Sunday School 3/14/21

It's a Sonofa Gov Sunday School today. 

All five of the main classrooms mentioned Andrew Cuomo at least once, and we'll see how much'll fit, starting with Chuck Todd and the panel on Meet the Press, 

• John Heilemann (NBC,) suggested we don't know "what else is out there," and that Cuomo's "following what is now seen as the Trump precedent:" be determined, be shameless, and hold on.
• Lanhee Chen (Hoover Institute) said "this shouldn't be a partisan issue," and eventually the Rs will have to admit that what Trump did and what Cuomo's doing "look very, very similar." All of this stems from having one party in power for a long time, which "creates a toxic environment ...that lacks accountability." 
• Maria Teresa Kumar (Voto Latino) said "Trump has basically moved the goalposts" of what's proper and what's not, and she thinks Cuomo won't step down unless the voters demand it, or unless something worse comes to light.
• Hallie Jackson (NBC) said it's "highly unlikely" that President Biden will address this on his own; she said there's "at least some talk" that Cuomo could lessen the heat "if he were to say he would not... run again in 2022," but even that won't make it go away.
• Chuck said "it was amazing to read today that he has no place to go. No place to live. He has no apartment. He has no house. He only has the governor's mansion."

In the State of the Union classroom, Jake Tapper talked with Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan; Cuomo succeeded him as head of the National Governors Association. Hogan said it's not his place to speak for New Yorkers, but "hopefully, we're going to get to the bottom of this, because it's pretty serious allegations and growing every day."

Stacey Abrams didn't want to enter the fray, other than to say she believes "that women should be heard, that any accusations of sexual misconduct should be investigated." 

Tapper had a lot to say, including that Cuomo is entitled to due process. Still, he said,

By now he has to know there is a chasm between how he perceives how he talks to women on his staff and how some of those women perceive it, as in some of them perceive it not only as inappropriate but as pressure to sleep with him...Only he knows what other names and incidents might come forward as he digs in. One wonders if that is even a remote consideration.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi talked with George in the This Week classroom. She said she's got confidence in AG Tish James, but that Cuomo's got to ask himself if he can be effective in leading our state - but she stopped short of saying he should resign. George also asked his panel about Cuomo. Here's a sampling of their comments.

• Former Rep. Donna Shalala doesn't think he can effectively lead, noting the "cumulative effect" with so many women coming forward, and "at the end of the day, it looks like he cannot and should not survive" as governor.
• Amanda Renteria, a Democratic operative, agreed with Shalala. "The days of where you can use your positional power to take advantage of folks who work for you is over."
• Former Gov. Chris Christie, who called for patience and letting Trump investigations play out, said he has to take the same position here, otherwise "we'd just be playing the same polarizing politics we've been playing in this country. If it's right for the Republicans, it's right for a Democrat, too."
• Former Texas Congressman Will Hurd disagreed with any suggestion that Cuomo's a victim of cancel culture. "This is an issue of a powerful individual creating a toxic culture that prevented women from being successful within their jobs." That's unacceptable, and it's why he needs to step down.

NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio, who has a contentious relationship with Cuomo, talked with Margaret Brennan in the Face the Nation classroom. He thinks Cuomo will try to hang on, saying that "he is used to getting his way..."

But I got to tell you, the folks in this state and the political leadership don't believe him anymore. He doesn't have any credibility. So I think an impeachment proceeding will begin, and I think he will be impeached and perhaps right before that he'll decide to resign. That's probably the most likely outcome right now... 

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said it's "very important" to take any allegations seriously, that the women "have credibility," and beyond that, as to the Governors Association, "it's within their bailiwick to deal with that issue."

And finally, here's what the folks had to say in the Fox News Sunday classroom, where Chris Wallace asked his panel about Cuomo. 

• Jonathan Swain, of Axios, said Cuomo "doesn't have a lot of friends, doesn't have a lot of ingrained loyalty and affection," and he's isolated now. He suggested that President Biden's silence "becomes more conspicuous" and may not be sustainable.
• Karl Rove, the Republican operative, said Cuomo "can sort of string this out," but the NY Delegation calling for his resignation on Friday after the majority of the state Dems did so on Thursday make that much harder. "I think he's toast," he added.
• Donna Brazile, former DNC chair, said Cuomo's "not going to listen to the music no matter how loud it plays" - rather, he'll try and tough it out. And, "he's not going to be able to govern effectively" for us in NY, when "we really need leadership at this moment."

I promise we'll get to some of the other topics - including what's happening at the border - in your Extra Credit. 

See you around campus - masks on, of course.