Andrew Cuomo, Democratic candidate for New York Governor Vows Offensive Against Labor Unions

[Better Believe It]

Cuomo Vows Offensive Against Labor Unions
By Nicholas Confessore
October 24, 2010

Andrew M. Cuomo will mount a presidential-style permanent political campaign to counter the well-financed labor unions he believes have bullied previous governors and lawmakers into making bad decisions. He will seek to transform the state’s weak business lobby into a more formidable ally, believing that corporate leaders in New York have virtually surrendered the field to big labor.

In the 90-minute discussion, Mr. Cuomo for the first time laid out his strategy to isolate, destabilize, and ultimately defeat the tangle of entrenched interests (that would be labor unions BBI) that has left state government bankrupt, infamously dysfunctional, and mired in scandal. He would not submit to the fate, Mr. Cuomo said, that met the Democrats Eliot Spitzer and David A. Paterson after they took office as governor.

“We’ve seen the same play run for 10 years,” Mr. Cuomo said. “The governor announces the budget, unions come together, put $10 million in a bank account, run television ads against the governor. The governor’s popularity drops; the governor’s knees weaken; the governor falls to one knee, collapses, makes a deal.”

And Mr. Cuomo, who has never lagged behind in polls, made clear that he has planned his campaign for governor less around beating Carl P. Paladino, his struggling Republican opponent, than around the battles that will come after the election.

Read the full article at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/25/nyregion/25cuomo.html?_r=2&ref=us&pagewanted=all

That's the ticket!

Build up the Wall Street and big business lobby and "isolate, destabilize, and untimately defeat" labor unions in New York state. BBI

[nyc 4 Biden]

1. when i read this article I felt like...

:puke: and :banghead:

[OHdem10]

2. Wall Street must be breathing down his neck. Even so,

he is going to win--no competition. He could keep his mouth
shut.

[Better Believe It]

4. Or he's being honest and saying what he really thinks and plans to do!

[me b zola]

3. Labor Party

We need one.

[madrchsod]

5. card check please...ya right.

[Scruffy1]

15. yeah we got screwed on that too

[JoseGaspar]

6. He has to say that. It's politics.

He's not really going to expand the war in Afghanistan.
(What? Different guy? Really? OK...)

He's in a tough race. He's behind. Its just pragmatic.
(He's not behind? Forty points! No shit? OK, OK...)

Ignore what he says or does. Focus on what he "believes". He is a true progressive.

Ask Jonathan Alter.

[Smarmie Doofus]

12. Now you're scaring me. nt

[Better Believe It]

13. To get votes he has to sound like a right-wing worker bashing Wall Street political whore. Right.

[JoseGaspar]

14. Let's consider this for a minute...

He either believes it or he is intentionally lying.

Which is worse?

And, how did we get sucked up in this shit?

In a normal world, a normal person would tell Mr. Cuomo to go fuck himself in the normal way.

How did he come to be "better"?

[CLANG]

27. Extremism in the Defense of Liberty Is No Vice

:sarcasm:

[Smarmie Doofus]

7. Right. That's the problem. The wealthy don't have enough...

... power and influence and working people and their %#$#!@@@ unions have too much.

I can't remember: did the NYS Party even let us have a primary this year?

What a system.

[countrydad58]

33. Workers Party

I don't know why the workers party endorsed this asshat,after he spurned thier endorsement.

[EC]

8. Oh for crying out loud

read...the reporter is telling you what to think and you're doing it...in the direct quotes from Cuomo he's not saying any such thing...in fact it sounds as though he is working WITH the unions now...



On edit: He grew up in a very liberal, pro-union family...I'll believe my gut about his ability to work with the unions over this reporter.

[Smarmie Doofus]

DELETE DUPE

[Smarmie Doofus]

9. NYSUT voted a non-endorsement.

They endorsed for ATTY GEN and Comptroller.

Does it not know what it's doing?

Is it interested in needlessly antagonizing a sure-fire, slam dunk , pro-union DEM governor?

[Better Believe It]

11. Right. He's a strong supporter of labor unions, medical pot and will take on Wall Street

Thanks for the clarification!

