Perdido 03

Perdido 03

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Is Cuomo Afraid Of The "Democratic Left?

Earlier in the week, Fred Dicker thought so:

A Mayor Bill De Blasio would have “the power to destroy’’ Cuomo’s presidential ambitions if, as expected, the governor blocks De Blasio’s plan to raise taxes on the wealthy, a source close to both men has told The Post.

The source, who insisted on anonymity, said Cuomo is nervously aware of the danger posed by the front-running De Blasio’s election and has privately conceded that a Mayor de Blasio would have “enormous leverage,’’ since he’ll be viewed as a hero of the party’s influential progressive, or leftist, wing, which often dominates presidential primaries.

“If Bill de Blasio is mayor in January, he will be a national sensation with the Democratic left and he’ll have the power to speak out and destroy Cuomo’s presidential aspirations if the governor blocks his agenda,’’ the source continued.

The governor, who faces re-election next year, has told big-dollar campaign contributors that he’s planning to cut taxes in 2014, not raise them. He also has claimed he wants to make the state business-friendly by reducing its enormous tax burden.

However, Cuomo, stung by criticism in 2012 by progressive Democrats angry that he has worked closely with Republicans and cut state spending, shifted to the left earlier this year by unexpectedly renewing his own state tax on the wealthy, backing union-favored public financing of elections, refusing to OK “hydrofracking’’ for natural gas, supporting a controversial “women’s agenda’’ sought by abortion-rights groups, and winning passage of tough, new restrictions on gun ownership.

“There’s no doubt that Cuomo is nervous about the power of the Democratic left,’’ said the source.

Until the "Democratic left" (whatever the hell that is) turns on Cuomo, he will not be afraid of them.

Clearly he can't be too afraid of people to the left of him, since he just hired George Pataki, the man who defeated his father for governor, to co-helm a task force to find tax cuts for rich people and corporations.

5 comments:

  1. Given how the neoliberal Trojan Horse - also known as Barack Obama - has neutralized if not destroyed the Left wing of the Democratic Party, the term Democratic Left is increasingly an oxymoron.

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    Replies
    1. I like to think of it is as, what now constitutes the Democratic Left back in the day used to constitute the Republican Middle (i.e., Eisenhower, Nixon, etc.)

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  2. The left of my childhood is long gone. Nobody talks about equality any more. It looks to me like choices between Tea Party activists and more moderate Republicans. Is Obama a Democrat?

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    Replies
    1. He is a New Democratic, which is to say, he is more conservative than Eisenhower.

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  3. Obama is a neo-liberal
    Neo-Liberals speak out of one side of their mouth for the little guy, their nominal constituency, and the other side of their mouth for the plutocracy, their real constituency.

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