I have this idea that the R's , esp Trump, are behind these revelations about Cuomo

[apcalc]

Either to destroy Cuomo’s further political chances as “payback”, or to get him out of the way so someone can pardon Trump for NY crimes.

Trump is also in NY today.

It is smart for Cuomo to call for an investigation.
-not resigning , not being “Frankened”.

Anyone else think “ hmmmmm.... maybe”?

[JI7]

1. No,If it is a political attack it's people who are behind other Democrats who want to be Governor

But so far nothing to show there is any right wing connection.

[apcalc]

2. So far ....

[empedocles]

4. I don't read the N Y Post, but trashing Cuomo is in the 'con interest.

[ancianita]

26. Likely true. Regardless, they'll still take it and run with it to vilify the whole party.

Over "uncomfortable in the work place," "obnoxious, embarrassing questions" and a "hand on the back and kiss on the cheek."

All that becomes the equivalent of trump, the Hillary/Obama hater.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

3. Yeah! Ignore the victims!

[FoxNewsSucks]

33. Who said to do that?

[AZSkiffyGeek]

35. So the victims should be listened to, but it's all a Republican plot?

How does that work, exactly?

[FoxNewsSucks]

37. Doesn't have to be all a Republican plot

For them to jump right in and exploit it

[Escurumbele]

40. It is actually very simple

Many people running for office are susceptible to sell their souls, power changes people and many times the changes are not good, republicans are notorious for working "behind the curtain", doing their dirty deeds behind the scenes (Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, etc.) so to be suspicious about republicans is a natural for Democrats, mostly after a Democrat becomes so relevant as Cuomo has become.

Why would these women, after many years, would suddenly come out with their stories? One of them running for office.

Sorry, I don't buy it. I don't doubt that Cuomo may have wanted to have an affair with at least one of them, I know I am going to get a lot of rejection about this, but most of them are very beautiful women, and the question is...did they flirt in any way? Did they send the wrong message?

I won't say anything else, it is "International Women Day", and I don't want to offend anyone. By the way, I am always on the side of women, my staff was always 50/50, I valued their professionalism, and I learned a lot from them about their dedication, their quality of work and commitment. I have never stopped being amazed about their strength, and their value as mothers, wives, sisters (I have three sisters who are amazing), and their friendship, but I have also met those who know how to manipulate, and they can do things that no man can do, I don't know if some of the accusers used their charm to send the wrong message, but that needs to be investigated, and at the same time find out if any republicans are behind these sudden "come out to spill the beans" after so much time has passed.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

41. So you DON'T believe the women and are in fact blaming them

This seems like one example where you are not ALWAYS on the side of women.

[PatrickforB]

45. Due process is the cornerstone of our justice system. What that means is

that someone who is accused of something is innocent until proven guilty.

In terms of Cuomo, I will say the same thing I said about Al Franken - Let us have due process. Let there be a fair investigation so that those who are making the accusations can be heard, AND those against whom the accusations are made can be heard. Let the evidence then be weighed and a decision made.

Now, I will concede this is not a court of law, but it does have to do with our system of governance.

No one, no one, is saying not to listen to the accusers. But, what if someone accused you of something, and everybody piled on and called for your resignation, but maybe you didn't do it? How would you feel?

This is why we have a justice system, and why it is based on due process. No one wants accusers to simply say, "oh, this happened," and then have those they accuse bear the full weight of consequences before evidence has been presented and weighed, because what if the accusations are spurious?

Do we ALWAYS believe the accusers? That is a recipe for disaster. I would not want to live in a society where this was the case, because it would be horrible.

Do we always believe credible accusations? Yes, after they have been proven with actual evidence.

[luvtheGWN]

54. Totally agree.

I know of cases where a male professor (just as an example) was accused of sexual assault by a student who was given a bad grade. And that sort of thing has happened with both sexes.

No, we shouldn't default automatically to believing the accuser. If anything, the Al Franken situation is a case in point.

And I will say something else (as a female): I'm not beautiful (but not ugly either!) and I have had many men over the years flirt with me, give me a hug, and ask if I've ever considered leaving my husband. And yes, some of them were men who could have kiboshed my career.

