The question is not competence. It’s the presumption of innocence.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York is not one of our favorite political leaders.
He piously posed as an authority on the pandemic during its initial months, while simultaneously putting in place a policy that led to thousands of needless deaths, and then tried to cover it up.
He ordered patients with highly contagious COVID-19 transferred from hospitals to New York state nursing homes, leading to the deaths of thousands of nursing home residents. They were trapped in a de facto COVID ward with no protections, and for no good reason. This, one might chalk up to the confusion and uncertainty of the time.
However, adding injury to injury, Cuomo deliberately underreported the number of deaths from COVID in New York state in order to head off a federal investigation into his lethal COVID policy. This admission comes from a close member of Cuomo’s staff. Bottom line: While Cuomo was shamelessly praising himself for the great job he was doing against COVID, there were eventually more deaths from COVID, per million,in New York state than in any other region of the world!
Cuomo’s hubris overtook him to the extent that instead of actually fighting COVID, he took the time to write a book saying how well he was doing. One thing is clear. He, along with NY Mayor Bill de Blasio, has the dubious distinction of having turned “the city that never sleeps” into a place from which so many wealthy taxpayers have fled that New York City may never be the same again.
As if all this were not enough, Cuomo is now accused of sexual harassment by (as of this writing) at least two former female members of his staff, and another woman. Ironically, under the ethics of Cuomo himself, he should resign forthwith.
According to Cuomo’s own logic, any accusation of sexual harassment is proof of sexual harassment. He himself said of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing:
“I believe Dr. Ford’s testimony [that Kavanaugh abused her in high school] is very compelling. Only a political skeptic could find a reason to disbelieve her. What is her possible motive to lie?”
Cuomo was wrong then — an accusation is not a proof — and those who howl for Cuomo to resign are wrong now. In this country, we abide by the principle of innocent until proven guilty. Cuomo, like anyone else in his place, however competent or incompetent, however appealing or unappealing, deserves an independent investigation or a criminal trial.
An investigation into the charges of harassment against Cuomo is underway. Its results, not accusations and not political differences, must supply the data by which to decide whether Cuomo’s resignation, or more formal legal proceedings, would be appropriate — or whether the accusations lack merit.
Meanwhile, why is there no investigation of Cuomo’s senior staff’s admission that the governor deliberately underreported the number of COVID deaths in New York state?
Copyright © 2021 by the Intermountain Jewish News
