Point Me To The High Road

 Well, gee. How the mighty are fallen. It was not so very long ago that everyone wished they had Andrew Cuomo for their governor. His early pandemic fireside chats and powerpoints presentations were the standard for many who felt that he was the sort of leader that we could all hold up as an example. 

Tuesday morning, Andrew Cuomo resigned from his office as Governor of New York. He was not asked to leave because of his handling of coronavirus in his state, even though there seemed to be a number of questions raised on that point, specifically about the underreporting of deaths from COVID-19 in New York nursing homes. Instead, calls for his resignation came at the end of a long road of allegations of sexual harassment. Enough allegations, in fact, that they have their own Wikipedia page. 

Anybody remember Al Franken? He was a writer for Saturday Night Live back in its inception. That translated into a few shots in front of the camera, and eventually a seat in the United States Senate. Very popular junior Senator from the state of Minnesota. He resigned three weeks after accusations of sexual harassment were levied against him. There wasn't a lot of denial. There wasn't a lot of justification. Just off the political map and into a studio where his voice can be heard on satellite radio. Contrasting mightily to the experience of one Harvey "Not A Giant Rabbit" Weinstein, whose harassment, abuse and rape allegations took  years and a divorce and a national reckoning to deal with all the fallout. 

And all the men whose alleged behavior was probably just the tip of an iceberg that dwelled in much darker waters, including a former "president" of the United States who distinguished themselves from caring sentient human beings. As with so many things we are discovering as we ramble on through history, many of the things that may have taken place because "that's the way things have always been" are not fair, safe, healthy, or in any way correct. Whether you are the Governor of a big state, a Senator from a slightly smaller one, or one of those sentient beings mentioned earlier. 

Patton Oswalt once suggested that sooner or later everyone we elect will do something to disappoint us. Witness the two hundred seventy-six million dollars being spent on the recall election of California's Governor, Gavin Newsom. A few years back, when he was the Lieutenant Governor, there were allegations made, but the current effort to oust Governor Gavin seems to be almost completely based along party lines. Political party lines, that is. It's pretty unlikely that he will resign to avoid the harsh realities of partisan bickering. 

But then again, a week ago, it looked like Andrew Cuomo was going to stay where he was. Things change.