Unsure about how democracy works, Cuomo says that he will let "campaigns" decide if there will be debates
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Besieged by a federal investigation into the Cuomo administration's obstruction of the Moreland Commission, Gov. Cuomo is trying to avoid debate scrutiny of his ethical and legal lapses With less than three weeks to go before the Democratic Party's primary election to decide the gubernatorial candidate for the November general election, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) is refusing to commit to a debate with his Democratic Party challengers. Moreover, he has refused to commit to any debates with the Republican Party and Green Party candidates, as well. Earlier today, Gov. Cuomo was pressed to agree to a debate with his political rivals, but he refused, saying, "I’d leave that to the campaigns to work out, whatever they decide," suggesting that he doesn't believe that debates are an important platform to educate voters about candidates and their policy platforms. For weeks, Gov. Cuomo has been avoiding calls by his opponents, the Fordham Law School professor Zephyr Teachout, activist Randy Credico, Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins, and Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino for debates. In 2010, when Mr. Cuomo was running for the governorship, he participated in a debate with his Republican opponent Carl Paladino and with the major third-party candidates, including Mr. Hawkins and the "Rent is Too Damn High" party candidate, Jimmy McMillan, amongst others. This year, however, it remains unknown why Gov. Cuomo is so afraid of debating the other candidates, except that Gov. Cuomo is presently under federal investigation for possibly obstructing the administration of the corruption-fighting Moreland Commission. |
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