My answer was always "No, but I'm flattered you asked!". There are ways of handling this, and it seems these women just didn't know how to do it gracefully and without fear. I'm tempted to call Cuomo's accusers "Snowflakes", but then neither I, nor you, nor everyone else, knows the full story. That's why an investigation (a real one) is in order.

[PatrickforB]

67. Thoughtful post. My wife doesn't work now, but back in the day - the wild and wooly 80s -

she was in the oil and gas business. She has some horrible stories about piglike men from that era who expected things she refused to give.

It is a difficult time because things that were considered 'ok' way back when, even though they were not, really, are now definitively in the 'not ok' category, which is good.

But I think we are still working through how we ought to interact with one another properly in a work situation.

To my mind, there are two criteria that should apply to people in my gender (men):
1. Don't touch a female coworker without her permission, and don't say things that can be construed as harassment. This means no off color jokes that really aren't funny, no sexual innuendos, and so on.

2. For older men, actions in the past must be apologized for, and if egregious, must bear consequences. In addition, those behaviors must not be happening now, nor should they be allowed moving forward.

At least this is how I like to roll, in my early sixties, in my own workplace.

Although it is a moot point at this juncture, because I am working full-time from home.

[11 Bravo]

70. And so it begins.

[Tom Rinaldo]

5. No. Cuomo's public critics have solid Democratic ties

Almost all being either elected Democratic officials or former Democratic staffers, usually Cuomo's own aids.

[Demsrule86]

11. It is pile on just like with Franken...I remember one said 'he looked at her funny'.

He should not resign. If we continue to cave to the GOP and those who pile on for whatever reason, the GOP will continue to destroy our effective leaders. They can damn close to destroying Biden and we had the usual pile on then too.

[Tom Rinaldo]

16. Whather he should resign or not is seperate from identifying the reasons for criticism of him

To be upfront, I live in NY and voted for Cuomo. I am undecided as to whether he should resign, and am more than willing to allow our Democratic AG to conduct her investigation before forming a final opinion on that. I do however feel strongly that while it might be appropriate for Cuomo to finish his current term as Governor, he should not seek reelection to a fourth term in office.

Your sentence structure above has a strong implication. It explicitly links those "who pile on for any reason" with the GOP. "Pile on" on its face at best describes unfair behavior. I strongly hold that being a high profile Democrat does not automatically make one out of bounds to legitimate outrage or accusations of corrupt, pig headed stupid, or immoral behavior. Of the latter, "pig headed stupid" behavior does not normally rise to the level needed for removal from office. But pig headed and stupid behavior is a very legitimate basis upon which to decide that it is not in the interests of the Democratic Party, let alone the public, to run that person for office again in the future, thereby increasing the chances that a Republican could win instead.

So called "piling on" can be a normal response to legitimate victimhood. The more women who found the courage to confront a powerful man like Bill Cosby, the more that additional women were willing to come forward also.

I believe that Cuomo's wounds are self inflicted, whether or not they rise to the level of a forced resignation. There have long been reports of Cuomo having an abusive leadership style, independent of related specific reports of possible sexual harassment. Those who are accusing Cuomo have far more credibility than did those who accused Franken They do not deserve to automatically be tarred with accusations of involvement in a conspiracy against a high profile Democrat.

[apcalc]

20. I do believe the women. Two things at the same time can be true.

Yup, Cuomo can be an abusive sexual jerk, and he can be part of an R set-up.
Not necessarily mutually exclusive.

[jmbar2]

27. Agree. They are taking advantage of his troubles to grift for Trump

Cuomo shot himself in the foot multiple times. The Trump cult also needs to get someone in there who can reduce the heat from Trump's NY legal cases.

Voila. A match made in heaven.

[PatSeg]

44. I'm think the same thing

Cuomo's political enemies could be taking advantage of an existing situation. At this point, I don't think he should resign, but I also think he should retire from politics when his term is up.

[Escurumbele]

42. How would you describe what happened to Al Franken? They didn't pile up without allowing an

investigation to move forward?

