon.
Republican campaign veteran and Lincoln Project advisor Stuart Stevens noted how extraordinary it is for governors of the same party to turn on one of their own:
I’ve worked in a lot of governor races. Governors, particularity of same party, tend to be chummy and hesitant to criticize another governor. Never seen anything like this. https://t.co/zVExi9MicK
— stuart stevens (@stuartpstevens) August 4, 2021
Cuomo has so far resisted what seems more and more like the inevitable with the far-fetched claim that he’s (overly) affectionate with everyone.
The Washington Post’s Alexandra Petri has a great response in a column called, “‘Stabbing People Is Just How I’ve Always Greeted Them,’ by Jack the Ripper.”
“I do it with everyone. Black and white, young and old, straight and LGBTQ, powerful people, friends, strangers, people who I meet on the street.” — New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) introducing a montage of him kissing and grabbing people by the face in an unwanted manner, somehow thinking this was an appropriate response to allegations that he created a “hostile work environment” that was “rife with fear and intimidation.“
Many of the women of London have complained about my stabbing behavior, or would have, if they were still alive to do so. But I have put together a series of daguerreotype slides that shows me stabbing people in other settings, just to demonstrate how utterly blameless I am in all of this. In the sense that — I have always stabbed people. I’m a stabby guy. It’s what I do, and it’s not personal.
If Cuomo’s hours aren’t already numbered, his days surely must be.
