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by JumpCrisscross 1784 days ago
> How has he not been impeached already?

Simple answer? He's delivering on policy. Legalised weed. Election reform. Ex-convict rights reforms. New tax package. Much of this was gridlocked. Magically, the grease hit the wheels when impeachment came into focus.

None of this will win him another term. But he's functionally useful and not showing signs of becoming an albatross on the party.

3 comments

Those things were deadlocked by his office. The legislature had tried legalizing weird years ago, for example. His office is notoriously dysfunctional and only gets around to doing anything when he needs a political win.
> were deadlocked by his office

Yes. But ask yourself why? In each case, powerful constituents sat in opposition. For legalized weed, it was the restaurant and liquor lobbies. Those lobbies focussed on him because they knew he'd listen. If Cuomo took a "they can shove it" attitude from the start, they'd have dispersed and likely been more effective. (There is also an Albany tradition of legislators voting for bills on the Governor's assurance of a veto.)

With respect to dysfunctionality, the on-time budgets and--to the degree one can in a one-party state--fiscal restraint hints at deeper mechanics. In that respect, Cuomo's governship is almost Caesarian. Where Cuomo is, things happen. Where his attention isn't, useless deputies are screwing things up.

Do you have more info on why it was gridlocked? I thought many of these initiatives passed by wide margins, like 2:1 for weed.
If you really want to know look know further than Cuomo's mismanagement of the governor's office (https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/andrew-cuomo-miscond...)
There’s was infighting over how to divide up the financial benefits of legalization.
I could see him winning another term. If the only candidate to run against him in the primary is someone with little to no prior political experience, endorsed by AOC—-I can definitely see him being renominated by default.