New York: Gourded by allegations of sexual harassment, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who was once considered a proponent of women’s rights, is the youngest American politician to fall into disgrace.
Cuomo, who has emerged as an international TV star, even in India for his daily briefings Covid-19 during the early days of the pandemic, he announced Monday that he was resigning in hopes of preventing the state legislature from resisting calls for his resignation by his party leaders, including US President Joe Biden.
The Cuomo scandal puts the spotlight on the sexual peccadilloes of American politicians, including Eliot Spitzer, his elected predecessor as governor, who was forced into a scandal involving prostitution.
An inquiry by Letitia James, state prosecutor general, reported last week that he had harassed 11 women, including a female police bodyguard, and the state legislature had initiated prosecution proceedings that would definitely lead to his conviction.
Some of the women worked in his office and complained about an atmosphere of fear and harassment.
Although his own Democratic Party had a majority in both chambers, he opposed virtually everyone across party lines, and this is seen as a payback for his arrogance and the humiliation he encountered.
Cuomo blames his fate on ‘generational and cultural shifts’ that have led to his actions being interpreted as harassment.
When announcing his resignation, Cuomo said: “In my mind I have never crossed the line with anyone, but I did not realize the extent to which the line had been crossed.”
When the investigation report was released and Biden asked for his resignation, Cuomo responded by publishing dozens of photos of him in which he hugged or held various people, including Biden, and women kissing or holding, claiming it was his innocent way of showing love.
With the sensitivity of the #MeToo movement, Biden has also come under criticism from some women for his way of touching or embracing that made them uncomfortable.
Although their reports did not rise to the same level of harassment as in Cuomo’s case, Biden dismissed it with a similar argument, tweeting: ‘Social norms have begun to change, they have changed. And the boundaries of personal space protection have been restored. And I get it. And I will be much more considerate. ”
When the Covid-19 destroyed in New York last year, he is considered the antagonist of President Donald Trump.
He has the origin of Covid-19 in China, and rather emphasizes that it came from Europe to the state because of Trump’s negligence.
The show earned him a special Emmy, the High TV Industry Award and a $ 5 million contract for a book about his leadership.
His brother Chris Cuomo, the host of a CNN news program, was also engulfed in an ethical controversy because he advised Cuomo about dealing with the crisis and gave him a plug of his program while printing negative stories.
While boasting about his handling of the pandemic, there were allegations that he oversaw the manipulation of the death toll to show a bottom line, which he eventually admitted.
Cuomo will be succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, who will be the first woman to head the state.
Andrew Cuomo, the son of former Gov. Mario Cuomo, was the state’s attorney general and secretary of housing and urban development in the cabinet of former president Bill Clinton.
Perhaps he is aware of the possibility of embarrassment and has resisted the calls to resist presidential candidate and made it clear that he will accept a post in Biden’s cabinet.
Among his accomplishments were the enactment of the state’s Equality for Women Act and a strict zero – tolerance policy for sexual harassment that is now harassing him.
He rules with an iron fist and earns the reputation of a bully, even if his tactics succeed in getting through various social, infrastructure and development projects in a state known for activist barriers.
Cuomo suffered in his personal life.
According to reports, his ex-wife, Kerry Kennedy, had an extramarital affair while they were married. She is the cousin of John Kennedy, the assassinated president.
Fellow Democrat Spitzer, a very popular governor, resigned in 2008 when his involvement in prostitution came to the fore, and he was succeeded in the meantime until Cuomo’s election by then-Lieutenant Governor David Patterson, the first African-American who held the office.
Both he and his wife admitted at a news conference that they both had extramarital affairs and that he had spoken publicly about it to prevent extortion.
Prosecutor General Eric Schneiderman quit in 2018 after it was revealed that he had violently abused his former Sri Lankan American friend Tanya Selvaratnam, allegedly called her his “brown slave” and beat her until she called him “master”.
That same year, Al Franken, a comedian who became the senator of the Democratic Party of Minnesota, was forced to resign amid allegations of sexual harassment.
A member of the House of Representatives from New York, Anthony Weiner, has resigned after being accused of sending sexual photos to minors. He was convicted of sending obscene material to a child and sentenced to 21 months in prison.
He was married at the time to Huma Abedin, a close aide to Hillary Clinton, an unsuccessful presidential candidate and wife of Bill Clinton.
Bill Clinton himself was indicted by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice arising from a sexual relationship with an White House intern, but was acquitted by the Senate in 1998.
Democrats tend to pay a higher price for their transgressions because their own party adheres to the higher standards it preaches, even though Republicans preach traditional values.
Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican who secretly disappeared to Argentina a few days ago to marry his girlfriend while he was married, escaped in 2008 with a disapproval from the legislature and his term finish.
But the three-time married Trump is the ultimate escapee.
Several women have accused him of harassing them or worse, and there is even a recording of him boasting that he grabs the genitals of women with an obscene term.
He not only avoided moral criticism from the conservative moralists, but maintained his popularity among them.
Source: Telangana Today