A couple weeks after NY AG Letitia James released her report on Andrew Cuomo’s nursing home cover-up, the media excitedly promoted a Morning Consult poll showing that 57% of New Yorkers still approved of Andrew Cuomo’s job as Governor. Well, in the intervening weeks, Governor Cuomo has suffered a little, let’s just say, shrinkage.
Who am I kidding?
It’s not a little shrinkage.
It’s a lot of shrinkage — as if Andrew decided to take a plunge in Lake Ontario.
In a poll released yesterday from Emerson, it’s looking like Andrew Cuomo’s approval rating dove into Lake Ontario right behind him.
Oh, dear. That’s nearly a twenty point drop in two weeks.
Even the Morning Consult poll showing 57% was a dip from the previous 63% the “LuvGuv” enjoyed in January. But this isn’t a “dip.” This is a plummet.
The thing I find interesting about this Emerson poll isn’t just that the “LuvGuv” is suffering serious shrinkage – although I do take singular delight in that.
No. What I find interesting is this: Despite the media relentlessly using the harassment claims as air cover to hide Andrew’s nursing home scandal, it is still the nursing home scandal and cover-up that are driving this downward spiral.
Respondents were asked to rate Cuomo’s handling of both the sexual harassment allegations and the nursing home scandal. And the results are clear. What really troubles New Yorkers is the latter.
I confess, this gives me some hope for New Yorkers. At the same time, I wonder what the hell is wrong with the 10% who a very satisfied with Cuomo’s excuse-making and blame-shifting response over the nursing home scandal. Ah, well. Fact is, given how New Yorkers vote overwhelmingly Democrat no matter how incompetent the candidate, I guess I should take comfort that the “very satisfied” number isn’t higher.
I also find it slightly encouraging that a whopping 64.1% of respondents to the Emerson poll do not want Governor Grandma Killer to run for a fourth term.
That’s a lot of shrinkage right there.
Now, with regard to whether or not Cuomo should resign, once again, it is the nursing home scandal, far more than the harassment claims, that are driving this car.
Oddly enough, I don’t think Cuomo is even the biggest loser in this poll. Though, he is a loser to be sure.
No. I think the biggest loser is the national news media.
After spending all this time on the harassment claims in order to shift the focus away from Cuomo’s disastrous COVID response, New Yorkers still view the scandal and cover-up of the death of thousands of seniors as a far bigger scandal.
In other words, the media’s cover-up of the cover-up is failing to cover up CuomoGate.
Now, despite this shrinkage, I’m still not confident New York is on the cusp of finally being rid of this miserable bastard.
The one thing that isn’t suffering shrinkage is Andrew Cuomo’s ego.
As NYC Councilman Joe Borelli put it Monday:
And when you consider that Democrats always fail up, the only way this shrinkage results in Andrew Cuomo’s political demise is if the Democrat Party itself is wielding the knife.
Now, as I wrote back on February 20, I think that’s exactly what is happening. Cuomo is being taken out to protect the Democrat Party’s grip on power. He is the scapegoat. And without the Democrats keeping him afloat, this shrinkage just might sink him.
Only time will tell.