There is widespread support for Cuomo among African-Americans. The Progressives also happen to be very very white, and they are working very hard to alienating the black base of the Democratic Party. Look where Nixon beat Cuomo: It's the richest, whitest neighborhoods, which is the exact demographic that the NY Times loves.
We need to expand the Democratic base, not alienate it. We need to build a progressive force that expands outside of the Upper West Side and Park Slope. This demonizing of Cuomo is the greatest gift that Trump could have.
Let's keep the eye on the prize and work with all Democrats for govern effectively. The IDC is dead. Let's move on to helping people, which means helping poor people. The Progressives have forgotten that.
4
Would she be willing to confront females in power if they were out of bounds? It is assumed that only men have political or other power!!
6
Wow...Stewart-Cousins looks like a winner! Lucky New York~!
6
Great article, congratulation to Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins on breaking the glass ceiling and thank you for mentioning my publication and radio show in the article Blackwestchester.com
6
I’ve watched Sen. Stewart-Cousins’ rise since she first became involved in local government affairs in Yonkers. I voted for her before I moved ‘upstate’ to Albany, and am pleased to see her taking her seat at the table and bringing her talents and influence to bear. Aside from issues of gender, ethnicity, and political affiliation, she has leadership and listening skills that are sorely needed in this increasingly fraught and divisive period of the American experience and history. Other political figures could benefit by taking a page from her book.
11
I imagine Sen.Andrea Stewart-Cousins is reading this thread avidly, so she can obediently follow the advice of all the white commenters warning her to avoid identiy politics.
Like zombies, the mole people never die.
5
@camorrista
The unvarnished truth is as we get further into this century, as demographics change all politics will involve identity. This has been noted in plenty of articles including a recent Vox piece:
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/7/30/17505406/trump-obama-race-politics-immigration
The only question now is how volatile these changes will affect this country.
4
I look forward to the day when a black woman (or any other minority) elected to the upper echlon of political power is no longer newsworthy because it will be commonplace.
19
You go, girl! Just an expression, she is assuredly all woman.
12
Meet your next governor New York! Andrea Stewart Cousins!
16
“...the first woman, and the first African-American woman,....” Think that could have been better written?Clearly, if there had been an African-American woman previously, she wouldn’t be the first woman. You should do better than to make an important point via an illogical “weak interruption.”
7
So tired of the identity politics. I don't care where you're from, what color you are, what personal God you believe in (if any or not at all) - the only question is, can you get the job done? If you can, great. If not, I don't give a hoot if you're the first X to blah blah blah.
Do your job and deliver results. That's all that matters.
14
Mike, as long as women and people of color are subjected to explicit or implicit discrimination, identity issues will remain. And that will take a long time (if ever) to disappear. Those who criticize “identity politics” are usually white. It’s easy, for especially white males, to claim we should be color and gender blind. They’ve never felt the effects of discrimination.
Why do women still get paid less? Why are black men incarcerated longer that whites for the same crime? Why are black school kids held in detention more often than their white counterparts for the same infraction? Most often, it’s unconscious bias. Even harder to tackle than the overt kind.
39
@Jane thank you Jane.
10
@Jane Thanks for making assumptions about me, my race, my skin color, my experiences, and my history. Only liberals can make a lack of bias a bias in and of itself. And how? By judging others based on skin color and gender. The hypocrisy is truly something to behold.
Also, thanks for completely changing the subject. Regarding your tangent: You don't want people to be treated equally. You are biased against white males. What makes your bias any better than someone else's bias?
Now, back to the subject at hand. If she can do the job, great! I'm all for her. If not, she needs to be replaced. I don't care if the person replacing her is male, female, white, brown, black, Asian, gay, straight, or other. They can be any combination of the above. All I care about is: can you do the job? That is called being unbiased.
5
The Senator has to be careful here. Congrats to her but continue to learn from Obama, rule as an American and not as a black women.
Obama ran and ruled as an American and not a black man, he served two terms.