They piled up, they made him guilty without any proof, and what Franken did was so silly, he didn't even touch her, but the dems like Gilford piled against him and caused him to resign.

They didn't wait at all, Gifford immediately came out "Franken MUST resign" without any proof of wrong doing. Why did she do it? For personal political reasons.

So, how would you call it? When more than one person joins a move like that, it is a "pile".

republicans know that Democrats are susceptible to these kind of news, and they will do it over and over knowing that Democrat's will cave in. No, this has to stop, I have huge suspicion that republicans are behind it.

[Tom Rinaldo]

61. Women "piled onto" Epstein, Cosby, Schwarzenegger, Harvey Weinstein, and Trump also

Mostly they did so before any full scale investigation officially ensued, often it was the act of them "piling on" that helped force an actual investigation to happen. Do you wonder why they did so also? I support an actual investigation of Cuomo, and Franken had a right to one also.

Sure, I know that many Republicans react to (potential) scandals like these differently than Democrats. We can discuss at length why. We probably both agree that some on the Right do not hesitate to invent a scandal when none exists if it can serve their political purposes, so of course it can be assumed that they would seek to exploit any actual scandal to their benefit. But the fact that a scandal is subject to exploitation by Republicans does not prove that a scandal is not legitimate. Democrats almost certainly would have picked up a Senate seat in NC in November if our candidate did not embroil himself in an extra marital affair while he was our nominee. Yes Republicans exploited that., but Cunningham is a politician damn it. He knew what his behavior was putting at risk.

[ahoysrcsm]

73. And women filed lawsuits to boot...

Women "piled onto" Epstein, Cosby, Schwarzenegger, Harvey Weinstein, and Trump also

And women filed lawsuits to boot...

I'm at a loss to find any lawsuits alleging any sexual situations against Franken or Cuomo.

Should we believe the accuses when they haven't been under oath.

[markpkessinger]

69. The Franken and Cuomo situations are completely different . . .

Both the accusers and the accusations are much more credible in Cuomo's case.

[ahoysrcsm]

74. Much, much more credible...

When do they file a civil suit against Cuomo? We should at least give the ladies their day in court, would you agree?

[PatrickforB]

46. Exactly. Due process has a lot going for it. n/t

[jaxexpat]

47. There remains a glaring commonality about the Cuomo/Franken publicity frenzies.

Despite that both are innuendo fueled, as yet unverifiable and accusation sourced, they still use up valuable 24/7 cable, potentially progressive oxygen and they both have (D) after their names. The damage gets done and it doesn't have to be by some conspiratorial planning by anyone or even intentional.

It's upon thoughtful people to always look skeptically at public coverage of anything. Truth, half-truth or out-right lie, it simply doesn't matter. We live in a world where repetition predicates certainty and "common knowledge" roots itself in the spectral omni-presence of Limbaugh's progeny.

[luvtheGWN]

55. Senator Gillibrand, a Democrat, was among the first to condemn Sen. Franken.

So there's that.

[Tom Rinaldo]

64. Absolutely. She jumped to accepting accusations from a Republican associated source

for one thing, and went for Frankens throat over supposed indiscretions that were really minor even if accepted as true. Every situation has to be judged individually, because bad, and even disgusting, personal behavior cuts across ideological lines. I hold all of that against Gillibrand, but that doesn't negate the real possibility that Cuomo brought this on himself, if the accusations against him hold up to scrutiny.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

6. Or maybe he's just a feckless asshole whose hubris has brought a time of reckoning.

[ananda]

7. Funny, I've been having the same idea...

especially since Roger Stone went after Al Franken.

[pandr32]

51. Roger Stone is free now

[ananda]

57. I wish there were a way to go after him.

He's such a nasty jellyfish.

[pandr32]

65. I wish we could nail his ass, too

He's got it coming.

[Beakybird]

8. I believe the women.

Whether the behavior is bad enough to resign is another question.

[lagomorph777]

9. Yes, I have been assuming that too.

[msfiddlestix]

10. It felt that way to me at first, but apparently in this case

with all of the claims, suggest otherwise unfortunately.

