Biden’s Sacrificial Offering

On Tuesday, Aug. 3, U.S. President Joe Biden called on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign. To understand the sensational nature of this statement, it should be kept in mind that Cuomo is, for one thing, Biden’s fellow party member — a faithful Democrat. Secondly, he is a staunch opponent of Donald Trump who once said that he “would have decked” Trump for insulting his brother and his entire Italian family. Thirdly, he is glorified by CNN and the rest of the liberal media as the latest hero in the fight against COVID-19.

It can be added that Cuomo is well-known in New York as a staunch advocate for same-sex marriage and the legalization of marijuana, and against the bearing of arms. In general, the whole classical liberal platform. With his permissiveness, Black Lives Matter has turned New York into one of the most dangerous cities in the country.

In addition, during the preelection fight for the White House, Cuomo was even considered a contender for the head of the U.S. Department of Justice for the Biden administration. It isn’t coincidental that he became part of the sitting president’s circle. But then this pillar of liberalism was abruptly burned by Sleepy Joe. In a popular U.S. expression, Biden “threw Cuomo under the bus.”

Cuomo has certainly sinned. Probably the greatest and most unforgivable is the situation with nursing homes during the first wave of COVID-19. At that time Cuomo issued directives that proved fatal for the elderly residents of the state. They were prohibited from leaving their nursing homes under the premise of self-isolation. And relatives (and many residents of such homes have families — it’s just that for the American mentality there is nothing wrong with putting their mom or dad, let alone grandparent, in a nursing home) were prohibited from taking them out. Most importantly, on March 25, 2020, Cuomo issued an order whereby all nursing homes in the state had to admit COVID-sick elderly “who were medically stable.”

So the virus spread through nursing homes, and their occupants began to die out en masse, the majority because ordinary doctors who did not have special training and equipment (including ventilators) were treating them. And they died out, not in dozens, but in the hundreds — at least. To avoid a scandal, the Department of Health underreported the state’s nursing home mortality data by 50%. And Cuomo, with the help of his brother working for CNN, began to be portrayed as the hero who conquered COVID-19 in New York state.

Trump, who was at the time still the president of the United States, tried to initiate an inquiry into Cuomo’s activities in relation to nursing homes, and the U.S. Department of Justice “studied” New York and other Democrat-led states until Biden became president. Then he completely curtailed this investigation, despite indignation from Republicans.

It is interesting that Cuomo “paid the piper,” not for the cold-hearted murder of elderly New Yorkers, which is only fair, but for everyday sexual harassment. To be safe, we need to clarify: The harassment was relatively unassuming. For example, one woman who worked for the governor’s personal security detail told investigators that Cuomo ran his hand or fingers across her stomach and back, kissed her cheek and asked why she did not wear a dress. Another woman, an employee of an energy company, stated that Cuomo touched her chest at an event and ran his hand between her shoulder and chest. Let’s face it: Compared to the current head of the White House, who just aims to cuddle up to the lady who is tucked up under his arm and kiss her on the ear or cheek, Cuomo does not look like a sexual predator. However, these days, accusations like that are enough to lose your job and ruin a career. It is no coincidence that most articles about the New York governor’s future include the word “fall.”

Of course, the very fact that a prominent Democrat was accused of a crime has drawn attention, of which in earlier times, according to the unspoken set of rules implicitly adopted in the liberal media, only Republicans were capable. After all, only Trumpists and other crude male chauvinistic pigs can offend and persecute women since they do not respect their gender identity. A Democrat, an elevated, empathic and gentle being, will never say anything inappropriate to either a woman or a member of the LGBT community. This is common knowledge.

There must be a very serious reason for the head of the Democratic Party to decide to sacrifice one of its loyal fighters, especially during the important “first 100 days.” And this reason is not due to Cuomo’s botched COVID-19 leadership in the state; otherwise the U.S. Department of Justice wouldn’t have shut down investigation of case immediately before the publication of the report on the governor’s sexual misconduct.

Presumably, they decided to sacrifice Cuomo in order to salvage Biden’s rapidly falling ratings. In a recent Quinnipiac University Poll, American approval of Biden’s work as a whole has dropped from 49% to 46%. In addition, 48% of Americans disapprove of the new president’s economic policies. But the worst is the situation with the assessment of the president’s handling of the pandemic: It fell by a whopping 12%, from 65% in May to 53% in early August.

And this is despite the fact that the entire U.S. propaganda machine works for this aged, talkative, “forgets-where-he-is” president.

In such situations, political advisors recommend identifying a figurehead whose symbolic reprisal can bring new points to a leader who is losing popularity. But the main target of all liberal media is Trump, who, after a head-turning appearance in Florida, sits quietly and does not give rise to new attacks. And then there’s Cuomo, who inappropriately became famous (mainly thanks to his brother on CNN) as an effective fighter against COVID-19, and is well-suited for the role of a sacrificial offering.

That is why Biden, albeit with reservations, decided to throw Cuomo under the bus when he said, “I understand that the state legislature may decide to impeach. I don’t know that for a fact. I’ve not read all that data.” But what if Cuomo proves to be tougher than expected and doesn’t agree to resign?

For now, everything suggests that this will be the case. The governor disputes the allegations of 11 angry women and claims that “the facts are much different than what has been portrayed” and that he “did not touch anyone inappropriately, or make inappropriate sexual advances.”

Cuomo attributed the “misunderstandings” with female staff to “generational and cultural shifts.” He says he is from a family of Italian immigrants, and in Italy it is generally customary for them to caress and pat the interlocutor on different parts of the body. He called the investigation itself “political and biased.”* So, Cuomo is going to fight to the end.

In this case, the New York State Assembly can bring charges against Cuomo and call for his impeachment (even before the completion of its own investigation). This charge must be supported by a simple majority (76 out of 150). In California, that would have been enough to remove the governor from office. But the laws of New York are quite specific, and if a majority of assembly member votes supports Cuomo’s culpability, the case will go to the High Court of Impeachment. This court consists of state senators and seven state Supreme Court justices (63 in total). As is the case for a president’s impeachment, a two-thirds majority from the members of the court is required for the impeachment trial to take place.

All of this makes the hypothetical impeachment of the New York governor not a simple task, especially considering the fact that a staunch Trumpist, like Republican and former mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani, unexpectedly spoke in support of Cuomo. He said that Cuomo may be guilty, but the question of guilt “should be determined by an impeachment trial.”*

But if Cuomo gets through the impeachment trial and remains as governor of New York state, the current head of the White House will gain a very serious and bitter enemy. That, ahead of midterm congressional elections in 2022, could be a very unpleasant surprise for the Democratic Party and personally for Biden.

*Editor’s note: Although accurately translated, this quoted passage could not be independently verified.