[Radical Activist]

17. Did you believe the NYT when they sold you the Iraq War?

Why are you so easily fooled and manipulated by them now?

There are no quotes in the article that support the headline. In fact, it only mentions his interest in "teaming up" with unions. It's a shamefully deceptive headline. You should learn to read more carefully so that you aren't so easily fooled in the future.

[Better Believe It]

24. I didn't buy it. How many Democratic Party Senators bought it and still fund those wars?

Nothing like a little bi-partisanship to fund unending wars.

A trillion here, a trillion there and tens of thousands of young men and women soldiers and hundreds of thousands of civilians wounded and dead.

No problem.

[Radical Activist]

29. "Quick! Someone made a point! Time to change the subject!"

Just like the talk radio bots do.

[Radical Activist]

16. The headline is grossly misleading.

The story paints an entirely different picture.

In recent weeks, he has sent labor leaders copies of “The Man Who Saved New York,” a new biography of former Gov. Hugh L. Carey that recounts how the Democrat teamed up with labor leaders to rescue New York’s finances in the 1970s. And despite his own reputation for toughness, Mr. Cuomo said he believed state lawmakers would respond to a softer touch and subtler approach to governing.

"Teamed up with labor leaders" was morphed into an "offensive" against unions. There's no quote in the article that supports the headline. Whoever wrote it should be ashamed. This is a disgusting trick by the NYT. It's low even for them.

[Better Believe It]

22. The banks "rescued" New York in 1975 on the backs of working people and you applaud that!

You seem to be totally unaware of the difficult times working people, union members and the poor of New York had to endure because of Governor Carey, the Mayor of New York and Wall Street.

That was when the big banks demanded and won huge wage and benefits cuts by public employees and massive cuts in social programs that benefited the working class of New York City.

And you applaud that attack as something positive only because of political ignorance of that history on your part!

Read and learn the truth.

Here's just a few hard facts to enlighten you.

Beginning in 1975, a fiscal and political crisis left New York City without the resources to pay its operating expenses or the ability to borrow money from public credit markets, banks, or the federal government. This fiscal crisis was rooted in global economic changes (a worldwide recession and oil shortages); federal, state, and city fiscal and tax policies that failed to generate the resources needed to support growing demands for services; and demographic and political changes in New York City that left the city with less wealth and more need. The precipitating event was a decision by NYC bankers to stop lending money to the city, a move that could have caused the city to default on its outstanding loans and declare bankruptcy. The mayor then turned to the federal government for help but was turned down, in part because many in Washing-ton viewed New York City as a profligate spender that coddled its poor. In urging President Ford to reject Mayor Beame’s request for financial assistance, Treasury Secretary William Simon stressed the political dimensions of his recommendation. Any assistance, he said, should be on terms “so punitive, the overall experience made so painful, that no city, no political subdivision would ever be tempted to go down the same road.

To avert bankruptcy and restore stability, city and state officials appointed a group of businessmen, bankers, and city officials to serve as an Emergency Financial Control Board (EFCB). The primary goal of the EFCB was to balance New York City’s budget so that the city could again borrow money from public credit markets. To achieve this goal, the EFCB mandated cuts in city services and reductions in the city workforce, the transfer of some municipal responsibilities to state government, and tax increases. In 1975, the city’s budget was about $13 billion. The EFCB asked the city to cut $200 million in spending, approximately 6% of its operating expenses, each year for 3 years. However, because of federal and state mandates for entitlement programs, debt services, and other fixed costs, the city had control over and could make cuts from only about a quarter of its budget. As a result, sectors dependent on discretionary tax levy funds experienced reductions much larger than 6%.

Agencies with health responsibilities were particularly hard hit. Between 1974 and 1977, the Department of Health (DOH) budget was cut by 20%, and by 1977 the department had lost 1700 staff members—28% of its 1974 workforce. To achieve these reductions, the department closed 7 of 20 district health centers, cut $1 million from its methadone program, terminated the employment of 14 of 19 health educators, and closed 20 of 75 child health stations and 6 of 14 chest clinics (the units responsible for TB screening and diagnosis).

