IF DEMOCRATS FORCE CUOMO OUT, REPUBLICANS WANT THE CREDIT

New York State's Democratic attorney general has issued a devastating report accusing Governor Andrew Cuomo of multiple acts of sexual harassment. The Democratic state assembly speaker says Cuomo can no longer remain in office, while 55 of the 63 members of the Democratic-controlled state senate have called on Cuomo to resign -- far more than the number needed to convict if Cuomo is impeached, as expected. Every Democrat in Congress from New York State has demanded Cuomo's resignation. The Democratic governors of four neighboring states -- New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Rhode Island -- are calling for Cuomo to step down. And, of course, the Democratic president of the United States said yesterday that Cuomo needs to go.

So, of course, Republicans want the credit if Cuomo is forced out.

All those calls for Cuomo to leave? Totally fake, according to the Wall Street Journal editorial page.

... this is pro forma outrage. They know he’s staying in office unless forced out, and that he plans to run for a fourth four-year term next year. He has adopted the Donald Trump-Bill Clinton strategy of deny and stonewall until people forget.

If Democrats have the courage of their convictions, they’ll call on the Legislature to start impeachment proceedings. Make the case for why the verdict of voters should be short-circuited with specific charges and evidence. This would give Mr. Cuomo’s lawyers the chance to defend him against the allegations and to cross-examine his accusers. Anything less will mean giving Mr. Cuomo—and themselves—a pass.

Democrats are way ahead of you:

The Democratic majority in the New York Assembly is preparing to impeach Gov. Andrew Cuomo if he does not resign....

“After our conference this afternoon to discuss the Attorney General's report concerning sexual harassment allegations against Governor Cuomo, it is abundantly clear to me that the Governor has lost the confidence of the Assembly Democratic majority and that he can no longer remain in office,” Speaker Carl Heastie said in a statement. “Once we receive all relevant documents and evidence from the Attorney General, we will move expeditiously and look to conclude our impeachment investigation as quickly as possible.”

The members of the Journal ed board know that Democrats are on the case, but they also know that their readers don't know that. They want to accuse Democrats of bad faith and wagon-circling until the last possible moment, then claim the credit if Cuomo goes.

See also Ben Shapiro and Ben Domenech on Fox News yesterday:



Shapiro begins with a tasteful joke:

SHAPIRO: You know, Governor Cuomo came into office to grab ass and kill the elderly, and he's all out of elderly.

Then he talks about the cover-up of the thing that's been on nearly every front page in America in the past 24 hours.

SHAPIRO: The fact that [Attorney General] Letitia James, you know, laid out this enormous case about sexual harassment and sexual pressure and retaliatory work environment and all this, and then she said, "And I'm not going to do anything about it," kind of tells you how this is about to play out.

Shapiro doesn't mention the fact that the Democratic attorney general of Albamy County is pursuing a criminal investigation.

SHAPIRO: You'll recall, as you just mentioned, that everyone called on [Virginia governor] Ralph Northam to resign and then Joe Biden was campaigning with Ralph Northam.

Ralph Northam's crime was a long-ago blackface incident. Polls showed that the Virginians with the most reason to be angry at Northam -- Black voters -- didn't want Northam to resign.

SHAPIRO: The rule in the Democratic Party, at least, is that you either die a hero, live long enough to become a villain, or live even longer than that and then become a hero again with whom you campaign and fundraise.

And Option #2 -- which seems to be where we're headed in Cuomo's case -- is bad why exactly, Ben?

Shapiro thinks Cuomo can distract us all with COVID restrictions, and New York Democrats -- sheeple that we are -- will meekly allow ourselves to be distracted.

SHAPIRO: I actually think what you're about to see from Governor Cuomo is sort of a "wag the mask" situation, in which the Delta variant is used as an excuse for him to push new measures that are really authoritarian in nature, and then he'll be cheered by the press again for not being Ron DeSantis, because there really is a desire by a lot of people out there to be controlled from above....

There really is a desire by a lot of people not to die, not to watch friends and relatives die, not to get long COVID or see anyone else get it, not to see new and potentially vaccine-resistant variants breed and fester. But I'm a liberal, so of course I would be obsessed with not dying or becoming permanently ill, wouldn't I?

However, new pandemic measures won't help Cuomo now. A year ago, we were afraid. We had trouble understanding what was happening and what to do about it. But we've been living with the virus for more than a year now. Most of us are vaccinated. New Yorkers appreciate politicians who seem to be taking the pandemic seriously, but we're not looking for a savior now.

Shapiro says the lie-beral media will be in bed with Cuomo, of course.

SHAPIRO: This will be one news cycle and then gone.

Yeah, you can tell that the MSM is already bored with the story (click to enlarge):

Actually, it's Fox News that seems bored with the Cuomo story, mere hours after that Ben Shapiro segment ran:

I guess the right doesn't care about pursuing sexual harassment allegations if Democrats are pursuing them, too. But the right will still claim credit if Cuomo falls.