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I’ve been watching the Andrew Cuomo saga with a great deal of interest. For those who don’t pay much attention to American politics, Andrew Cuomo is the Governor of New York State. He is a Democrat. Seven different women have come forward and accused him of sins ranging from sexual harassment to inappropriate touching. A chorus of leading Democrats are demanding that he resign, including both of New York’s senators, Chuck Shumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and budding party superstar Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. Impeachment is a distinct possibility. However, what happens next doesn’t matter much: Politically, he is a dead man walking.
This is not what anyone would have anticipated even several short weeks ago. Yes, there was controversy about the way that he handled the COVID crisis, particularly in the early days. Nursing homes were forced to take back COVID-19 positive patients when the hospitals were overflowing. There is evidence that he “dramatically and intentionally understated” the number of nursing home deaths. This is very different than the image presented by the media at the time, when his calming press conferences earned him an Emmy and posed a vivid contrast to Donald Trump’s performances.
This fame seemed to catapult Cuomo to be one of the leading contenders to head the Democratic Party in 2024. It is extremely unlikely that Joe Biden will be a two-term President. The individual who has the inside track to assume that role would be Vice-President Kamala Harris. There is strong historical precedent for this based on recent history. After Bill Clinton’s two terms, his VP Al Gore headed the Democratic ticket in 2000. Lyndon Baines Johnson succeeded JFK after the latter’s assassination. However, four different Presidents cut their political teeth serving as New York’s governor.
Here’s why Andrew Cuomo had to be stopped: The Democratic Party, given its current adherence to identity politics, simply cannot allow a white man to lead the ticket. The only reason why the Dems rallied around Joe Biden in the first place because they were desperate and saw him as their best and perhaps only chance to unseat Trump. Michael Bloomberg was savaged, in no small part, because had he been the nominee, it’s likely he would have been there for eight years. Joe Biden, the old white man served his purpose and at least for the foreseeable future, it will surely be a woman of any colour or men deemed to be visible minorities who be the standard-bearers for the Democratic Party.