If Andrew Cuomo would only listen to me, he’d be doing better and more people would like him. Unfortunately, he does not listen to people like me, and as a result, he languishes in the doldrums of public opinion. So here goes — Andrew, if you want to do better follow these easy steps:
You should stop saying that you are in favor of things and then not doing them. For example, you say that you are for a Democratic state Senate but to use the old standard, “Actions speak louder than words.” If you were to gather Jeff Klein from the Bronx and the other “traitors” who have gone over to the Republican side and tell them that the game is up and they have to conference with the Democrats, they would have to do it. Stop giving us all that malarkey about not being able to make them do anything. If you walk into their districts and say that the “Independent Democratic Conference” is aiding and abetting the Republicans, they’ll be in real political danger and they know it. They will have no choice but to do what you tell them. That would mean a Democratic state Senate, which you say that you’re for. If you don’t do that, no one will believe that you really want the Democrats in power and you’ll continue to be branded a hypocrite. Do what I tell you.
Stop beating up on Mayor de Blasio. It makes you look like a bully and worse. You claim to be his friend but no one believes that. Try to remember that while de Blasio has his own legal and political problems, a lot of people live in New York. If you do something to get even with de Blasio that could hurt the people of the city, they are not going to like you. Since these are the people who saved your hash in the last election it is very risky to continue on your present course of de Blasio bashing. To ensure that people really believe you about liking and working with de Blasio, act like you mean what you say and not the opposite.
For example, there is no question that mayoral control of education in New York is the way to go. The state Senate may hate de Blasio because he tried to replace the Republicans with the Democrats. They may want to punish de Blasio by not allowing him to administer the educational bureaucracy. Wouldn’t it be great if you got out front with your professed “friend” the mayor and supported him and made the Republican Senate leadership come around? For once, you’d be seen as real rather than the guy who says one thing and does another.
Then there is the matter of legislative ethics. You say that you want to make real reforms. In the past you have settled way too early, making what turned out to be minor league concessions that added to your reputation as a hypocrite. If you want to be seen as a stand up, do right, governor, you’ll make the miscreants of the Legislature grow up and pass real ethics reform. Again, no one believes that you don’t have these folks in the palm of your hand. The Senate Republicans are on the cusp of losing control. If they do, they’ll lose ALL the power they have had over these years. Without their majority, they’ll have all the power of warm spit.
Finally, get rid of all the influence peddlers in your administration. Play it clean. You don’t need all that campaign money. Hey, Zephyr Teachout beat your pants off upstate in the last primary and she had very, very little money. It’s ideas that win, not war chests. Do what I say and you’ll thank me. I know that you aren’t my fan but I know what I’m doing.
