Why Cuomo is really Trump’s protege in New York city’s mayoral election. We can dispel the illusion that electing him would be in any way democratic.
Those of us who will vote in June in the Democratic party primary for mayor of New York did not and do not support Donald Trump. By definition we are registered Democrats. (It would be a good thing if people not registered to any party were able to vote in this critical election to determine who takes the lead in the city to keep us safe and autonomous, but I’m taking up that banner on another front as it won’t happen this time.)
We certainly know what we don’t want. But the polls show we’re not very good at voting against that by choosing what we do want to be an effective defense. One of the weapons of this presidential administration is chaos, and now it’s being wielded psychologically to disorient voters at least in New York.
And when people are disoriented, sometimes we look for something familiar. And that is exactly what Trump is counting on.
Andrew Cuomo is on the record as by far the most authoritarian practitioner of all the candidates, and probably the least transparent. He used his familiar talking head to soothe people into following his direction during the pandemic even though there was no clarity about where he was getting that direction, even smoothing over some terrible mistakes. Obviously he wanted the people ignorant, frightened (easy because they already were); and compliant. Sound familiar? Hint: who is picking on easy and often innocent targets to convince the gullible that he is rounding up desperados for their safety? And how complicit are those who believe him? So how flattering it would be for Trump if he were elected here. And how is it that so many so-called Democrats in New York City seem hell bent on flattering Trump at this moment.
Cuomo also used the pandemic moment to hammer through legislation that had been previously resisted inside a budget bill, which makes it a near impossible task for candidate to gather enough signatures to get on the ballot in the allotted amount of time. How undemocratic of him, or shall we say how authoritarian?
Parental is also the word that comes to mind but not in a positive sense. Cuomo, when he was becoming the face of the pandemic on television, it was very aware that the rest of us were deeply feeling all the death and suffering around us and that made us vulnerable. As it should in a way but it doesn’t justify his choice to weaponize it. He put all of that in his back pocket to pull out later and pretend that it was his face and his voice that let those of us who are here survive. It’s a powerful psyop and there’s no shame if it works on you in some way, it even did on me for a while. I actually believed that maybe he could or should be president during that time.
And now he wants to use that empathy and vulnerability against us. Let’s not drink the Kool-Aid anymore, it is an exact parallel to what Trump has done to mobilize people who simply felt left out, giving them something to believe in that did them absolutely no good but filled that gap in their emotional makeup. Kind of like a drug…
And when you are looking in another direction, they work on the agenda they don’t want you to see. In this case Cuomo worked to suppress change and choice by making it extraordinarily difficult to get on a ballot in NYS.
If 2024 proved anything, it is that we need to enliven and strengthen our democracy. Or else. Cuomo is obviously not on the same page.
Authoritarianism is not just a facet of governmental and individual power. It is a toxin that is many ways of seeping into our community consciousness and our individual lives. It harms those who were forced to grow up with it and prevents the kind of thinking that makes real progress against the problems we are all facing. When Cuomo deploys rhetoric that is menacing, crude and manipulative, what is he saying he thinks of you if he expects you to support him for it? You don’t have to agree with him because he was the talking head shoving himself in front of real issues during one of the worst times of our lives. One has to wonder if you saw an opportunity in that tragedy and took it.
Let’s save the children of today from the consequences of this insidious pathogen. We can be the change we like to see in the world, but they are going to be the ones that live it into the future. This vote is a place to start.
Reclaim Sanity Vote Proactively
Courage is required. Courage is requested. Courage is the only adult response.
Sometimes when it’s dark we can’t always see any light at the end of the tunnel, but we know there is an opening. We need to be careful about what is claiming to be the light and what it really is.
