New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who once said conservatives are not welcome in his state, said this week that it is time for the nation’s leaders to work harder to heal this country’s political divisions.
The governor’s remarks came amid a tour Friday morning of the cable news circuit as he addressed the recent spate of explosive devices mailed this week to Democratic officials.
"If we don't stop this political mania, this fervor, rancor, hatred, you'll see this again and again and again,” he said Friday on MSNBC. “We have to get to the genesis. And the genesis is an overheated, vitriolic political division in this country. And it starts with the leaders."
Earlier, Cuomo said on CNN that "[w]e need a new political sensitivity that says there are boundaries and they are culturally driven and culturally imposed," adding, "There's too much emphasis on, 'We want the President to stop,' etc. It has to also be the American people. We need both."
"We need a new political sensitivity that says there are boundaries and they are culturally driven and culturally imposed," says NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo: "There's too much emphasis on, 'We want the President to stop,' etc. It has to also be the American people. We need both." pic.twitter.com/JLNKZL4HmH
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) October 26, 2018
What a great thought. Anyway, for no reason at all, here’s a flashback to 2014, when Cuomo had this to say about those with whom he disagrees politically:
“The Republican Party candidates are running against the [New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act] – it was voted for by moderate Republicans who run the Senate! Their problem is not me and the Democrats; their problem is themselves. Who are they?” he asked during an interview with Susan Arbetter on “The Capitol Pressroom.”
He added, “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.”
Currently, Cuomo is trying to dismember the National Rifle Association by intimidating banks and insurers from doing business with the popular gun rights membership organization.
On Friday, Cuomo's calls for civility and healing made no mention of contributions he has made to the current low state of our national political discourse.