Anybody else enjoy the Mulgrew/Cuomo Show the way I do?
It's the best professional wrestling exhibition you'll ever see.
Back in 2011, Governor Cuomo and UFT President Mulgrew used to be pals (even teaming up against Mayor Mike Bloomberg over teacher layoffs Bloomberg was pushing.)
They were still pals in 2012 when Cuomo was pushing teacher evaluations tied to test scores and getting his way - Mulgrew was there when Cuomo declared APPR a "victory for all New Yorkers!"
Then after a few years of Cuomo's bashing teachers and bragging that he planned to"break" the public education monopoly, they became enemies, with the UFT running ads about the governor's agenda and Mulgrew saying all sorts of nasty things about Cuomo publicly.
But behind the scenes, Cuomo and Mulgrew continued to meet even as they feuded publicly.
For example, Bill Mahoney's analysis of Cuomo's meeting schedule showed Mulgrew was number 4 on the all-time Cuomo meeting list.
In fact, also behind the scenes, Mulgrew was making sure the Working Families Party wouldn't endorse a candidate for the general election that would cause Cuomo problems in 2014, threatening the party with fianancial ruin if they did so.
So even while they were publicly at odds, behind the scenes the Mulgrew/Cuomo relationship was much more, uh, nuanced.
But now that Cuomo's spent a year getting beaten up on public education and other issues and seen his poll numbers fall into the 30's (39% in last Siena poll, even lower on the public education issue), he's started to sound like Mulgrew on community schooling and he and Mikey are great friends again publicly, so much so that the UFT is running a pro-Cuomo ad that cost $1.4 million.
Whew - in the UFT universe, just like in pro-wrestling, Governor Cuomo used to be a good guy, but then became a bad guy, but now he's a good guy again!
What a show, huh?
Shameful and disgusting!
ReplyDeleteWord! It is just the same as professional wrestling, choreographed, rehearsed and all smoke and mirrors.
ReplyDeleteGreat piece once again. And the shame of it all is that NYSUT members are still shelling out their hard earned money to vote/cope and these same well meaning members have no idea how that money is being spent and who decides where it goes. It is a fact that a lot of this money goes directly towards our enemies such as Cuomo and yet local presidents still lead their members to believe that that money is going to help us. Your post is accurate and only touches on the level of corruption and incompetence that passes for leadership at NYSUT and the UFT.
ReplyDeletehttp://nypost.com/2016/01/18/how-nycs-teachers-union-spent-169m-last-year/
ReplyDeleteAH HA HAA HA HAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!
Watch out for the slick writers at the new york post writing an article on union spending. The article is clearly written as the friedrich case in pending and the freken post writes an article to show how the union is wasting our union dues. This slick bastards are putting this out there to try and sway members to not pay into their union so the union can fold....Slick people out there in this brutal place called NYC. MOst outsiders think NYC is this nice metropolitan metropolis but the reality is that this place is filled with hatred and greed and the hatred is spewed by the press every day. THe post is owned by rupert murdock and this chap instructs his goonies to write stories day after day to make peoples lives as miserable as possible
DeleteDevon...Get The Tables!
ReplyDeleteIf Michael Mildew and our reptilian Governor are the wrestlers, then who's Vince McMahon?
ReplyDeleteOh, and who are you supposed to root for when both contestants are heels?
In response to the previous post about the Post. Yes, you are right. The Post is exactly as you describe it and we should be wary of their content. Unfortunately, we all must beware of the leadership of NYSUT and UFT since their credibility and integrity is down in the same toilet as the New York Post's.
ReplyDeleteHey, very nice site. I came across this on Google, and I am stoked that I did. I will definitely be coming back here more often. Wish I could add to the conversation and bring a bit more to the table, but am just taking in as much info as I can at the moment. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteToilet Folding Chair
Keep Posting:)