Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has spent much of his eight-year tenure touting bi-partisanship and cutting budget deals with Republicans in the state Senate, has turned into a partisan warrior as lefty actress Cynthia Nixon is challenging him in the Democratic primary.
During a “blue wave” campaign speech on Long Island Thursday night, Cuomo claimed New York’s Republicans are “reading from the gospel of Trump” and are “just as unreasonable” and “extreme” right-wing as the GOP-controlled White House and Congress.
“What has happened is, that extreme conservative view in Washington is now in Albany. In this state we used to have moderate Republicans. Democrats and Republicans and there were moderate Republicans,” Cuomo said in Brentwood.
“Not any more – the moderate Republican is gone. It’s gone the way of the Dodo Bird. They are extinct. They don’t exist. They’re all now reading from the gospel of Trump, they’re reading from the gospel of Washington and they are just as unreasonable as the people in Washington.
“And everything we accomplished, everything we have achieved, because we have had a great few years of progress. And what we made this state, brought people to this state – they are now trying to deconstruct,” Cuomo said.
Republicans shot back that the governor is clearly responding to Nixon’s attack on his left flank.
“It’s obvious that Cynthia Nixon has driven Cuomo as far left as you can go. It’s a shame that this centrist governor has turned hard left,” said state Sen. Marty Golden, a Brooklyn Republican.
Golden called Cuomo’s portrayal of New York Republicans as right-wing extremists a “false statement.”
“The last time Democrats controlled the state Senate in 2009-2010 they raised taxes and fees by $14 billion and it took us years to recover,” Golden said.
In December 2012, Cuomo agreed that the Democrats fumbled their two-year control of state government, included the two-year reign running the state Senate.
It was at that time that five dissident Democrats in the Senate formed a power-sharing arrangement with the GOP senators.
“They had a Democratic Senate, a Democratic Assembly and a Democratic governor,” Cuomo said at the time. “It was supposed to be a golden moment for progressive politics. It was a lost moment. … It’s almost inarguable – that that was not a good period of government.”
Cuomo was on Long Island Thursday to support the Long Island Democratic ticket, including candidates running to topple GOP incumbents to flip the state Senate from Republican to Democratic control.
He endorsed Suffolk County Legislator Monica Martinez, who is running for the seat being vacated by Tom Croci, and will face off against Republican Assemblyman Dean Murray.
