Cuomo Is Sorry If ‘Playful’ Comments Went Too Far As Sexual Harassment Scandal Grows | Talking Points Memo

I just want to point out that Cuomo gave a classic gop non-apology apology. “Sorry you were offended!”

By that standard alone he’s guilty AF.

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And I’ll add that about 99% of the “harassment” claims are politics of the rotten kind.

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You’d probably have to.

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Cuomo is probably an asshole. Seems like it to me. But I think New York State voters priced this in when they made him governor three times. Will he resign? I have no idea.

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Cuomo’s rationalization is the same as the tired, old Trumpian rationalization for much of his behavior when caught. Playful??

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I have loathed Cuomo for years. He’s a crypto-Republican who for years deprived his own party of a NY senate majority by sponsoring a breakaway faction of corrupt Dems who caucused with the GOP. He signed off on districting maps that were gerrymandered in favor of the GOP. His policies are determined by his corrupt financial ties to real estate, Wall Street, and other commercial entities. He surrounds himself with corrupt individuals who take payoffs. He is, in private, a thuggish bully who only thinks of his ego and power, even when a pandemic is killing thousands of his constituents. I don’t doubt for a minute that he has sexually harassed or otherwise sought to dominate women under his power. He should be kicked out at the first opportunity.

But. The calls to impeach him for sexual harassment are procedurally premature–there has to be an inquiry first, and there has to be some serious evaluation of the misconduct in question , and serious questions have to have be asked about gravity of the misconduct by comparison with other kinds of misconduct. Otherwise–to take the obvious hypothetical–it would only take a couple of complainants to bring down or politically cripple Joe Biden. We saw in the case of Al Franken that we lost a distinguished and potent political star because of allegations made by GOP activists in relation to misconduct that predated his official life–misconduct that was, although worthy of disapprobation, to my mind nowhere near enough to disqualify him from holding public office. So get rid of Cuomo, yes, but let’s not jump the gun.

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Times change…when I was a young Professor, closed-door conferences with students were common. That was not the case when I retired.

Somewhere in the area between “times change” and actual wrongdoing by Cuomo should be thoroughly investigated by an impartial system.

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“Playful comments”, huh, Andy?

Kinda like if Jeffrey Dahmer had said, “You’re so sweet I just wanna eat you up!”

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Biggest shift working in politics vs. in private business is women in politics hug. A LOT. It takes some getting used to, and I still don’t think I am completely comfortable with it. I never initiate the hug, for instance.

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I hate being hugged by strangers or even acquaintances. They should just bring in their dogs (or borrow one) and allow me to pet them.

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Zilla – I’m an employment attorney representing plaintiffs, we have clients who have experienced sexual harassment. I’m also over 75, and we have female associates in their 20’s and 30’s. I also have a sense of humor, which occasionally crosses a line somewhere.

BUT, asking a 25-year old woman whether she was monogamous, what she thought about relationships with an older man, and whether she has ever been with an older man are not jokes. I respect your opinion on this, but really, what is the point of those questions?

This is classic harassment and creates a hostile work environment for anyone who is the object of these questions or who knows about them.

UPDATE Noting the replies to this post, I want to make clear what I’m saying. I’m not saying that Cuomo should resign now, and I’m not saying an investigation is irrelevant. Clearly, we need to know what occurred. I was responding to Zilla’s comment that we’re lowering the bar too far on what is considered harassment. In my view, there is no room in a work environment for the kinds of questions and comments attributed to Cuomo. We’re not talking crude profanity, and we’re not talking the occasional sex joke in a crowd. We’re talking about confronting a young woman (though the age likely is not the dispositive factor) who may be in her first serious job, with questions about her sex life. I’m sorry, but to me that is serious harassment. Though 26degrees points to the fact the accuser resigned even after being reassigned, I believe that speaks more to the trauma caused by the questions than to their innocuousness.

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If Cuomo were a Republican this wouldn’t be news.

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I think that might be the best course of action.

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These reports aren’t about flirtation - they’re about abuse of power. The power differential between governor of a state and staff worker is enormous, more so considering that positions in political offices are generally transient and personal references are crucial to building careers in the relatively small world of politics. Don’t confuse abuse of power with flirtation or personal gregariousness gone awry - it’s pernicious and destructive in myriad ways.

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Having been a CEO for much of my professional life, and having been educated to understand, at least intellectually, that all people deserve fair and equal treatment and that racism and sexism were wrong, I still had a wise-guy sense of humor that got me into trouble. It all came to a head when one of my pretty young interns and a senior staff person asked to talk to me privately. They confronted me with my little sexual innuendos that I thought were cute and slightly teasing–I never touched or propositioned, never mind pressured any employee ever, thank god–and told me my comments were sexist, inappropriate, and needed to stop. I felt absolutely terrible and pretty much stopped making sexist comments thereafter, no matter how funny I thought they were.

That was 15 or so years ago. In this day and age, I’m actually shocked that Cuomo, who I think of as mostly a good person, hasn’t gotten that message. I certainly hope his male brain isn’t dangling between his legs!

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I want a full investigation, especially because this seems to be a gray area…at least most of it. The one that accused him of kissing her is more solid but, I also read information that refutes the claim…basically other people on the flight saying that never happened.

Between that and Trump referring to his January 6 rally as a “love fest,” one begins to wonder …

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Was the senior staffer female?

In any event the two of them clearly did the right thing – and so, subsequently, did you.

Kudos.

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Cuomo’s behavior toward female subordinates (even by his own vague descriptions) is as unsurprising as it is disappointing.

Young millennials (mid-20s to early-30s) & Gen Z’ers react quite differently (i.e., negatively) to such “playful” comments than do their older millennial & Gen X peers.

I’m guessing Cuomo has been “playful” with female subordinates for many years, & is just waking up (with his morning coffee) to this generational shift.

I shed no tears for his awakening.

ETA: I agree with the many commenters who are troubled by how quickly & easily people (not just women certainly) take offense to what used to be the rough-and-tumble of human society. At a poetry reading a couple years ago in a young woman’s home, she gave a “trigger warning” statement before the reading … not about the content of the poetry itself but in case anyone “was made to feel uncomfortable” by another member of the audience to please come to her immediately & she would “take care of the situation.” The implication being that even being “chatted up” by a peer (with no power over their life or job) without consent to being flirted with was a potential form of harassment. I found the whole thing to be pathetic. Instead of learning how to deal with difficult people or unwanted advances, the solution was to threaten anyone with expulsion as a way of prior restraint.

None of which applies to Cuomo, who as their direct superior had a responsibility to not mix innuendo with official duties. He clearly felt entitled to blur those lines & that shit’s wrong.

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But, we don’t even know what the comments were, think we’re jumping the gun here.
Don’t live in NYC, highly doubt I’d like working with someone like Cuomo or being in that kind of office situation.
Edit @george_c I had not read any specific accusations against him from resigning employees

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