Bad Govs, Good Gov

By Baxter

An eventful day on the gubernatorial front. New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a report on Andrew Cuomo that in the words of Doonesbury, basically said, "Guilty, guilty, guilty!" So it seems it's time for Andrew to go. Not just because every Democrat from the President on down is calling for him to resign, but because he decided to get all Trumpy and claim that James's report was "biased." (Nuh-uh, Gov. Also, being Italian and huggy-huggy doesn't excuse you, sorry.)

New York Democrats have plenty of time to figure out next year's election, and some great candidates to choose from. (Like Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul, who will step in should Andrew resign.) Tish James has been mentioned, too, although we kind of want her to stay where she is because she's doing such a good job. We've also heard rumors about Preet Bharara. Any of them would be swell.

What really was amusing today was how progressive tweeps mocked Republicans who tried to make hay of the Cuomo mess. "Okay, fine," they'd respond when someone like Elise Stefanik called for Andrew to get hauled off to the hoosegow. "Now, do Gaetz."

Elsewhere, gubernatorially speaking, it appears that Democrat Charlie Crist leads incumbent Republican Ron DeSantis in Florida by a bit more than a percentage point. (Just a few months ago, Crist was behind by double digits.) In the same poll, Ag Commissioner Nikki Fried only trailed DeSantis by three. Hey, Ron! Could it be that killing your own constituents isn't good politics?

(BTW, President Biden perfectly shamed the shameless DeSantis today: "Please help," he said. "But if you're not going to help, at least get out of the way of the people who are trying to do the right thing. Use your power to save lives." DeSantis is beyond contrition, but Biden's wasn't really talking to him. He was talking to America.)

Finally, we have to give a shout-out to Governor John Bel Edwards of Louisiana, who yesterday gave a remarkable press conference with healthcare experts describing dire COVID straits for their state. Edwards has re-instituted a mask mandate, which is sure to go over with the Trumpsters like a lead balloon. The reason? Kids who can't get vaccinated are at risk. Edwards, a Democrat who opposes abortion rights, turned the whole "pro-life" question right back on Republicans.

"Do you give a damn?" he asked them directly. "I hope you do. I do. I’ve heard it said often: Louisiana’s the most pro-life state in the nation. I want to believe that. It ought to mean something. In this context, it ought to mean something." We disagree with John Bel Edwards on choice, but his position gives him particular credibility to call out the GOP's hypocrisy on masks and vaccines. We cats PURR.