“I will fight like hell for
New Yorkers!”
Yes, that is what Kathy Hochul, the incoming governor of New York in the wake of Andrew Cuomo’s resignation, said yesterday when she met the press.
Personally, I wish her good luck, because she is stepping into a time bomb situation, and she proved her political mettle by stating a couple of other things during this “meet and greet”—since so few in the state actually know who she is—that pretty much labeled her as the typical double-talking politician. somebody we don't need now in the wake of not just the scandal, but so much else that is going on in the state and the world.
I mean she learned from Cuomo, perhaps one of the country’s best “do what I say, not what I do” legislators.
Hochul is very well known upstate, but elsewhere, nobody even knows how to pronounce her name. That it rhymes with “yokel” doesn’t help matters one bit.
She stated during this press conference that she was not close with her former boss, which is a pretty stupid thing to say, since you were his choice—albeit his second choice—for lieutenant governor, and that you served in that role for two of his three terms.
That is like saying you have been married for seven years to someone, but you don’t know them at all … which I guess in hindsight, can happen, but if what she said was true, why sign up for another four years the second time around?
The next thing she said is even more idiotic, even in a political sense.
She stated that what happened during the Cuomo years—the sexual harassment specifically—would not happen under her watch.
OK, I can see that … that is a good thing to say.
But then she goes on to say something to the effect that “anyone who served under my predecessor who in any way was involved in this will be dismissed” from their positions.
Well, you were the lieutenant governor during all of this … so shouldn’t you, yourself, step aside?
Look, I know that this is “guilt by association,” but as lieutenant governor, she was supposed to be Cuomo’s “right-had man,” so to speak, doing things that he did not have the time to do, and representing New York State, and him, in all phases of state government.
While she may not have been part of his “inner circle,” she was his second … so she is telling us that she was not part of what was going on in Albany?
In politics, when the incumbent is either voted out or leaves, there is a housecleaning done, and let’s just say if Cuomo did not have these problems, and was not re-elected, it is quite doubtful that Hochul would be retained by the new governor, whether Democrat or Republican.
So what is she talking about?
She is the typical politico who talks out of both sides of their mouth, so she fits into the current political milieu perfectly.
The last time that New York State was wracked by such a sex scandal in the governor’s office was in the early 2000s, right before Cuomo came to prominence, when Eliot Spitzer was governor.
It was found early on in his term that he frequented prostitutes, and he resigned in disgrace, just like Cuomo did.
And just like in the current situation, the sitting governor was replaced by his lieutenant governor, and just like in the current instance, his replacement was a first for New York State.
As Hochul is the first woman to hold the job, David Patterson was not only the first black person to become New York State governor, he was also the first handicapped person to ascend to that position, as he had sight issues.
But while he did not proceed into the same areas as Spitzer did, his time as governor reeked, because he faced terrible backlash when he backed another legislator—a long-time friend of his—who was later convicted of domestic violence when he beat up his girlfriend on numerous occasions.
Patterson never ran for the office again, and he became a footnote in New York State political history.
Will Hochul also become a footnote, an answer to a trivia question in the latest edition of Trivial Pursuit?
We shall see.
But honestly, this lady has a full plate ahead of her, and I guess even though she speaks with the same political “forked tongue” as more well-known legislators do, she gets the benefit of the doubt right now, because the reason she is where she is is, quite frankly, so bizarre.
Yes, that is what Kathy Hochul, the incoming governor of New York in the wake of Andrew Cuomo’s resignation, said yesterday when she met the press.
Personally, I wish her good luck, because she is stepping into a time bomb situation, and she proved her political mettle by stating a couple of other things during this “meet and greet”—since so few in the state actually know who she is—that pretty much labeled her as the typical double-talking politician. somebody we don't need now in the wake of not just the scandal, but so much else that is going on in the state and the world.
I mean she learned from Cuomo, perhaps one of the country’s best “do what I say, not what I do” legislators.
Hochul is very well known upstate, but elsewhere, nobody even knows how to pronounce her name. That it rhymes with “yokel” doesn’t help matters one bit.
She stated during this press conference that she was not close with her former boss, which is a pretty stupid thing to say, since you were his choice—albeit his second choice—for lieutenant governor, and that you served in that role for two of his three terms.
That is like saying you have been married for seven years to someone, but you don’t know them at all … which I guess in hindsight, can happen, but if what she said was true, why sign up for another four years the second time around?
The next thing she said is even more idiotic, even in a political sense.
She stated that what happened during the Cuomo years—the sexual harassment specifically—would not happen under her watch.
OK, I can see that … that is a good thing to say.
But then she goes on to say something to the effect that “anyone who served under my predecessor who in any way was involved in this will be dismissed” from their positions.
Well, you were the lieutenant governor during all of this … so shouldn’t you, yourself, step aside?
Look, I know that this is “guilt by association,” but as lieutenant governor, she was supposed to be Cuomo’s “right-had man,” so to speak, doing things that he did not have the time to do, and representing New York State, and him, in all phases of state government.
While she may not have been part of his “inner circle,” she was his second … so she is telling us that she was not part of what was going on in Albany?
In politics, when the incumbent is either voted out or leaves, there is a housecleaning done, and let’s just say if Cuomo did not have these problems, and was not re-elected, it is quite doubtful that Hochul would be retained by the new governor, whether Democrat or Republican.
So what is she talking about?
She is the typical politico who talks out of both sides of their mouth, so she fits into the current political milieu perfectly.
The last time that New York State was wracked by such a sex scandal in the governor’s office was in the early 2000s, right before Cuomo came to prominence, when Eliot Spitzer was governor.
It was found early on in his term that he frequented prostitutes, and he resigned in disgrace, just like Cuomo did.
And just like in the current situation, the sitting governor was replaced by his lieutenant governor, and just like in the current instance, his replacement was a first for New York State.
As Hochul is the first woman to hold the job, David Patterson was not only the first black person to become New York State governor, he was also the first handicapped person to ascend to that position, as he had sight issues.
But while he did not proceed into the same areas as Spitzer did, his time as governor reeked, because he faced terrible backlash when he backed another legislator—a long-time friend of his—who was later convicted of domestic violence when he beat up his girlfriend on numerous occasions.
Patterson never ran for the office again, and he became a footnote in New York State political history.
Will Hochul also become a footnote, an answer to a trivia question in the latest edition of Trivial Pursuit?
We shall see.
But honestly, this lady has a full plate ahead of her, and I guess even though she speaks with the same political “forked tongue” as more well-known legislators do, she gets the benefit of the doubt right now, because the reason she is where she is is, quite frankly, so bizarre.
Maybe Hochul will be the right breath of fresh air the state needs, or maybe she will serve the rest of Cuomo's term and fade off into the sunset.
Who knows right now?
I do know for sure that this is my final Rant for the week, as I have a very early appointment tomorrow.
Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.
I do know for sure that this is my final Rant for the week, as I have a very early appointment tomorrow.
Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.
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