At the Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), the agency that operates municipal hospitals, the city payroll was cut by 17% between 1975 and 1978. Between 1975 and 1980, the number of beds in HHC facilities fell by 16% and the number of days of care provided dropped by 23%.14 In 1975, HHC closed all 50 of its community-based clinics to help meet a mandated budget cut.15 In the following years, the EFCB and the mayor’s budget office gained increased control over the public hospital’s operations and fired the hospital director who spoke out against budget cuts. Between 1975 and 1985, the proportion of the HHC budget covered by the city decreased from 40% to 27%.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1470515/

Funny, isn't it? The "deficit busters" of 1975 who "fixed" New York City sound an awful lot like the Wall Street fat cats of 2010 who want to balance the budget once again on the backs of working people and the poor.

The governor "teamed up with labor leaders to rescue New York’s finances in the 1970s."??!! No, the politicians teamed up with Wall Street to put the screws on unionized workers and some union officials lacking a backbone surrendered to the bankers and their political whores without an all-out fight.

So please don't try to pretty up something you are totally unfamiliar with.
BBI

[Radical Activist]

28. This would be the time for you to apologize for posting a misleading headline

instead of deflecting from that fact. That's what someone with intellectual integrity would do. It would appear that you're more interested in believing and promoting anything that attacks a Democrat.

[Better Believe It]

10. Andrew Cuomo against legalizing medical marijuana in New York

I won't let New York go to pot: Governor hopeful Andrew Cuomo says he is against medical marijuana
BY Lore Croghan and Glenn Blain
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
October 25, 2010

Democrat Andrew Cuomo is not a fan of medical marijuana.

Heading into the final week of his campaign for governor, Cuomo told reporters on Sunday that he does not want to see New York follow California's example and legalize pot for medical purposes.

"The dangers of medical marijuana outweigh the benefits," said Cuomo, who has admitted using marijuana in his youth. "I don't think the bill passes."

Told that pot's legalization could generate revenues for the state, he said, "A lot of things could raise revenues. Legalizing prostitution could raise revenues. I'm against that, too."

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/10/25/2010-10-25_medical_marijuana_vote_is_another_of_crazy_carls_extreme_measures___i_wont_let_s.html

[Radical Activist]

18. Why are you campaigning against Cuomo?

I don't care much about this race, but I'd like to know why you're so eager to believe a false headline and spread negative stories about him.

[Better Believe It]

23. I believe Cuomo when he says he won't follow past practice and work with public employee unions.

"“The governor announces the budget, unions come together, put $10 million in a bank account, run television ads against the governor. The governor’s popularity drops; the governor’s knees weaken; the governor falls to one knee, collapses, makes a deal.”

He pledges not to do that after he wins election.

I believe him.

And those are his words, not yours.

[Radical Activist]

26. You're making some assumptions not stated in the article.

He pledged not to do the same as past Governors who fought the unions. You're making an assumption, based on nothing contained in the article, that it means he'll fight the unions. But the article suggests he plans to "team up with" unions.

Therefore, the logical conclusion is that he plans to work with unions on the budget rather than fight against them. The article itself does not support the false headline or your imaginative speculation.

[JI7]

25. not just about Cuomo , there is a pattern

[Radical Activist]

30. Yeah. At some point

you have to make a distinction between those who have disagreements about issues and those who are actively campaigning against Democrats at all times.

[Radical Activist]

19. And the award for most misleading headline of the week goes to...

It seems like this is happening more often. Papers use provocative headlines that aren't in any way supported by the article. Is it more common lately or am I just noticing it more?

[HughMoran]

20. Here's a novel idea - let's only post hit pieces against Democrats

Yeah, that's the ticket.

[Nite Owl]

21. There is no mistaking

Andrew for his dad, Mario.
I don't trust son Andrew at all. He will win by a comfortable margin so no harm in voting for one on the other parties this time. If he actually turns out to do some good I can vote for him next time. Never met him personally.

[Better Believe It]

31. More clear signs of his anti-labor intentions.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9401476

[Better Believe It]

32. More Evidence: "Andrew Cuomo Puts Labor In A Headlock"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9404684