Some thoughts on Governor Cuomo

 

Here, I go, out on a limb, but I am saddened by Governor Cuomo’s resignation. He did the right thing today by resigning. He saw that the state of New York and the country at large could not afford to be wrapped up in a probable impeachment trial when there is covid to fight, an infrastructure bill to pass, and other major matters. But a part of me wishes he had toughed it out, as he said all along he would.

I’m not at all sure he’s a serial sexual harassment offender. He is what he has always been—big, bold, and brash. He’s a product of New York and the Italian culture. As he said, he has always hugged men, women, children, and I would add probably dogs. I have known men like that and appreciated them. In fact, I spent almost twenty years with one. It’s boisterous affection but not harassment. (Don’t get me me into a consideration of cultural differences and Puritanical stances against spontaneous displays of emotion.) Cuomo said today that there was a line he would never cross, but apparently the line has been redrawn. I thought that perhaps the most telling line of anything he said.

The MeToo movement changed America irrevocably—what was once natural now became suspect, and as Cuomo pointed out, it’s hard to know where to draw the line between spontaneous affection and offensive behavior. Cuomo says he never intended to offend, and I believe that—to a certain point. I surely don’t want to whitewash him, and I am sorely troubled by the aide who says he put his hand under her blouse and groped her breasts. But what, really, do we know about that incident, other than he says, she says. As a male friend said to me tonight, if it was a loose-fitting top and he hugged her, something approximating that might have happened.

And that’s another part of the story—he says, she says. Eleven women have accused him; he denies all accusations. The New York AG has investigated, at his request, and come up with the accusations from eleven women. But we don’t know the stories behind their relationship with the governor. There has been no trial where the charged has a chance to prove his innocence. I would like to know, for instance, if any of those women were former romantic partners of the governor. Facebook is not a reliable source, but today I saw a picture of Cuomo and one of his accusers in a chummy pose (and much younger), looking very happy together. So what happened, and why did she come forward now? I know all the theories about women’s reluctance to come forward, and I suppose there is comfort in numbers, but all of a sudden eleven women? It needs investigating, and there should have been a fair trial.

So there’s another thing. I am one of the least likely ever to propose a conspiracy theory, but the governor claims this was a politically motivated attack. And I think it’s a strong enough possibility that it should be investigated. The former president, troublemaker that he continues to be, is not above revenge, and he and trump quarreled publicly.

I think perhaps what upsets me the most is that I am angry at my fellow Democrats. As they did in the Al Franken debacle, they got in a feeding frenzy of righteousness and rushed to judgement on one of their own, forcing him to resign. I wish someone had said, “Hold on. Let’s not be in a hurry. Let’s let this work out as it will, according to the American judicial system.”

There is however another politically motivated possibility. By resigning, Cuomo assured that the governorship would stay in Democratic hands at least throughout his term. If a Republican gets the governor’s seat, he could pardon Donald trump for all crimes in New York, which I believe include sexual and financial violations of the law.

I am troubled that we are a country whose Senate, in Republican hands, will twice refuse to impeach trump (although in fairness sexual crimes were not the issue in those trials, but he is a good suspect for multiple sexual offense that go beyond harassment) and will elevate Brett Kavanaugh to a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court, when a credible source accused him of attempted rape and multiple other accusations were never investigated. The sad conclusion is that Republicans protect their own at the expense of the country; Democrats, in a fit of righteousness, destroy their own.

I don’t think today advanced us as a civilized or respectable member of the international community, and I wish President Biden hadn’t joined the chorus so quickly. I am a Biden fan, bigtime, but not about this.