NY Times: Cuomo On The Defensive

The honeymoon, long though it was, is finally over:

Two corruption cases last week underscored a season of challenge for Mr. Cuomo, who has faced more criticism over the last few months than he did during much of his first two years, just as he is preparing to run for re-election next year and, say people close to him, pondering whether to run for president in 2016.

During an extended two-year honeymoon as governor, and the previous four years as attorney general, Mr. Cuomo and his staff assiduously warded off hints of dissent and disobedience. They scripted praise for outside groups to recite, removed some of Mr. Cuomo’s potentially troublesome records from public view at the state archives, and effectively silenced many by making it known that they “never forget” slights and that they “operate on two speeds” — “get along and kill.”

But this year, some of the governor’s traditional allies are turning on him, his poll numbers have begun to show signs of erosion and the State Legislature has become more assertive.

And now you have the Albany scandals reminding people that the self-proclaimed "Sheriff of State Street" is a little like Sheriff Lobo from The Dukes of Hazard - "huh, what stealin'?  what graft?"

The Times notes that the vindictive "Get along or we kill you" governor is vulnerable these days:

On the opening day of the Albany session, the governor pushed through gun control legislation without significant legislative advice or debate, and before the bill was carefully vetted — an insular approach that is becoming a hallmark of policy development in the Cuomo administration. The move, which included a tightened ban on assault weapons, cheered many after the Newtown massacre, and positioned Mr. Cuomo as the first governor to act in the tragedy’s wake. But it also alienated the governor’s supporters on the right, including The New York Post, which has turned against him with venom. Republican voters had been surprisingly positive about the governor, but now seem to be souring on him.

The gun measure needed a quick rewrite after one of the law’s key provisions, banning the sale of 10-round magazines, proved unworkable. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg observed that “if they had taken a few more days” to consult with others, the Cuomo administration might have avoided problems with the legislation. And Larry Cafero, the Connecticut House Republican leader, took his own shot not long before his state reached its own deal, saying, “To be the first out of the blocks and get it wrong is not a success.”

Mr. Cuomo also started to face unfamiliar trouble within his own ranks. Stephanie A. Miner, the Syracuse mayor, whom the governor just last year handpicked to be the co-chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, publicly assailed his proposed budget because of what she viewed as inadequate provisions to assist struggling upstate cities. Her continuing dissent erupted just days after Mr. Cuomo called for the party to be a “tighter” ship.

More recently, the State Legislature, previously cowed by Mr. Cuomo, has been more assertive. Most of Mr. Cuomo’s fellow Democrats in the Senate voted against the health care portion of the state budget, partly to protest the governor’s cuts to providers of services to people with developmental disabilities. And, in a more ominous move, a State Assembly committee decided to review the inclusion of a luxury box for state officials as part of a $130 million deal to renovate the stadium where the Buffalo Bills play.

Business groups, traditional allies of Mr. Cuomo, this year have chafed over the governor’s rewriting of the state’s tax code on the fly as part of a final, opaque round of budget talks. The budget includes extending a high-tax bracket on high incomes and a surcharge on utilities.
“Clearly, we were disappointed,” said Kathryn S. Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, a leading business group and one of Mr. Cuomo’s most important allies.

Notice which group isn't there pushing back against the weakened governor?

The teachers unions.

Wouldn't it be nice if they noticed the once all mighty governor was all mighty no more?