Hillary ran as an identity obsessed female and not as an American and was cast onto the dust heap of history.
15
@Paul
Rule as a New Yorker (the state)
7
@Paul She is ruling as a New Yorker. It was the Governor that assumed (based on identity) that she only identifies with the "urban" voter. She corrected him (he deserved it) and will support all of New York State.
20
@Concerned Citizen - Thank you for your reply. I am not familiar with this state senator but am familiar with history. The trouble with black candidates in the past was that they ran on black identity obsessed issues and not as Americans and lost. Obama changed that with his brilliant campaign and was elected twice.
Hillary made the same mistake re identity obsession with women and lost. Warren and a few others are doing the same thing.
American hate identity obsessed politics unless they are extreme like extreme right wingers, or extreme blacks, or extreme feminist women.
4
Looking forward! Sounds like there's finally a real grown up in the room.
16
In Brooklyn, the Democratic primary was about the rich neighborhoods fighting the poor. Corporate publications like the NY Times portray this as a victory of the Progressives, when in fact it was a victory of the rich over the poor. It's time to deepen the conversation that this class division is purely good for progressives.
7
Poor reporting here. Entirely missing the point about the IDC loses in the September primary. Six of eight IDC incumbents got thrown out by the voters, including the very well funded leader (Klein). The two surviving IDC members had very poorly funded challengers. The message could not have been more clear. Voters overwhelmingly rejected the fake Democrats Cuomo was supporting. Yet all Vivian Wang reports is "The I.D.C. disbanded in April, and Democratic primary voters ousted many former members in September." Pretty oblivious!
24
@Philip Richman she also failed to mention that Stewart-Cousins endorsed the 8 IDC members.
4
Enough with the identity politics. NY Times. There is an opportunity here to actually DO SOMETHING.
Codify the right to choose
Legalize marijuana and use the tax to pay for infrastructure
Congestion pricing and use the tax to upgrade the subway
and finally legalize early voting and do away with the ridiculous lines and archaic ledger system from 1800
17
I look forward to the day when a person's race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religion is no longer news. This is a great advancement for all people.
17
So unlike Cuomo she has ideas.
32
Good Job and Congratulations to NY State Senator Stewart-Cousins!
Now Socially Conscious NY lawmakers can rein in Governor Cuomo. Should be interesting times.
30
A good start to the New Year snd to Democratic leadership.
11
New Yorkers sit back and watch as Albany goes further and further left. And Stewart Cousins is chomping at the bit to be the leader of the pack of Democrats who are now in full control. If you think your state and local taxes are high (and in Westchester they are second only to Democrat run California), then you ain't seen nothing yet. It costs a lot to do what Stewart cousins and Ocascio Cortez are planning. A whole lot. And your wallet will be the source of that money.
4
Ms Stewart Cousins, will push, push, push, and step by step she and her agenda move forward.
She HAD to stand up to Cuomo to make it clear that, having achieved this position of leadership, she isn't going to be a voiceless partner in that room where the decisions are made. It's not longer 3 guys cutting deals; and she's perhaps more politically astute than the Gov.
27
I hope that she brings back the Moreland Commission and finally cleans up Albany.
22
@Nathan, The Moreland commission was a bad idea from the start. Anticorruption efforts need to be rooted in the DAs and AGs offices and start in precincts. A commission is toothless to prosecute. After Moreland was disbanded that is what happened to Silver and Skelos.
The best reform would be to move the meeting place of the legislature to NYC where it is much harder to hide stuff and at least half of members would be living at home while doing their legislative work. The administrative offices could stay in the dual capital of Albany.
7
ASC is a great leader. I only wish she had not accepted the Governor's IDC reunification deal last April. That was a real slap in the face to activists already working hard on primaries against the IDC. She should have supported those primaries. Instead IDC members were listing her as an endorsement.
But what's past is past.
7
I am so proud to be represented by Andrea Stewart-Cousins, whom I have had the honor of meeting on several occasions (she really gets out). She makes me hopeful for our state.
30