Wonder why Albany is so corrupt? Look no further than the Working Families Party’s decision to endorse Andrew Cuomo, and the three key players behind it.
- Gov. Cuomo: To win over the WFP, Cuomo vowed to tack further to the left. He agreed, for example, to back minimum-wage hikes and let regions set their own rates — a blatant flip-flop. He also pledged to help Democrats take control of the Senate, though many Democratic senators are eyeballs-deep in the very corruption Cuomo has vowed to eradicate.
- Mayor de Blasio: Cuomo drove a stake through the heart of de Blasio’s agenda, a soak-the-rich tax, and then shamed him for trying to throttle charters. Even so, the mayor has now put politics over principle by twisting arms for the governor’s WFP ballot line.
- The WFP itself: Third parties claim to offer an alternative to Republicans and Democrats. So why would the WFP choose a Democrat to be its standard-bearer? And do so despite the anger of many WFP delegates over the governor’s record?
Certainly they can’t count on Cuomo’s promises, given how he’s reneged on earlier vows.
The WFP had only one thing in mind here: backing someone who could draw the 50,000 votes needed to keep its ballot spot.
Republicans, of course, aren’t much better. They’re now whining Cuomo will push for Democratic control of the Senate. But he’s a Democrat; that’s what he’s supposed to do.
Republicans should be fighting for a Republican Senate instead of cutting deals to preserve the cozy arrangement for incumbents.
When pols have no principles, it makes it harder for voters to identify and back candidates who will fight for their values.
It also fosters the idea that, in New York politics, anything goes. That begets corruption.
We don’t share the WFP’s views on many issues.
But it would sure do New Yorkers a world of good if the party had principles it was willing to stick to.