Cuomo, meanwhile, was described by one associate as “edgily nervous’’ about the next move to be made by federal prosecutor Bharara, whose successful prosecution of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau) and startling admonition to “stay tuned” has led to widespread speculation that the governor is his next target.
Dicker writes that Cuomo is also obsessed with turning around his poor job approval numbers, which is why he is suddenly changing course on issues from the minimum wage to education reorm:
The governor, the sources said, has begun displaying what many of his own staffers see as “peculiar’’ bursts of energy, in which he abruptly shifts gears on key public-policy positions in hopes of increasing his popularity: first battling and then embracing the teachers unions, opposing and then backing a $15-an-hour minimum wage, and refusing and then granting pardons to thousands of convicted criminals.
“He’s like a chicken without a head; you never know which direction he’s going to turn, and he’s frantic about getting his [polling] numbers up,’’ said a prominent Democrat who has known Cuomo for years.
He ought to be "edgily nervous" about where Bharara goes next.
There are at least two investigations that we know of being conducted by the feds - one into the shutdown of the Moreland Commission and potential tampering by the governor or administration figures, the other into the governor's signature economic development plan, the Buffalo Billion Project, and what appears to be a rigged bidding process for his donors.
As for his trying to turn his numbers around, he's been in the low-to mid 40's or below in the Siena poll for quite a while now despite his frantic attempts to increase his popularity, so good luck with that, governor (see here to here.)
I think the thing that might raise his popularity the most is if he is arrested on corruption charges and faces a criminal trial.
So many of the people I know are looking forward to that possibility.
Of course, the thing that would be popular there is not Cuomo himself but his, you know, arrest.
But hey, it's something.
OMG.
ReplyDeleteCuomo isn't going down!
The biggest show Preet could put on, he's already put on.
Its over.
We are starting to look like those end of the world preachers here on this.
Lets let it go and realize that Preet ain't going to be our savior.
Saviors never come in the form of lawyers or Federal Prosecutors.
Turns out, no such thing as saviors at all....just people willing to save themselves....or not.