Impeach him today.
No delays, no bull crap, call the Assembly together and put a vote before it.
That’s what the people want, that’s what the facts demand, that’s what the state Constitution says.
And no more song and dance like yesterday, when the Judiciary Committee and the speaker sounded like they were running defense for Andy Cuomo. Oh, they threw out plenty of invective, but they also threw out plenty of delay.
Because if you sat down and did the math, and looked at the calendar, it begins to look like it will be months or into next year before the legislature actually does something to hold the governor accountable. And every day they don’t cut this monster’s head off is a day he gets to dig his heels in and work out some deal to save his neck.
Most New Yorkers think he’s going away, but he’s going to fight like hell to make sure he doesn’t. And having lived his whole life in the cesspool of cutthroat New York politics, he’s apt to figure something out.
Especially if polling continues to go his way.
In the wake of a thundering attorney general’s report that describes him as a serial workplace sexual harasser, just 52 percent of New York Democrats want him to resign or be impeached. And when asked who they wanted to be their gubernatorial candidate next year, 26 percent of registered Democrats gave Andrew Cuomo a plurality some three times larger than his nearest challenger.
All of which means that, if he’s not removed from the governor’s mansion and barred from future statewide office, Andy Cuomo stands a pretty good chance of being the Democratic candidate for governor next year, and of being elected to an historic fourth term.
And yesterday the speaker of the Assembly and its Judiciary Committee sounded like they want to help him.
When the committee chairman says he will report out his panel’s findings “very soon,” but then defines that to mean “several weeks” from now, he basically said he was punting, kicking the can down the road for consideration in September or October when memories will be dimmed and attentions will be diverted.
Which is preposterous.
We’ve seen the attorney general’s report. We know the man. We want him gone.
And he can and should be removed, right now.
Here’s how.
The speaker should put an article of impeachment before the Assembly based solely on the attorney general’s report.
Immediately. Right now. This week. And see who votes how.
If all the press releases and condemnations have been sincere, there are more than enough votes to impeach Andy for sexual harassment alone. And if those votes exist, they should have the opportunity to be cast.
And the state Constitution presumes that they will be, and need to be.
The state Constitution sees impeachment as primarily a protection for the people. It identifies a malevolent office holder and quickly moves to take away his power, so that he might not hurt the people anymore. In New York, a governor is stripped of power when the Assembly votes to impeach, not when the Senate ultimately convicts. The New York Constitution presumes that the bad actor needs to be stopped immediately and held in abeyance, until his ultimate conviction or exoneration is worked out.
That is wise.
And it means that if an impeachment vote passes on the issue of sexual harassment, the powers of the governor move immediately to the lieutenant governor, who would serve as acting governor. That should happen now, before Andy does any more harm, or conjures some way to use his office to cheat the system.
But what about the other charges being considered by the Judiciary Committee?
Just add them later.
If, after several more weeks of anticipated investigation, the committee finds anything impeachable in the governor’s book deal or nursing home malfeasance or Tappan Zee Bridge shenanigans, those articles could go before the Assembly for additional votes. If any or all pass, those counts can be added to the governor’s eventual trial before the Senate.
That way the committee gets to showcase its work, which seems to be a consideration here, and the governor presumably gets to face all the allegations against him – but the people aren’t saddled with an evil governor riding them for yet more months into the future.
The Constitution wants to take the reins out of the hands of governors under suspicion.
We should let it.
New Yorkers aren’t confused. The attorney general’s report showed us a governor who isn’t worthy of his office. Hold an impeachment vote on sexual harassment, and add more counts later if warranted.
But take the power away from him now.
That’s what the speaker has to have the courage and character to do.