Andrew Cuomo's Chaos.

What does this mean for Cuomo's future? And how should the Democratic Party approach the situation, both statewide and nationally? Abandon Cuomo entirely, keep a hands-off approach and let the situation settle, or continue to stand behind him?

 (1)>>Andrew Cuomo is the current governor of New York state and one of the heavy power players in the Democratic Party, with name recognition both in his state and nationwide. He became especially known for garnering heavily positive media attention through the last year during the COVID pandemic, for his use of government to combat the spread as well as his informative briefings that were praised as being better than the White House's at the time.In the last several months there has been talk of him going national, either via a Senate run or even potentially running for President in the future. However, it seems like his ambitions have encountered serious roadblocks since December. Two controversies have emerged:  (1.2)>>claims of sexual harassment and allegations that his administration attempted a coverup of COVID pandemic statistics to look better on paper.On December 13, 2020, Lindsey Boylan, a former aide for Cuomo who is a Democratic candidate for Manhattan Borough president in 2021, alleged "[Cuomo] sexually harassed me for years. A spokesperson for the Cuomo administration denied the accusation.  (2)>>Originally not much media attention was given to the story, but two other women then joined her and narrated stories of Cuomo verbally or physically harassing them. In a February 28 statement, Cuomo said: "I now understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments, given my position, made others feel in ways I never intended." He apologized and acknowledged "some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation." He also said, "At work sometimes I think I am being playful and make jokes that I think are funny. I mean no offense and only attempt to add some levity and banter to what is a very serious business."Regarding COVID: On March 25, 2020, Cuomo and the New York State Department of Health issued an advisory requiring the admission of patients to nursing homes who test positive for the coronavirus and barred testing prospective nursing home patients. This order was revoked on May 10 after widespread criticism from medical experts.  (3)>>By then, as many as 4,500 COVID-19 infected patients had been sent to nursing homes in NY state. Over 6,000 New York state nursing home residents had died of COVID as of June 2020. On January 28, 2021, an investigation conducted by state attorney general Letitia James concluded that the Cuomo administration undercounted COVID-19-related deaths at nursing homes by as much as 50%. On February 12, 2021, Melissa DeRosa, a top aide to Cuomo, said in a call with state Democratic leaders that the Cuomo administration intentionally delayed the release of data pertaining to deaths from COVID-19 within nursing homes in fear it would've triggered a potential federal investigation by the Department of Justice and given an advantage to political opponents. Calls to rescind Cuomo's emergency powers granted amidst the pandemic were launched within the New York State Senate immediately following this report, with 14 Democrats joining the Republican minority in the effort. On February 17, 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn announced they were investigating the incident.Early this week, the growing controversies culminated in him being stripped of executive emergency powers that were granted to him during the pandemic. Media observers have begun to call for him to either resign or put on hold his national ambitions.

NOTES AND COMMENTS:

 (1)>>Andrew Cuomo is the current governor of New York. He's already said he's not going to resign, and his approval rating barely dropped. The nursing home story is overblown, and people generally don't care about sexual harassment stories where the allegations are this mild.In reality, all that happens is he doesn't run for a 4th term. No one wanted him to before COVID, so this is just reversion to the mean. (1.2)>>claims of sexual harassment and allegations that his administration attempted a coverup of COVID pandemic statistics  Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s staff was hit with more resignations Friday as the embattled three-term executive struggles to hang onto his powerful post amid growing calls for his ouster over allegations of sexual harassment and the nursing home deaths cover-up.    (2)>>Originally not much media attention was given to the story. All he did was stand in front of cameras and complain and blame everyone else. Yet for some crazy reason CNN just lapped it all up. I never understood what everyone seemed to see in this guy. All I saw was someone that loved the sound of his own voice and loved all the media attention he was getting.That was a stupid move by CNN. When you let him cover his brother for months on end, then claim he can't cover negative things because they are brothers it sounds really hollow. Hopefully they learn form this mistake.(3)>>By then, as many as 4,500 COVID-19 infected patients had been sent to nursing homes . When New York state confirmed its first coronavirus case just over a year ago, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s (D) first comments focused on the particular threat the virus posed to older Americans.“We’re going to have a special effort for our nursing homes, et cetera, congregate facilities where senior citizens are being treated,” Cuomo assured state residents during a press briefing on March 2, 2020.Over the next several weeks, the true scale of the virus’s spread in the state and region became apparent as hospitals filled up and hundreds of people died each day. Thousands died in nursing homes, despite Cuomo’s assurances, as thousands died in nursing homes elsewhere in the country.As the months passed, questions rose about how New York was reporting the number of people who died of covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. Reporting on deaths in nursing homes varies by state, and some states don’t report the figures at all. But in states that do, the reported death toll has generally been of nursing home residents who contract the virus and then die of covid-19. In New York, the number was constrained only to those who died in nursing homes.But the week before, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his health commissioner, Howard Zucker, had all but made such discharges mandatory. If a hospital determined a patient who needed nursing home care was medically stable, the home had to accept them, even if they had been treated for COVID-19. Moreover, the nursing home could not test any such prospective residents — those treated for COVID-19 or those hospitalized for other reasons — to see if they were newly infected or perhaps still contagious despite their treatment. It was all laid out in a formal order