Source: Politics<\/p>\n
The still-unfolding sexual misconduct scandal surrounding Gov. Andrew Cuomo has left the three-term governor politically stranded and created a new dilemma for top members of the Democratic party in both New York and Washington.<\/p>\n
The allies that Cuomo has in the past relied on to weather previous political storms have all but deserted him in public. And at least one, Rep. Kathleen Rice<\/a> (D-N.Y.), has since joined the calls from Republicans and left-leaning Democrats for the governor to resign.<\/p>\n Democrats who control both houses of the state Legislature on Tuesday announced an agreement to reel in the extraordinary authority<\/a> extended to Cuomo to act unilaterally during the coronavirus pandemic, a source of growing frustration that predated the recent allegations as the public health crisis eclipses its first anniversary in New York and elsewhere.<\/p>\n The governor\u2019s weakened standing as a result of the recent accusations by three women<\/a> has emboldened many of Cuomo\u2019s frequent intra-party critics, many of whom have chaffed under his decadelong death-grip on state politics and are keen to cast him aside. It was also forcing leading Democrats who are less predisposed to criticizing Cuomo to respond.<\/p>\n \u201cThe behavior described in these allegations against Governor Cuomo is completely unacceptable and every allegation of sexual harassment must be taken seriously and be reviewed,\u201d Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand<\/a> (D-N.Y.) said in a statement Tuesday evening<\/a>.<\/p>\n The governor remained silent on Tuesday, six days after former aide Lindsey Boylan accused him of sexual harassment in a personal essay posted on Medium<\/a>. A second former aide, Charlotte Bennett, came forward on Saturday night with her own accusations that were published in The New York Times<\/a>. The claims follow controversy over the governor’s handling of the deaths of nursing home residents early in the pandemic, as well as a spate of stories about his aggressive style of leadership.<\/p>\n Cuomo released a statement Sunday in which he claimed his comments to Bennett were meant to be \u201cgood natured\u201d<\/a> and said he was sorry the interactions were \u201cmisinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation.\u201d The governor on Monday authorized state Attorney General Tish James to appoint a \u201cqualified private lawyer\u201d to launch an investigation into the allegations. James pledged to disclose the findings of the investigation in a public report<\/a>.<\/p>\n A half-dozen Democratic socialist state lawmakers on Tuesday jointly called for Cuomo\u2019s impeachment, a process that\u2019s only been used once in New York to remove a sitting governor. Meanwhile, the New York State Young Democrats demanded the governor\u2019s resignation, as did the Working Families Party, which has long had a tortured relationship with the governor despite granting him their ballot line in all four of his successful statewide elections.<\/p>\n \u201cGovernor Cuomo\u2019s reign of fear, harassment and intimidation cannot continue,\u201d the Working Families Party said in a message posted to Twitter<\/a>. \u201cWe are calling on the Governor to resign immediately because he is unfit to serve the people of New York.\u201d<\/p>\n Other leading Democrats are proceeding more cautiously, but nonetheless have steered clear of reflexively siding with Cuomo as they often had in years past. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries<\/a> (D-N.Y.), who overlapped with Cuomo in Albany prior to being elected to Congress, told reporters Tuesday the state\u2019s congressional delegation has not collectively discussed the issue.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone is going to have to make an individual decision as it relates to these very serious allegations, in terms of the manner in which they communicate with people that they represent,\u201d said Jeffries, who is also a member of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi\u2019s leadership team. \u201cEverybody\u2019s monitoring the situation closely.\u201d<\/p>\n New York Democratic Committee chair Jay Jacobs on Tuesday urged members of the party to hold off on judgment while Attorney General Tish James\u2019 office conducts an investigation \u2014 a process that could take months \u2014 and tend to other pressing matters in the interim.<\/p>\n \u201c[O]ur state has a budget to compete, a pandemic to fight and the people\u2019s work must continue,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n Jacobs in 2010 notably came to the defense<\/a> of former Gov. David Paterson when he, too, faced calls to resign, beseeching New Yorkers to \u201cget the other side of the story.\u201c<\/p>\n Beyond New York, the accusations against Cuomo have begun to follow even fellow Democratic governors. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who chairs the Democratic Governor\u2019s Association, said the group is weighing how to respond to the sexual harassment allegations against one of its members, adding that it was \u201cpremature\u201d to say whether it would push for him to resign but expected it \u201cwill be a significant part of the discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to jump ahead, but we will have a very serious conversation about what we ought to do, and what standard we expect all elected leaders to adhere to and stand by,\u201d she said during a Washington Post live event Tuesday.<\/p>\n Republicans <\/b>in New York and elsewhere have wholly seized on the matter in hopes of cracking open an opportunity to win on the statewide level for the first time in years. Rep. Lee Zeldin<\/a> (R-N.Y.), one of a handful of GOP politicians talked about as potential gubernatorial candidates<\/a>, this week said that he is now \u201cactively exploring\u201d<\/a> the idea of running next year.<\/p>\n With Democrats splinted among themselves on how to handle the allegations against Cuomo, some instead have directed their fire at Republicans, who they argue have no credibility on the issue after being silent for years on the suite of sexual harassment claims levied against former president Donald Trump.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile they may have just now discovered their moral compass, Republican leaders have absolutely no standing whatsoever to share their opinion on the current matter,\u201d Jacobs said.<\/p>\n Lobbing recriminations at Republicans is clearly safer ground for Democrats amid the uncertain terrain ahead. But the escalating crisis surrounding Cuomo\u2019s alleged conduct around women \u2014 all of whom are decades his junior, and two of whom were under his employ at the time \u2014 has bedeviled New York\u2019s senators and the Biden White House for more than a week.<\/p>\n Gillibrand was recently excoriated in a column in progressive publication The Nation<\/a> for being less strident as it relates to Cuomo than when she was among the Democrats leading the charge for former Sen. Al Franken\u2019s ouster in 2017 over past sexual misconduct allegations. That push, though, was held against her<\/a> by members of the Democratic donor class ahead of her ill-fated presidential bid, demonstrating the difficult political calculus faced by some.<\/p>\n