"Progressive Hero" Andrew Cuomo continues to basically govern like a Republican

[Lief 🗽]

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/01/nyregion/cuomo-will-seek-to-lift-drilling-ban.html?hp

[Keystone Phil]

Cuomo deserves as much criticism possible for doing something that makes sense.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

"Continues"?

Legalizing gay marriage isn't a very Republican thing to do, Lief.

[Cincinnatus]

"Continues"?

Legalizing gay marriage isn't a very Republican thing to do, Lief.

His fiscal approach is more Republican than everyone expected.  It's his social stances that remain progressive, as you mentioned.

[Paul Kemp]

Not that I know much about this issue but I have been very impressed with Cuomo's tenure so far. Pragmatic and gets things done. The best Governor New York has had for awhile.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

He's a more socially liberal version of Bill Clinton.

[JohnnyLongtorso]

Cuomo deserves as much criticism possible for doing something that makes sense.

Yeah, more people should have the opportunity to set their tap water on fire!

[Landslide Lyndon]

I don't think anybody called him a "Progressive Hero", even after the gay marriage passage.

[specific_name]

Cuomo has screwed his base over, gay marriage was supposed to distract us. I find that insulting really. Nothing can hide that he's chosen millionaires over public workers, he has the power to push back against this tide of villainization and he's done nothing. I seriously doubt anyone actually paying attention would call him a progressive.

[Napoleon]

"Continues"?

Legalizing gay marriage isn't a very Republican thing to do, Lief.

His fiscal approach is more Republican than everyone expected.  It's his social stances that remain progressive, as you mentioned.

His fiscal approach is as expected. It is his social stances that are more liberal than I'd expect out of Democrats.

[JohnnyLongtorso]

I don't think anybody called him a "Progressive Hero", even after the gay marriage passage.

After the bill passed, there were a bunch of posts among the liberal blogs anointing him as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for President in 2016.

[Landslide Lyndon]

I don't think anybody called him a "Progressive Hero", even after the gay marriage passage.

After the bill passed, there were a bunch of posts among the liberal blogs anointing him as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for President in 2016.

2016 frontrunner =/= progressive hero.

[Eraserhead]

Gross.

[Brittain33]

Energy is the first sign of economic hope for areas that never really recovered from the 1970s. Whether or not it's a bad idea for the people living there, they seem to want it and are a tiny share of the population of the state.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

...you could also argue that it's up to them to decide whether it's actually a bad idea for them or not.

[Brittain33]

...you could also argue that it's up to them to decide whether it's actually a bad idea for them or not.

Tell me more what you mean by this and how you think that should be carried out. I don't want to jump to the wrong conclusion about what you're saying.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

...you could also argue that it's up to them to decide whether it's actually a bad idea for them or not.

Tell me more what you mean by this and how you think that should be carried out. I don't want to jump to the wrong conclusion about what you're saying.

That you could argue that it is up to the people who actually live in the area to decide whether the expansion of this side of the energy industry would be a good idea for them, because, in the end, it's their patch. I don't know the specifics of this so I don't want to comment any further. Something vaguely comparable would be the fact that a lot of people on Anglesey support building a new nuclear power station on their island when Wylfa is decommissioned.

[Bull Moose Base]

I don't think anybody called him a "Progressive Hero", even after the gay marriage passage.

After the bill passed, there were a bunch of posts among the liberal blogs anointing him as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for President in 2016.

2016 frontrunner =/= progressive hero.

It's not as simple as that but Howard Dean was at one time the (surprise) frontrunner for 2004 and it owed in large part to his being a progressive hero.  Obama upset the frontrunner in large part also because he was viewed as a progressive hero.  The truth was (as people have found out about Obama) more complicated.  Even Dean was well-rated by the NRA and somewhat fiscally conservative but Obama and Dean were progressive heroes on the issue that most galvanized the base: the Iraq War.  Would the elevation of Cuomo for his gay civil rights victory similarly blind voters to other "heresies"?  I'm skeptical.  Civil rights for gays is a powerful user-friendly issue for many progressives but it's impossible to now predict which issues will be front and center come 2016.  I don't give it a great chance to avoid being eclipsed by other issues, in part because I think it somewhat likely in the next 4-5 years, that the Supreme Court prohibit gay marriage bans, or the Republicans might quietly accept demographic defeat and move on to other fights, or something else will come along and suck up everyone's passion, no pun intended.  One thing I think is somewhat likely to be a factor is Democrats (even ones who approve of Obama) voting to correct their frustrations with Obama.  Right now, it's that he doesn't use the bully pulpit enough or compromises too easily with Republicans.  If he's re-elected, it's overwhelmingly likely the GOP will continue to obstruct him and it really seems in Obama's constitution to seek compromise.  So I think, absent a Hillary run, the frontrunner or main challenger will likely be a progressive hero, if owing to style if not substance or even blatant reversals.  It's very possible the GOP will now nominate Romney now and cheer on his broadsides at Obama, ignoring his not all that conservative record, just as many Democrats became enamored of John Edwards populist style overlooking his not so liberal record.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

"Continues"?

Legalizing gay marriage isn't a very Republican thing to do, Lief.

His fiscal approach is more Republican than everyone expected.  It's his social stances that remain progressive, as you mentioned.

His fiscal approach is as expected. It is his social stances that are more liberal than I'd expect out of Democrats.

Indeed, his campaign rhetoric seemed to me to be much more fiscally conservative than the stereotypical Northeast Democrat - though energy exploration is only tangentially a fiscal issue.

[Tender Branson]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZe1AeH0Qz8

This lowers my impression of Cuomo by quite a bit ...

[Landslide Lyndon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZe1AeH0Qz8

This lowers my impression of Cuomo by quite a bit ...

I would say the same about Boren, if having an even lower opinion of him was actually possible.

[Dgov]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZe1AeH0Qz8

This lowers my impression of Cuomo by quite a bit ...

Dude, that movie's Hilariously inaccurate

http://www.energyindepth.org/2010/06/debunking-gasland/

(Yes this is an industry cite, but no, that doesn't make their facts any less true that Fox's)

Hell, The movie's signature image (tap water on fire) has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DUE WITH FRACKING.

http://cogcc.state.co.us/cogis/ComplaintReport.asp?doc_num=200190138

Methane is a naturally occurring gas, and due to the shear number of water wells that get drilled in these areas, the odds of accidentally drilling into a methane reservoir are unfortunately high.  On top of that, methane itself is not actually harmful--its an asphyxiate at high concentrations (much higher than this), but that water's still basically safe to drink.

[fezzyfestoon]

Gross.

My exact reaction.  Maybe its because of my recent withdrawal from politics, but I didn't see this coming at all.  One of my biggest issues is with hydraulic fracturing and I was hoping New York's ban would lead the way to a more realistic approach to this issue.

[Ban my account ffs!]

While there is a lot of uncertainty around "fracking" and studies have shown that it causes ground water pollution while others have shown that it hasn't (and that examples of people lighting their sink water on fire has actually been a problem in those places long before any gas exploration commenced), I think we should be damned sure before we allow fracking to continue on a wide scale.

[KEmperor]

In all honesty, if he continues to govern along these lines, I'll probably vote to re-elect him even though he's a Democrat.  Didn't really care for his gay marriage push, but it's not a dealbreaker for me.  I'm really liking his fiscal policies.