There are reports that one of America’s worst governors is being considered for the position of attorney general in a Joe Biden administration. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has presided over a mass exodus from his state, has managed a budget into fiscal distress, and led the nation in terrible management of the COVID-19 outbreak. Now, rumor has it he might be rewarded for it. According to Axios:
Democrats are so convinced that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo could be considered for Joe Biden’s attorney general that aides at the National Governors Association, which Cuomo chairs, are looking into contingencies for replacing him, two sources familiar with the situation tell Axios.
To understand how terrifying this is, rewind to 2014. As governor, Cuomo said publicly that people who are pro-life or support the Second Amendment have no place in New York State.
“Their problem is not me and the Democrats; their problem is themselves. Who are they? Are they these extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay? Is that who they are? Because if that’s who they are and they’re the extreme conservatives, they have no place in the state of New York, because that’s not who New Yorkers are.”
“If they’re moderate Republicans like in the Senate right now, who control the Senate — moderate Republicans have a place in their state,” he continued. “George Pataki was governor of this state as a moderate Republican; but not what you’re hearing from them on the far right.”
According to Cuomo, if you are pro-life, pro-gun, and believe in traditional marriage, you are far-right—and you have no place in his state. This should give some insight into how he would operate as attorney general, but there is more.
His administration passed one of the most permissive abortion laws in the United States. It was so broad that it removed penalties if a pregnant woman is attacked and her child is injured or dies. A baby is no longer considered a person until it is born. Polls show that nearly two-thirds of New Yorkers disagree with late-term abortion, and there is significant support for a restriction at 20 weeks. But Cuomo lit the One World Trade Center building and other landmarks pink to celebrate the law’s passage.
You can be sure that under Cuomo, the Little Sisters of the Poor will be back in court. States that have passed restrictions on abortion will find themselves in the crosshairs of a Cuomo DOJ. Lawsuits by the pro-abortion activists would have the full weight of the country’s premier law enforcement agency behind them.
New York also has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country. However, this was not enough for Cuomo. His administration went directly after the NRA to deprive them of financial services and insurance. This action was in line with the Obama era “Operation Choke Point,” which sought to discourage banks from offering services to high-risk businesses, including firearms dealers and short-term lenders.
New York Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo said the agency “urges all insurance companies and banks doing business in New York to join the companies that have already discontinued their arrangements with the NRA.”
In May, the department hit Lockton Affinity with a $7 million fine and Chub Ltd. with a $1.3 million fine for their involvement with the NRA’s “Carry Guard” insurance for gun owners that use a firearm in self-defense but face civil or criminal liability expenses. Both companies dropped the NRA.
His behavior during the pandemic should provide even more data. As governor, Cuomo has taken a very heavy-handed approach to lockdowns and restrictions. Unless you are rioting and looting for racial justice, Governor Cuomo has no problem interfering with every one of your First-Amendment rights. He has limited freedom of association, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech in his pursuit of power. Cuomo even detailed what you must order to eat if you want to sit down outside with friends and have an adult beverage.
The most stunning example of his willingness to trample all over your guaranteed freedoms came last week. In a presser, Cuomo said:
Religious institutions have been a problem. We know mass gatherings are the superspreader event. We know there have been mass gatherings going on in concert with religious institutions in these communities for weeks. I understand it’s difficult, but I want a person monitoring the attendance in a temple, in a black church, in a Catholic church, and if the rules are violated then action has to be taken. I am going to say to the Orthodox community tomorrow, if you don’t agree then we will have to close down your religious institutions.
Mind you, Cuomo never said anything like this about mass violent protests by Black Lives Matter and other radical groups this summer. However, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Cuomo directed state and local police to break up Sukkot celebrations in the Orthodox Jewish community following the new lockdowns targeting these neighborhoods:
HAPPENING NOW: New York City police officers forcefully dispersing Jews who gathered outside to celebrate the Sukkot holiday. pic.twitter.com/r7hYwJZKVT
— SV News 🚨 (@SVNewsAlerts) October 6, 2020
Now imagine Andrew Cuomo as attorney general of the United States with an expanded Supreme Court filled by a Biden administration. The damage to fundamental freedoms would be immense, and the power of the Executive and Judicial branches would be trained on Democrats’ political opposition. People of faith, pro-life organizations, and gun owners may very well begin to feel that there is no place for them in this country, not just in New York state.