Michael Goodwin: If Cuomo survives sexually harassment allegations, the MeToo movement is dead
Cuomo turned his office into a pick-up bar where he was the only Alpha male
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}How low can he go?
As the investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo neared its finish, I found myself wondering how the governor could possibly explain himself to his famous father if Mario were still alive. Would he have dared tell him the truth, or would he have insulted his father by deceiving him the way he tried to deceive the public since the first charges emerged last winter?
Playing word games wouldn’t work because Mario brooked no nonsense, including from his son the governor. Their relationship was rarely smooth and attempts to deceive the father would surely have provoked even more fury over the disgraceful stain on the family name.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Now we know Andrew, too, was thinking of Mario, and not in an admirable or honest way. With old pictures, he forced his father and mother to take part in his lame video defense that kissing runs in the family, and that he had done nothing in private that he and they hadn’t done in public for years.
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It turns out that Andrew Cuomo isn’t even a good liar. Shameless, yes, and heartless, too, but his defense was worse than none at all.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He would deserve some respect if he simply apologized, resigned and shut up.
Instead, he insulted his victims, the investigators and the people of New York by continuing to defend the indefensible. The evidence in the Attorney General’s report is so compelling that the case against him is effectively airtight.
The testimony and corroborating documents, texts and messages prove beyond any doubt there is nothing about the governor’s conduct that was innocent or misunderstood.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It was not generational or cultural or political. And it sure as hell wasn’t innocent or well-meaning.
Cuomo turned his office into a pick-up bar where he was the only Alpha male. He was famous and powerful, but the targets weren’t interested.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In fact, they were horrified–and terrified. As investigator Joon Kim put it Monday, Cuomo ruled by "fear and fliration, abuse and affection, intimidation and intimacy."
But in the end, the targets were brave. One by one, starting with Lindsey Boylan, they came forward, mostly in public, to tell of the depravity they experienced for the sin of working in public service.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mario would be mortified.
Power corrupts, and third terms corrupt absolutely. Believing he was invincible, Andrew Cuomo created an atmosphere worthy of a cheap hood.
He did it in the highest office of the state and preyed on his victims on the public dime. Some have said they were hired because of the way they looked.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hard landings don’t get more abrupt. A year ago, Cuomo was the darling of the media, the ultimate anti-Trump during the darkest days of the pandemic. His daily broadcasts were must-see TV and effectively relayed basic information.
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They were also vehicles for his self-aggrandizement. He romanced the camera by talking of his meatball recipes and used his daughters to add a human touch. He went on his brother’s TV show to yuck it up, and self-avowed "Cuomosexuals" declared him a hearthrob.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The flirtation was political, too, and there was a moment when a poll showed Democrats would rather have him than Joe Biden as their presidential standard bearer.
A fat book contract followed even as a darker truth emerged. Thanks to grieving families and the Post, it was revealed that Cuomo and his aides had been hiding the horrific death totals in nursing homes. They hid the numbers out of guilt because they knew their order sending COVID patients to the facilities was like fire in dry grass.
Yet the governor, besotted with power and ambition, denied any and all mistakes and accused me and my Post colleagues of playing politics. His lies were repugnant, but more importantly, they were cruel to the grieving families.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CUOMO BLASTED FOR SLIDESHOW PROVING HE TOUCHES ‘EVERYONE’ AMID SEXUAL HARASSMENT SCANDAL
They knew what he had done. Many never had a chance to say good-bye to mothers and fathers, siblings and friends. Cuomo’s office, afraid they would tarnish his luster and spoil their gravy train, insulted and mocked the grieving.
To this day, he has never expressed a scintilla of regret to a single family.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}And now his world is turned upside down. In addition to Monday’s devastating report, the feds are probing the nursing home death deception, the book publisher scrapped further printing and there is another probe into his use of state employees to help him write, promote and edit it.
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The Albany District Attorney is looking at a possible criminal case over the sexual harassment findings.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The pile up means that, in what seems like a nanosecond, Cuomo went from the top of the mountain to the pits.
Finally, justice is being done before our eyes.
The question now, in light of Cuomo’s refusal to resign, is what Democrats will do about the monster in their party.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}If he survives after sexually harassing multiple women and abusing his office, the MeToo movement is dead.
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Dems can’t have it both ways. Their party, in response to harassment and other allegations against former President Donald Trump, unleashed pent-up rage over powerful men getting away with behavior that was boorish at best and criminal at worst.
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Alas, most of the men taken down were Dems in good standing, such as Harvey Weinstein, Charlie Rose and others in Hollywood, business, politics and media.
And now Cuomo’s head is on the chopping block.
To their credit, many officials have called for him to resign and, if he won’t, for the Assembly to begin an impeachment case. From Sen. Chuck Schumer to Albany’s top leaders, not one is taking Cuomo’s side.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The last remaining vote was Biden’s, and he delivered it late Monday afternoon. He and Cuomo are close, politically speaking, but early in the case he said if the charges were true, Cuomo had to go and might well face charges.
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The president kept his word, saying simply "Yes" to a question about whether Cuomo should resign.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}That’s it, there are no more moves to make, the game is over. Say goodbye, governor. Now.