Is it just us, or is Andrew Cuomo being awfully touchy?
On Monday, the governor’s counsel denounced The Post’s Fredric U. Dicker as an “extreme conservative” in an open letter. This follows an open letter from the Gov. Cuomo’s office on the same subject — remarks by the governor he complains have been taken out of context.
These remarks came from his radio interview Friday. On air, the governor called some Republican conservatives “extremists” who “have no place in the state of New York.”
In a free society, the way to resolve polarizing issues is by debating them openly and trying to persuade your fellow citizens you are right. It’s not to suggest people keep their views to themselves. American history, moreover, is replete with causes — civil rights, for one — that initially were unpopular but ended up prevailing.
The governor takes offense because he says his views have been mischaracterized. We wonder how those on the receiving end feel about his characterizations.
Is it fair, for example, to label those who have doubts about gun control as “pro-assault-weapon”? Does favoring traditional marriage mean you are “anti-gay”? And are pro-lifers trying to impose a “religious belief,” or might their position reflect their conclusion about when human life begins?
If these conservatives find Gov. Cuomo’s language about having no place in New York politics troubling, maybe it’s because it comes at a time when other Americans likewise tagged as “extremists” for their politics found themselves singled out for special treatment by the IRS.
Had the governor limited himself to saying it’s fine to oppose abortion, gun control and same-sex marriage but you are not going to win, there would be no controversy. But he didn’t so limit himself.
Instead, he indulged in cheap caricatures meant to advance a truly self-serving and noxious argument: that anyone who disagrees with Andrew Cuomo on these issues must be an extremist.