24 April 2021: Stewart-Cousins' Ethical Own Goal Exploited by Governor Cuomo

Stewart-Cousins again calls for Cuomo’s head as he accuses her of playing politics

Perhaps realizing she undermined her call for Governor Cuomo's resignation by choosing to appear with him at a staged public event, New York Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins tried to walk back her own goal:

State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, despite standing with Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier this week, was prodded to reiterate her call for his resignation Friday when the governor accused her of playing politics.

Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester) stood next to Cuomo and thanked him repeatedly on Wednesday at a vaccine-related event in her district, which drew sharp criticism of the top Democrat as she had previously led the charge in calling for him to step down amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment, including from several former staffers.

Cuomo exploited Stewart-Cousins' weak display of her claimed principles in a response to a reporter's question at a staged media event on Friday, 23 April 2021:

“You appeared with the Senate Majority Leader for the first time this week since she called for your resignation … how that has impacted your working relationship and how you interact with other officials who also call for you to step down?” asked Kate Lisa, a statehouse reporter for the Johnson News Corp, via Zoom, as members of the press have been barred from attending Cuomo’s latest briefings in person.

“Yeah, it hasn’t. You know, people take political positions every day,” the governor said.

“We often have different political positions, I understand that. But we separate political positions, and our official duty. Right?

To translate, he's saying Cousins-Stewart doesn't really believe he should resign. For her part, Cousins-Stewart words and actions since the event suggest she does not take the allegations of sexual harassment that are the reason she called for his resignation seriously.