The Emmy Award-winning governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, enjoyed months being the golden boy of the media for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in his state. It’s gratifying to see Cuomo finally getting the criticism he’s deserved for months—which up until the past two weeks, it seemed only conservative media was willing to do.
Cuomo is now, without a doubt, in the most politically precarious position he’s ever been. Despite sending thousands of nursing home residents to their premature deaths, he was enjoying sky-high approval ratings in New York, and was even floated as a possible replacement for Joe Biden on the ballot. But now, he’s starting to feel pressure from his own party, especially after the Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa admitted in a call to New York Democrat leaders that he covered up nursing home deaths data. There’s even a growing number of Democrats in the state senate who want to strip Cuomo of his emergency COVID powers, and there are now calls for Cuomo to be impeached and prosecuted.
While New York Democrats have finally woken up to the truth about Cuomo and are calling for him to be held accountable, it’s worth pointing out that Cuomo’s comeuppance would never have happened if Democrats in the U.S. Senate had their way.
Last week, Senator Tim Scott proposed an amendment to hold states accountable for misreporting COVID-related nursing home deaths by reducing federal funding for any state with an active investigation into underreported nursing homes deaths. “It makes no sense to offer more funding to states that have mismanaged and then covered up their pandemic response,” Senator Scott said earlier this month. “Leaders that neglected their responsibility to protect our elderly populations amid this devastating pandemic must be held accountable. The life-and-death implications of this dereliction of duty have caused tragedy for countless families whose loved ones died in long-term care facilities. They deserve answers.”
Every single Democrat voted against the amendment.
“Last week, every Senate Democrat voted against my amendment to hold states like New York accountable for misreporting data on COVID-related nursing home deaths,” Senator Tim Scott said in a statement Thursday evening. “Now we find out the truth. This is unacceptable, & those involved must be held accountable.”
Governor Cuomo’s political capital is taking a huge hit. Democrats in his own state aren’t willing to make excuses for him anymore, yet Democrats in the U.S. Senate apparently didn’t want him held accountable. But, in light of the recent revelations from Melissa DeRosa, perhaps every Senate Democrat needs to be asked if they stand by their vote.
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Matt Margolis is the author of Airborne: How The Liberal Media Weaponized The Coronavirus Against Donald Trump, and the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. You can follow Matt on Twitter, Gab, Facebook, MeWe, Heroes, Rumble, and CloutHub.
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