The timing couldn't be worse. questions do linger.

[JohnSJ]

12. With Cuomo, No. However, they are definitely behind the effort here in California to recall

Newsom. This is their third attempt, and because a judge gave them more time to get enough signatures, unfortunately it will make the ballot this time. It will cost the state a 100 million to run this election, and because of the low threshold required for signatures, while it will be on the ballot, the odds favor Newsom won’t be recalled, but the repukes will have wasted 100 million dollars that the state can’t afford right now

[mopinko]

13. it's hard not to notice how convenient it all is.

and how small the crimes are, in the great grand scheme of things.

this is why sex scandals work so well as weapons, it's so either or.
when one this small bubbles all the way to the top, you have to wonder who helped it.

[WhiteTara]

14. trump is desparate for a pardon in NY

and getting one of his cronies in there would be his choice.

[bdamomma]

31. I only wish

not related to topic, but I only wish those women who were assaulted by tRump would re-visit their lawsuits since he is out of WH, and change the narrative.

[WhiteTara]

38. that probably wouldn't change the narrative

E. Jean Carroll is proceeding with her lawsuit and there hasn't been a peep from the media. I think he's in NY because of a deposition.

[blueinredohio]

15. I'm waiting for the investigation to be over.

[Srkdqltr]

17. Seems to me he should say, the women said no so I backed off.

Except he would look week with men? And the women would look stronger?
The acquisitions only go so far, just to the proposition, if he said the woman said no so nothing continued he would look better?

[Greybnk48]

18. Yes. I've thought Trump vendetta all along.

They despise each other, and Cuomo humiliated Trump during the pandemic by being called the de-facto leader of the US on COVID, which he was. We got up to watch his pressers for info every day fo quite a while.

This is a hit job.

[Budi]

19. Well, here's a tweet from Stone right before the Franken scandal broke

Last edited Mon Mar 8, 2021, 12:18 PM - Edit history (1)

Link to tweet

Like Tara Reade, Leann Tweeden disappeared from view & twitter when the damage was either exposed or completed.

Roger Stone's been running this game since Bill Clinton.
Yes, he was there in the thick of it. too. On the heels of Lewinsky & Tripp (RIP 2020) came the others, all with claims ready to drop to the press. One by one eventually debunked by pay offs, lying, uncorroborated stories & with ties to ...Roger Stone.

If there's ever a high profile gov't sex scandal against a Democrat, with the appearance of cooridination, be sure Roger Stone is lurking nearby.

[mitch96]

21. " hmmmmm.... maybe"? Do the investigation and get it all out there.

Then make the decision..
m

[marieo1]

22. Agreement again

I agree........DJT knows Cuomo is going after him so in DJT's mind, he will do everything he can to make Cuomo look bad. It's DJT's class act, he has always done this exact same thing to anyone that opposes him. He always attacks every one that has something on him. Andrew Cuomo is a good man and cares about his state. DJT has never cared about anything or anyone but himself his whole life.

[NoMoreRepugs]

23. It's certainly within the realm of possibility.

[usaf-vet]

24. YA THINK!! I don't see why Cuomo should even consider resigning. He is being Frankened!

When the Republicans are being CAUGHT and called on to resign they NEVER admit they are wrong.

Look at 45 he is the poster child for inappropriate behavior and should have been gone long before the 2016 election.

[Paper Roses]

28. I agree with you, this whole things has shades of t.... and his minions.

I hope Cuomo fights this and does a deep investigation into the backgrounds of the accusers.
Franken was playing a joke and he lost his seat. He should be back.
Cuomo's situation involves many whose backgrounds should be investigated.

[Dreampuff]

25. Possibly a setup, but I would hate for us to go back to the days

Where women weren't allowed to speak up because no one would believe them and the ones who did wondered what the women did to give the man the idea that he could do that with her.

But he is already elected into office and didn't people get put into office who had done much worse things? Former president for example and let's not forget Brett Kavanaugh.

