After weeks of vowing to fight harassment allegations and possible impeachment, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo resigns in a press conference, effective in 14 days.
BREAKING: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announces he is resigning in 14 days.
"Given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to governing." https://t.co/xvFlqInxmP pic.twitter.com/8g1se7o2Og
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 10, 2021
NBC:
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday he was resigning after a withering report from the state’s attorney general alleged he’d sexually harassed multiple women led to calls from top Democrats, including President Joe Biden, that he step down.
He announced he’ll leave office continuing to insist that he did nothing wrong.
Cuomo had tried to remain in office for days after the report, insisting he did nothing wrong, but eventually bowed to the pressure.
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, will serve the rest of his term, and will be the state’s first female governor.
After he was first hit with sexual harassment allegations earlier this year, Cuomo ignored bipartisan demands that he resign, and predicted the investigation he authorized state Attorney General Letitia James to carry out would exonerate him. Instead, the report alleged that he’d harassed 11 women — nine of whom were state employees — and subjected some of them to unwelcome touching and groping. His office also retaliated against one of the women after she spoke out about how she was treated, the report alleged.
In the wake of the report, the state Assembly had begun to organize impeachment proceedings. Local law enforcement officials also announced they were investigating whether criminal charges were appropriate.
Trump should resign!Report
How about Matt Gaetz?Report
HOW ABOUT BILL COSBYReport
How about the US judicial system? Factual innocence doesn’t lead to action, but a possible procedural flaw is an instant reversal.Report
Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it.Report
Good riddance to bad rubbish. Of course great minds, and myself, predicted he was gonna be out. So being right about something seems nice. This is another good solid step towards seeing the powerful face repercussions for their misdeed so this a good day for most of us.Report
The powerful Democrats, anyway. Gaetz and Paxton (among others) remain unrepentant and unscathed.Report
True. But think who is really suffering here… The AAT’s and high priests of BSDI are beside themselves with befuddlement. The world no longer makes sense.Report
Yeah a fine blow against the “they’re all the same” caucus.Report
Who generally don’t care about reality . . . .Report
If things worked that way, Al Franken would have taken care of it.Report
Owning the libs is a way of life for Republican’s at this point though Gaetz is just a clown, Boebert and MTG are legit disturbing.Report
A victory for the state of New York, the Democratic Party and general decency.
To quote the poet Wilde: “”Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.”” Cuomo definitely fits the latter bill.Report
It probably helps that the party maintains the office, helps that bitter pill go down a bit easier.Report
I am dubious that it was a particularly bitter pill for the party. As you noted there’s little chance they’ll lose the office and politicos of Cuomo’s ideological stripe (without the women fondling) aren’t hard to find. Dumping Cuomo loses them nothing except maybe his hardline to his brother at CNN. Good riddance.Report
The competition appears to be Giuliani’s son so the bitter pill would have been if Cuomo powered it out and ran for reelection and eeked through in the primary. I don’t think Democrats will be swallowing any bitter pills over voting for Hohchul or James over Giuliani the lesser.Report
Cuomo resigned.
Who was before Cuomo? David Patterson. He was Spitzer’s replacement after Spitzer resigned (and, apparently, ended up not running for governor himself due to a cloud of scandal/controversy).
Spitzer was before Patterson. Spitzer resigned.
Nowhere near Illinois yet (you’ve gotta up your game to play in that particular league) but still. What the heck?Report
And *THAT* made me ask “Wait, who is the Lieutenant Governor of New York?”
It’s Kathy Hochul.Report
There’s a general rule, if you treat people right on your way up, they’ll treat you right on your way down. That rule was probably never true in New York politics. But in this case, Cuomo was born up and always treated people like dirt.Report
Andrew Cuomo resigned because Democrats are not a cult https://www.thebulwark.com/andrew-cuomo-resigned-because-the-democrats-arent-a-cult/Report
Or the way I’d put it, the Democratic Party exists to do stuff, like a normal political party.Report
The party didn’t bring him down, an investigation into apparently credible charges did. Parties can clean up this kind of thing in the back room, but in this case months passed and it didn’t happen.Report
An investigation by a Democratic AG provided the particular proof and the Democratic party from Biden on down lined up behind that proof and demanded he resign.Report
Plus the New York State Legilsature all but stated he would be impeached and removed.Report
Which is also controlled by Democrats.Report
I’ve never seen anyone damn themselves with faint praise before, but sure. The Democratic AG who wants the governor’s job didn’t spike the investigation of credible charges into the governor. Brava, I guess.Report
In other words the party did bring him down. Thank you, tip your waiter.Report
A member of the party did her job.Report
And then the rest of the party did theirs and off the old fisher went. It is odd, I agree, that the bar has fallen so low for this series of events to not merely clear it but clear it decisively and yet here we are.Report
DeSantis is doing his job, along with the rest of the southern GOP governors
Their job is to get everyone killed, right?Report
I get the impression that partisan solidarity is a lot more limited or at least complicated in states like NY. Not for any principled reason, just factionalism and the fact that ambition knows no loyalty.Report
If you’re a one-party state, you’re left with crab-bucketing.Report
It’s definitely blue but it isn’t quite what I’d think of as a one party state even though D’s have the trifecta right now. Per Google Republicans held the Senate from 2011-2018 which I don’t think would happen if they were irrelevant. Seems like there are also important blue dog and machine jurisdictions where going Republican is a legitimate threat.Report
Pataki wasn’t that long ago either. (Right? 2006 wasn’t that long ago?)
But until the Republican party finds its new equilibrium (whatever it will be), I don’t see upstate turning purple just yet.
I mean, unless Biden sends Harris up there to campaign or something.Report
Definitely a very long way from purple. Also my perspective on what a one party state looks like is probably pretty skewed. Compared to MD, NY looks downright competitive.
Also I appear to have accidentally reported your comment with negligent scrolling. Sorry!Report
I will see that I am punished appropriately.Report
As someone who lives on the border of NY/NJ, works in NY, and has many family and friends who live and work in NY, I can say that all of us wanted Cuomo out. This includes many folks who are young and/or liberal and/or Democrats.
I literally cannot think of a single person in my orbit who has defended him or wanted to see him remain in office.
Even my family text-thread — which includes my liberaler-than-thou brother and sister — is full of nothing but anti-Cuomo takes.Report
Hey, look, it’s more ‘Antibody Dependent Enhancement’ nonsense. Anyone want to place bets on whether this is Jabberwocky?Report
Choosing Diogenes is way too try-hard.
And probably just read Ender’s Game. Although I can’t remember whether Peter or Valentine used the name.Report
Wait till we tell him the Biden passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill and Trump did not.Report