Source: Politics<\/p>\n
ALBANY, N.Y. \u2014 New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo addressed his crisis over nursing home deaths from Covid-19 by publicly attacking someone who should, in theory, be an ally: A fellow Democrat in the state Assembly.<\/p>\n
Cuomo is no stranger to absorbing public criticism from members of his own party, which controls both chambers of the state\u2019s Legislature. But on Wednesday he launched into a press conference takedown of Assemblymember Ron Kim, accusing the legislator from Queens<\/a> of committing ethical violations and politicizing the pandemic. Kim has been a longtime critic of Cuomo, and the feeling clearly is mutual.<\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s outburst, the sort of rebuke Cuomo typically saves for private phone calls or public statements signed by his aides, appeared to signal to his growing list of critics that his memory is long and his aim is sharp. That wasn\u2019t lost on some Democratic lawmakers, who said the governor’s comments only increased tensions in Albany. Cuomo\u2019s attacks could alienate more members of his own party and create an opening for his Democratic opponents to strike harder.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very \u2018Donald Trump\u2019 to divert, change the message, throw something out there like there is a whole other news thing,\u201d said Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou, a Manhattan Democrat. \u201cIn reality there\u2019s one news thing: A lot of people died. The numbers were hidden and a lot of people who had to make decisions couldn\u2019t make those decisions because the information was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked at the press conference if his remarks, which included a reference to Kim’s flip-flopping on legislation after its opponents contributed to his campaign, were appropriate for somebody who has emphasized cooperation during the pandemic, Cuomo said he was simply correcting the record.<\/p>\n \u201cDo I try to assuage partisanship whenever possible? Yes,\u201d Cuomo said. \u201cBut if you attack my integrity and my administration’s integrity, am I going to fail to respond?\u201d<\/p>\n The death toll in nursing homes across New York has been a pressure point for Cuomo, whose star power has taken a hit over the state\u2019s initial policy of sending recovering Covid-19 patients back to long-term care facilities. His administration for months pushed back on critiques and cast blame on federal directives for any questionable action the state took early in the pandemic. <\/p>\n In recent weeks, though, a report by the state\u2019s Democratic attorney general and a leaked call with Cuomo\u2019s top aides revealed that the governor\u2019s office intentionally withheld death counts from legislators and the public. That\u2019s hard evidence some members of Cuomo\u2019s party \u2014 especially those with established animosity toward the administration \u2014 say is impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n Legislative leaders in Albany usually seek to temper their differences with the governor at this time of year, with the state budget due before April 1. The annual budget process culminates in a massive, three-way deal between Cuomo and the leaders of both houses of the Legislature that typically addresses all of the year\u2019s biggest legislative priorities. But Cuomo\u2019s handling of the scandal around nursing home deaths and his response to Kim\u2019s criticism are upending the usual way of doing things in the Capitol. <\/p>\n Already, different wings of the party have clashed over whether and how to tax the state’s wealthiest, while also dealing with issues like marijuana legalization, as New York stared down a $15 billion budget hole. Now, both houses of the Legislature are discussing ways to rein in the emergency powers they gave Cuomo at the outset of the pandemic. <\/p>\n Senate Democrats are set to release formal legislation Friday \u2014 that could be passed as soon as next week \u2014 creating a joint review board with members from both chambers to evaluate any orders Cuomo might make in the future as they relate to the pandemic.<\/p>\n The governor\u2019s aggressive response to criticism is setting the wrong precedent for collegiality in a time when it\u2019s sorely needed, said Mike Gianaris, the deputy majority leader in the state Senate.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are uniformly outraged,\u201d Gianaris said of the reactions by Democratic lawmakers to Cuomo\u2019s response to the nursing home deaths scandal. \u201cDuring this time, I would hope the focus would be on the good of the people rather than any personality disorders anyone is experiencing.\u201d Gianaris also is a longtime Cuomo foil. <\/p>\n The Legislature took a hard left turn in 2018 with the election of a corps of young progressives, giving Democrats control of the state Senate and thus, for the first time in years, majorities in both legislative houses. That changed dynamic led to the swift passage of several progressive measures, including a landmark climate bill, that were left for dead every year when Republicans ran the upper chamber.<\/p>\n It also left Cuomo, a moderate Democrat accustomed to dominating legislative negotiations, without a scapegoat when further-left priorities failed to make their way into the final state budget. <\/p>\n Cuomo hasn’t shied from criticizing specific Democrats with whom he\u2019s disagreed, whether the differences were based on personality or policy. That has included accusing Senate Democratic leaders of putting \u201cpolitics ahead of government<\/a>\u201d for opposing Amazon’s now-aborted plans to build in New York City, and one of his top aides calling a trio of young female lawmakers \u201cf—ing hypocrites\u201d<\/a> during their calls for campaign fundraising reform.<\/p>\n