Possibility of Cuomo Nomination by Democrats Rising by the Day

Possibility of Cuomo Nomination by Democrats Rising by the Day
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks to the media at the Javits Convention Center which is being turned into a hospital to help fight coronavirus cases, in New York City on March 24, 2020. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)
Roger L. Simon
3/25/2020
Updated:
4/7/2020
Commentary

Who will be the first Democratic leader to approach Joe Biden and (gently) ask him to withdraw from his party’s presidential nomination in favor of Andrew Cuomo?

Or has it already happened?

The hashtag #PresidentCuomo has been making the rounds on Twitter for more than a week now.

Just the other day (March 24), the Daily Caller published an editorial deeming the nomination of New York’s governor “Improbable, But Not Impossible” via a brokered convention. I would up the “impossible” to “even-money” or perhaps even “probable.”

At the same time, the likelihood of Donald Trump’s reelection has been rising with public approval of his handling of the CCP virus crisis hovering around 60 percent, a hitherto unheard of number for the controversial president.

Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, on the other hand, has done particularly poorly, fumbling his “digital front porch campaign” in a drastic manner as detailed in a Wall Street Journal editorial. “Not ready for prime time” is only one cliché that seems to fit the rapidly aging former vice president. (If we have learned one thing from the virus, it is that nature can be cruel.)

Do you think this hasn’t been noted by the Democratic powers that be?

One explanation of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s seemingly self-destructive overreach during negotiations over the multi-trillion-dollar rescue plan—tacking virtually every dream from the liberal-progressive playbook illogically onto the legislation—was that it was a kind of “Hail Mary Pass” as the last gasp for their wish list before the fall, i.e., Trump II.

As this happened, Cuomo was acting like the adult in the room, receiving boffo reviews from the left and the right (Broadway was closed, after all) for his daily press conferences and intelligent management of the crisis for his state.

Unlike almost all Democrats and media, he doesn’t seem overly infected by Trump Derangement Syndrome and was able to work productively with the president, while opposing him at other times—a difficult balancing act for a Democrat.

Two questions arise: Can Cuomo secure the nomination via a brokered convention or earlier, and can he beat Trump?

Since I am far from a Democratic Party insider, I’m not qualified to answer the first. But I did, at one time, though not recently, sleep in a Holiday Inn Express, so I will hazard a guess that another cliché applies: Where there’s a will, there’s a way. And, from what I hear, the Democrats have a “back room” and know how to use it.

We shall see.

As for defeating Trump, Cuomo will have an uphill struggle. As I was reminded in a phone call by American Enterprise Institute economist Benjamin Zycher, the governor successfully helped to prevent fracking in needy upstate New York. He might be able partially to walk this back by claiming an economic emergency, but whether the voters will believe him is moot. In the long run, this knee-jerk liberal viewpoint could cost him dearly in the coveted swing states.

Another problem for Cuomo will be garnering the support of the Bernie Bros, but that would be a problem for Biden as well. It’s anecdotal, but an Atlanta CEO told me his perusal of the Bernie Sanders forum on Reddit showed many of the Bros already washing their hands of the entire election. Worse, several of them were deliberately refusing to observe the guidances we all follow regarding the virus, now that it is looking like their hero is being denied the nomination.

Uh-oh.

In any case, though I doubt Cuomo could defeat Trump, my guess is he would ultimately fare better than the increasingly hapless Biden, who might be headed for electoral disaster.

Roger L. Simon—The Epoch Times’ senior political columnist—is an award-winning author and Academy Award-nominated screenwriter. His latest book—recommended escape reading during the pandemic—is “The GOAT.”

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Roger L. Simon is an award-winning novelist, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, co-founder of PJMedia, and now, columnist for The Epoch Times. His latest book “American Refugees” can be ordered on Amazon. “Roger Simon is among the many refugees fleeing blue state neoliberalism, and he’s written the best account of our generation’s greatest migration.”—Tucker Carlson.
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