As Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, hailed by Democrats as their savior just months ago, struggles now, weak and cowardly at his end, I can’t help but think of him as some old, vicious and pompous gladiator in Roman times.
Impossibly vain, having outlived his usefulness as a media foil to Donald Trump, Cuomo now finds himself hamstrung on the hot sands of the arena by sexual harassment charges from at least seven women.
He cringes before the final cut, flailing, to the delight of the jeering crowd.
The Romans passed down to us many treasures, from their games to distract the mob, to their ruthless backstabbing politics, architecture and the law.
A famous judge of ancient Rome, Lucius Cassius, evaluated cases by asking: Cui bono? “Who benefits?”
Who benefits by Cuomo’s political death?
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Columns are opinion content that reflect the views of the writers.
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I’m not arguing that he doesn’t deserve an end. He does. He is accused of sexually harassing women and lying about nursing home COVID-19 deaths.
But despite the deafening roar of the bloodthirsty crowd, can you hear yourself think those two little words: Cui bono?
In Roman times, corrupt nobles of influence and power often pursued gladiators for psychosexual gratification. And until recently, the Song of Cuomo played by the media was utterly romantic. They were so besotted that the hashtag #cuomosexual began to circulate on social media. He was the “Lov Gov” awarded an International Emmy for his dynamic daily TV briefings.
“It’s OK, these feelings are perfectly natural,” said talk show host Stephen Colbert. “Many Americans experience moments of being at least Andrew-curious, if not fully Cuomo-sexual.”
“Help, I Think I’m In Love With Andrew Cuomo???” was a headline on jezebel.com.
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“I’ve started laughing at his little jokes,” wrote Rebecca Fishbein, a writer from Brooklyn. “I catch myself touching my hair (not my face!) when he talks about an increase in testing capacity. I swooned when he told a reporter he had his own workout routine. I have watched a clip of him and brother Chris Cuomo bickering about their mother at least 20 times. I think I have a crush???”
And they weren’t alone. Prominent journalists swooned. They loved his book “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
“You spoke to National Guard troops today in a stirring speech. If I wasn’t listening carefully, I’d have thought that you were sending soldiers off to war,” gushed NBC anchor Lester Holt.
“Dealing with hardships actually makes you stronger,” an adoring CNN chief media correspondent, Brian Stelter, said. “That’s what Gov. Cuomo said today, and that’s what I’m going to teach my kids right now at home.”
I haven’t seen media love like that since President Obama’s first campaign during the Hopium Epidemic.
But now we know that even as they gushed about Cuomo love, he’d sent COVID-19-infected patients from hospitals back into nursing homes, a policy that some say killed at least 15,000 people. New York Attorney General Letitia James issued her report alleging Cuomo’s administration undercounted nursing home deaths by at least 50%.
And then The New York Post broke it wide open with an exclusive report about Cuomo’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa, admitting in a videoconference with Democratic lawmakers that Cuomo’s team had covered up the real death toll for fear that it would be “used against us.”
Federal authorities are investigating. Yet oddly, the nursing home deaths are not the focus of Cuomo’s demise.
What is ending him are the new sexual harassment allegations coming one after another, with other accounts of his sexual bullying and creepy hot grandpa ways.
Cui bono? Who benefits?
Progressive New York Democrats bolted against Cuomo first, then New York Republicans in the statehouse, and now many Democrats also are calling for his resignation.
President Joe Biden says nothing. He and Cuomo are of the same wing of the Democratic Party, former moderates, moving ever leftward in hopes of surviving the progressives.
Vice President Kamala Harris also says nothing about Cuomo.
“Madam Vice President,” she was asked the other day, “Do you have any comment on Gov. Cuomo?”
Harris walked away.
When U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault in a failed bid to block his confirmation, Harris had plenty to say. So did many. Women are to be believed, they insisted.
So what now? Cui bono?
The progressives benefit. A progressive will become governor of New York. And progressives and Harris rid themselves of Cuomo.
We’re not talking about the people who died in nursing homes. We’re not talking about the media’s failure to vet Cuomo’s claims of pandemic heroism. Most fawned over Cuomo rather than do their jobs. They became his mouthpieces.
Modern politics, street crimeand foreign policy are all about those two words used by an honest judge long ago.
Want more John Kass? See all his columns and find his weekly podcast here.
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