In filling out questionnaire of Stonewall Democrats, Cuomo caught making stuff up to hide his cozy relationship with IDC-GOP coalition

NEW YORK, NY – The Governor was exposed today for lying on his questionnaire to the Stonewall Dems, an LGBTQ Democratic club whose endorsement he seeks. When asked if he’d ever endorsed a member of the IDC (the group of elected Democrats who voted to give control of the senate to the Republicans), the Governor answered “no.” The only problem is he endorsed the head of the IDC, Jeff Klein, in 2014. Cuomo was also a major part of the IDC-GOP coalition’s very existence. (Oops.)

“Given the fact that so many progressive organizations and leaders are now flocking to support Cynthia Nixon, it’s understandable that Andrew Cuomo is trying a new strategy when it comes to trying to win endorsements,” Cynthia spokeswoman Lauren Hitt said today. “Unfortunately for the governor, lying to groups in order to win their support is not a generally accepted practice… outside of Cuomo’s Albany cesspool, anyway.”

On the questionnaire for Stonewall Democrats, the question reads:
Have you or would you in the future, endorse or financially support any member of the NYS Senate Independent Democratic Caucus (IDC) or any candidate affiliated with the IDC? 

Cuomo responded: No. 

In truth, Cuomo endorsed Klein in 2014, and was a key part of the IDC’s coalition with the Republicans.

 

BACKGROUND ON CUOMO & THE IDC-GOP COALITION

Cuomo Has Routinely Worked to Empower Republicans in New York, While Actively Assailing Democrats

Cuomo Supported A Republican State Senate
Cuomo “Actively Encouraged” A Group of Democratic State Senators To Caucus With Republicans to Give Them the Majority. Cuomo was “deeply involved” in the formation of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), a group that formed “almost precisely” at the beginning of his first term, and has caucused with Republicans since 2012, preventing Democrats from controlling the chamber in spite of their numerical majority. [Politico, 9/2/14; New York Times, 8/9/17; New York Times, 11/15/17; Politico, 12/2/16]

Cuomo Refused To Call Two Special Elections, Allowing “GOP [To Keep] Control In NY Budget Talks.” Democrats “urged Cuomo to quickly call the elections to give their party a chance at regaining control of the Legislature’s upper chamber before the state decides on a spending plan that will exceed $160 billion.” Cuomo refused those calls, which meant “Republicans will maintain control of the Senate during state budget negotiations… If Democrats take both open seats, there would be a numerical majority of elected Democrats in the chamber.” [Democrat & Chronicle, 1/22/18]

Cuomo Led “Backroom Deal” to “Bolster Power” of the GOP Senate Majority By Approving Its Partisan Redistricting Maps. In what observers called a “total cave,” a “huge flip” and and a “horrible process,” Cuomo made a deal to approve election lines drawn by the Republican senate majority that “government watchdog groups say are gerrymandered to protect incumbents and that some minorities say are unfair to black and Latino New Yorkers.” [New York Times, 3/15/12; Associated Press, 3/15/12]

The GOP-Controlled Senate Has “Prevented [Cuomo] From Facing The Politically Precarious Choice Of Vetoing Or Signing More Liberal Legislation”[New York Times, 8/9/17]

• The Republican-IDC Senate Prevented The DREAM Act From Passing On Several Occasions. In 2017, Assembly Democrats passed the Dream Act “for the sixth year in a row. But it has stalled in the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans in a coalition with the Independent Democratic Conference.” [Daily News, 4/10/17; New York Times, 3/24/14; Politico, 4/15/17]

• The IDC Has Blocked The Passage Of Abortion Protections. The president of Naral Pro-Choice New York stated, “The IDC has failed to use its power to move progressive legislation” and faulted the coalition for not pushing to pass the Women’s Equality Act, which would have codified federal abortion protections into state law. [New York Times, 3/24/14]

 

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