[uponit7771]

49. Me too was supposed to initiate thorough investigations not guilty verdicts. I Don't

... see anyone silenced I just see people asking for investigations versus a jump to guilty then resign

[Jay25]

29. You may have something there, it does seem as if he's being attacked from all sides.

I hope he holds strong and doesn’t resign,

[Texin]

30. Well, actually does tRump et al want/need a rethug governor to possibly pardon him

if the NY AG decides to prosecute him if he's convicted?

[FoxNewsSucks]

32. I agree completely

Any time an effective Democrat get too much in the way, it is 100% certain the republicons will use whatever they can.

And in cases where it's true, they'll sit on it until needed. I'm also certain that was their plan had John Edwards gotten the nomination

[kpete]

34. Yes

and mrs. turtle too

[niyad]

36. I was thinking earlier about the fact that the Democratic governors of our two largest

Democratic states are both under attack. I find the timing interesting.

[Martin68]

39. apical, I don't think so. These are liberal women who were mistreated and are mad as hell.

Many of these incidents happened after the Me Too movement started, so Cuomo has absolutely no excuse for his behavior except that he is an entitled asshole.

[KentuckyWoman]

43. Doesn't matter.

If he didn't do it then he should be vindicated.
If he did, he should be toast.

The alleged behavior is unacceptable. Period.

[Dorian Gray]

48. Nope

I think Cuomo behaved badly and is reaping what he's sowed.

I don't want him to resign.

[GoldenMezzoDiva]

50. ALL in the timing, n'est-ce pas?

Anyone with with any sense won't put any dirty trick past the Dump & his flying monkeys.

[George II]

52. It appears that two of the first three accusers are affiliated with Justice Democrats.

[progressoid]

53. So Trump got Democratic women to make these allegations ?

Uh, no,

[markpkessinger]

60. +1

Thank you!

[ShepKat]

56. been saying this all along

I smell stefaniQ all over this. What will happen to the trump lawsuits with a change of power ?

[markpkessinger]

58. After reading the Washington Post's story yesterday . . .

. . . sorry, I disagree.

I live in NY. I was willing to cut the Governor some slack on the terrible call he made with regard to nursing home patients, because it was early in the pandemic, and everyone was kind of flying by the seat of their pants (although there can be no excuse for trying to cove up how bad that call had been). But his reputation as a bully is of long standing. And with so many former staff -- male and female, btw -- speaking out, the man needs to resign, like yesterday!


Fot Democrats to make any excuses for him at this point is beyond hypocritical!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/cuomo-toxic-workplace/2021/03/06/7f7c5b9c-7dd3-11eb-b3d1-9e5aa3d5220c_story.html?fbclid=IwAR0GEYNoZ9ZOhZmwSileHQBTqxXBotLYz7JhOmTReooafgD2ELwsEIbvcKw

[ahoysrcsm]

75. With all these allegations against Cuomo, you would think one would take him to court.

[malthaussen]

59. Yeah, plenty of people wonder about that.

Does it really matter? I agree, Mr Cuomo should not do anything, and let the investigation clear him or condemn him. It would seem to be jumping the gun to resign preemptively.

-- Mal

[Polybius]

62. Maybe Cuomo is behind it

It gets the real scandal out of the news.

[BobTheSubgenius]

63. One thing this scandal is doing...

Adding to the damage done by the nursing home skullduggery and undoing a ton of the goodwill he had built up with his leadership on COVID response. The R's have to like that, no matter what.

[markpkessinger]

66. Sorry, no. It's not a plot; it's a pattern. n/t

[TexasBushwhacker]

68. Franken's offenses were when he was a comedian

Cuomo's offenses were when he was Governor. BIG difference.

[radius777]

72. The charges that took down Franken

were regarding alleged groping while he was Senator. Franken probably should not have resigned but it was during the height of the MeToo movement.

[radius777]

71. +1. The charges against Cuomo seem similarly hollow as the Biden charges,

ie, the 'he hugged me/smiled/sniffed' type of charges which also seemed timed for maximum political damage.

If Cuomo goes down look for the RW/far-LW to attempt to finish the job Tara Reid could not and try to take down Biden. We could see a new round of accusers who 'suddenly remember' a glance/hug/sniff that may or may not have happened 30 years ago.