Hey. I know you’re busy. We’re losing jobs, a virus is making us sick (or driving us crazy), the planet’s fucked, all of that. But do you have a second? I need you to look at something. First, you’ll have to remember that we’re technically in the middle of a Democratic primary to select a presidential nominee. Next, recall that Joe Biden is the frontrunner in this race, with Bernie Sanders the lone rival still in it.
Now check this out:
Andrew Cuomo is now more likely to be the Democratic nominee than Bernie Sanders, according to PredictIt. https://t.co/FhOYdcbk5j pic.twitter.com/hwK1Gl0NcN
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) March 25, 2020
Ha, cool. The people who use PredictIt to gamble on world events appear to think that both Hillary Clinton (who lost the 2016 general election to Donald Trump) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (who is not running) are slightly more likely to take the nom than Bernie. That may not be encouraging for the Vermont senator, nor say much for the confidence in the DNC’s process — but it also doesn’t bode very well for Biden, who turned reclusive in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and has struggled to voice a message for the moment. At best, he is a vessel for cheap nostalgia, and his current, wildly diminished presence has done less than jack shit to allay our quarantine anxiety.
How Andrew Cuomo, New York Governor, Became the Politician of the Moment – The New York Times https://t.co/DrurRPqzlv
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) March 25, 2020
Gov. Cuomo, however, is “the politician of the moment,” per The New York Times. His state an epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, he’s giving daily briefings, ripping federal response as inadequate and keeping it light when his brother Chris interviews him on CNN. He and Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, are the two most-trusted Americans on the subject of the pandemic, according to one online poll. His fact-forward, no-nonsense approach to the crisis has endeared him to the New York media class, inspiring listicles and memes, confessions of only half-ironic crushes and even the hashtag #PresidentCuomo. It must be that he’s filled the vacuum of authority left wide open by Biden, an absentee standard bearer.
Andrew Cuomo looks confident, competent, and warm. He has a solid grasp of New York State's overall status and defers to experts when needed. It's a tragedy that we're being deprived of this leadership at the federal level. https://t.co/jMItf4S90W
— Charlotte Clymer ?️? (@cmclymer) March 23, 2020
I ❤️ New York and I ❤️ Andrew Cuomo
— andy lassner (@andylassner) March 24, 2020
Is it too late for the Dems to nominate Andrew Cuomo?
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) March 25, 2020
A few observations here. One is that certain #Resistance folks are primed to bail on Biden yet so anti-Bernie that they’d rather gas up a dude who isn’t on primary ballots, which I guess means they hope for a brokered convention after both other guys succumb to the ’rona? Second: Biden’s incoherence merely amplifies the unexamined centrist desire, first heightened by Trump, for “any functioning adult” in office, almost regardless of politics — where “functioning adult” can often be taken to mean a daddy who sounds reassuring and stern on TV. Third, Cuomo’s local heroism probably doesn’t scale any more than Rudy Giuliani’s connection to 9/11 helped him win a Republican primary. Lastly, and by far most importantly, the rest of his record seriously blows:
Andrew Cuomo has presided over multiple hospital closings and been the target of protests from the ACTUAL heroes you should listen to in this crisis, New York's nurses, for YEARS. https://t.co/4CquJyevHw
— Sarah Jaffe (@sarahljaffe) March 21, 2020
of course there’s no money to fix the subway or house the homeless, but we managed to find a ton to finance an unaccountable militia to further immiserate the poor. love that cuomo baby! https://t.co/PEEpbXWPFF
— mx. piggy (@Lubchansky) October 21, 2019
Ladies, if he:
?♂️Fought against single-payer healthcare
?Fought for hospital closures & staffing cuts
?Refuses $6B in aid and tries to cut Medicaid in the middle of a pandemic
?️Refuses to release vulnerable prisoners or freeze rentThat’s not your man?
That’s @NYGovCuomo? https://t.co/AfTy3JapVR— NYC-DSA Ecosocialist Working Group ? (@NYCDSA_Climate) March 25, 2020
Wow: @andrewcuomo says the corruption conviction of his two-time campaign manager and former top aide is "in many ways it’s the most credible exoneration in history."
Because he says @PreetBharara couldn't get the goods on him. https://t.co/HVMYpEgjQt pic.twitter.com/equOhFUg1p
— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) August 20, 2018
Last night, Governor Cuomo said he opposes teachers strikes and would continue to criminalize them. Meanwhile, teachers from West Virginia to Arizona have been striking to demand better classrooms and fairer working conditions.
I stand with teachers and union families. ? pic.twitter.com/mlVsxLn1CU
— Cynthia Nixon (@CynthiaNixon) August 30, 2018
My opinion? Don’t write someone’s ticket to the White House based on a week’s worth of press releases, quit fantasizing about a monumental “twist” to the 2020 election like it’s something you’d binge on Netflix, and try to keep the bar raised above “a man who doesn’t literally shit his pants in an emergency” when shopping around for your next dear leader.
If a person showing a finer grasp of reality than either Donald Trump or Joe Biden is enough to let you overlook their glaring flaws, you might just be the kind of sucker who got us where we are. And here’s your chance for redemption! Be a little cynical this once — I promise it always makes you look smarter in the long run.