Snookered

It is beginning to look like AG Cuomo is out to thoroughly marginalize the WFP-a prospect that does warm us. As the NY Times reports: "Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo is pressuring the embattled Working Families Party to install placeholder candidates for governor and attorney general at the party’s convention on Saturday, according to three people who were briefed on Mr. Cuomo’s actions. The move would allow Mr. Cuomo to wait until after the primary election in September before deciding whether to accept the nomination for governor of the Working Families Party, a staunchly left-leaning coalition of labor unions and progressive groups that usually backs Democratic candidates and is under scrutiny by federal prosecutors."

Now, as the Times points out, there isn't any ironclad guarantee that Cuomo will even accept the WFP nod at a later date: "But Mr. Cuomo also made no promise that he would accept the party’s endorsement even if Working Families officials chose to accommodate him this weekend. “They’re scared to death,” said one person briefed on the meeting, who asked for anonymity for fear of antagonizing Mr. Cuomo. “But they have no guarantees either way.”

All of this water torture is, in our view, a good thing-because it marginalizes a political party whose beliefs are not only bad for the state; but are antithetical to Cuomo's moderate campaign direction: "Business groups and right-leaning editorial pages have mounted a sustained assault on the party, including urging Mr. Cuomo, who has positioned himself as a reformer, to forswear an alliance with Working Families."

But for its part, the WFP knows just what's gong on-but we believe is powerless to stop the Cuomo snooker: "As a result, Mr. Cuomo’s demands have set off a furious debate within the party coalition, which includes labor powerhouses like S.E.I.U. 1199, the powerful health care workers union, and the United Federation of Teachers, which represents New York City teachers. Some of the party’s constituents believe Mr. Cuomo is intent on emasculating their coalition before he arrives in Albany, viewing it as a potential threat to his authority if he becomes governor. “I don’t trust him,” said one top party official, who requested anonymity to speak about the party’s internal discussions. “I think we need to discuss it and come up with a solution that works for our voters and for the party..."

Well, good luck with that. The mood of the electorate is becoming more ant-government, and the statist WFP with all of its public employee base, is simply out of step with the voters-and Cuomo knows it, and wants no part of the association. With Lazio on Cuomo's right flank, the Democratic Party left is left with no place to go as Andrew glides to his starboard side. This is a welcome development indeed.