This is what the honest and fearless do
Kaieteur News – The news from New York is over, with the media having a field day. The state’s Democratic Governor, Andrew Cuomo, is on the ropes and pumped from all sides, and from the sound of things, there are no longer allies or neutrals in his corner. From all indications, he cuts an increasingly isolated figure left to take care of himself and dig himself out of the hole he created all on his own. Things are so ridiculously bad, so politically inconceivable, that some of the more influential members of his own party either exert pressure on him or leave him altogether.
His folly and failures can be summed up in two words: sexual harassment. As exposures increase, and numbers increase, it may still be better to label it a (alleged) serial sexual predator. In the world we live in today, and the corporate and political worlds, any such accusation amounts to a kiss of death. He bids farewell to a career, and is as far as those one-time aspirations for national leadership go all the way to the White House. This was the case not too long ago for Mr. Cuomo, when he was widely discussed among the most prominent front-runners for the 2024 presidential contest.
In just a few short weeks, a total of seven women (so far) have filed allegations of sexual harassment and humiliation in the workplace by the New York governor. These are women who sound credible, with Mr. Cuomo offering lamer and lamer defenses by the hour. His multiple incidences of misbehavior are so unpredictable, and his positions so weak that even his own head is heading for the exits, and on every layer. In this is an example and lesson for Guyanese political figures, especially the older ones from both sides of the divide. The first lesson is knowing when to tell when; as too far, too much, and too inconceivable. Or to put it another way, a more sharp and elaborate way: the door, go, go out, and don’t look back. The problem is that the level of leadership is rarely, if ever, shown here.
To be sure, the political sex culture here is a little more toned and innocent; tolerable would be the word for what is an open secret. It is considered part of the friendship and the give and take of getting closer to the top or, at the very least, to achieve your way and your dream. Women do not dare to protest, because then they could also aim for the turn gates and the quick trip down to oblivion. Therefore, he commits himself to conquer, and keep everything in the family and under wraps. It is: no opposition to developments, no rejection of visions.
But this is not what is at work in the United States in the turbulent and annoying ranks of the Democratic Party. Instead of the party sunbathing its recapture in the White House, and stifling the aftermath of its narrow congressional victory in the American Rescue Plan, she has to deal with Mr Cuomo’s alleged sexual peccadilloes balloon falls. It now seems like it’s only a matter of time before that ‘alleged’ qualifier has disappeared. And that’s exactly where some of his more muscular and politically astute friends are, as in the past. They are rushing to throw their next presidential flag carrier over the top.
First, there were the more assertive members of the New York delegation in the US House of Representatives. Names like “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jerry Nadler, and other members” called on Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign “(Bloomberg March 12). The word from that same comment from Bloomberg from late last week was that “at least nine Democratic House members from New York” were “urging Cuomo to resign.” The tide has transformed into a tsunami, with Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand adding their voices to the chorus demanding that Cuomo, yet defiant, defiant, do the right thing, the only thing on back, which is to leave. It’s a sign of how things have deteriorated, because the two senators were first calling for an independent inquiry, but both have now thrown in the towel in abominations, with what is politically astute, and of what is politically contemptible (New York Times, March 12).
As we consider this, it conveys how real-world functions, the standards it now maintains, are forced to maintain, due to environmental pressures. When compared to how our leaders protect step fellows, and look the other way when party fraudsters are exposed for obvious wrongdoing, it tells us how far we are behind, and how much will be do, to protect those who violate the trust. of citizens, and those who abuse their powerful offices for personal gain. We are good at saying all the right things, but we better stop on the spot and do nothing at all. Fellows who fail are protected; wretched citizens are alone. When honest and fearless leadership is needed to make right wrongs, they are willing to add to wrongdoing.