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Health & Fitness

NY Gov. Cuomo: Cast Out the Conservatives!

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has added his senseless two cents to the pretended GOP schism locking up Washington DC, then alluded to this conflict as the source of trouble in Albany, as well.

Let’s dissect Cuomo’s careless take on Washington politics first.

Democrats in the House of Representatives have begun peeling away from the stalwart leadership of ultra-liberal minority leader Nancy Pelosi. From California to Illinois, and swing districts in the Midwest, Democratic lawmakers are running from the ObamaCare train wreck, supporting measures to delay the individual mandate or opt in federal politicians along with the rest of the country.

Never mind the fact that US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid refused to discuss amending the Affordable Care Act, which has become more unaffordable with every day, as more horror stories of responsible, well-insured adults losing their health insurance because their current plans did not comply with ObamaCare's onerous mandates. Then there are those whose premiums have increased significantly, along with the growing cohort of medical professionals feeling their profession because of the red tape. Never mind DC Democrats insistence on ignoring Benghazi, IRS abuses toward conservative interest groups, as well as Operation Fast and Furious, NSA spying on American citizens, or the President's failed handling of foreign policy in the Middle East.

At any rate, Tea Party activists, conservatives on spending (including some well-known Dems who have chosen to retire rather than run into defeat this November) recognize the spending crisis in Washington, which must be stopped. With a $17 trillion debt menacing this nation’s future, the only extremists in Washington are those who support an insupportable spending spree: Democrats.

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Now, regarding the conservatives in New York, Gov. Cuomo's commented to The Capital Pressroom with the following invective:

 The Republican Party candidates are running against the SAFE Act — it was voted for by moderate Republicans who run the Senate!

What is the SAFE Act? The Secure Ammunitions and Firearms Enforcement Act, http://www.governor.ny.gov/nysafeact/gun-reformaccording to the state website, would heighten penalties for illegal gun purchases, as well as require universal background checks, an assault weapons ban, and mandatory life sentence for those who murder first-responders. Critics have charged that gun registries, limits on ammunition, and the assaults weapons ban are infringements on the Second Amendment. Besides, assault weapons bans do not curb gun violence, and gun registries suggest totalitarian maneuvers.

Their problem is not me and the Democrats; their problem is themselves. Who are they? Are they these extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay? Is that who they are? Because if that’s who they are and they’re the extreme conservatives, they have no place in the state of New York, because that’s not who New Yorkers are.

Taking another look at this offensive statement, Cuomo has declared that anyone who is pro-life, pro-gun, and against the gay rights movement should not live in New York State? Then he presumes to define who should live in New York. Another totalitarian undertone, Mister Governor?

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Let’s consider some polls about the New Yorkers’ opinions on those major issues. 41% of pregnancies in New York City end in abortion. Do such policies belong in New York? A strong majority of New Yorkers opposed Gov. Cuomo’s attempt to expand abortion access, and even favor more restrictions on the procedure. Regarding Cuomo’s SAFE Act, New York is no safer, according to USA Today, and the legislation may end up upending Cuomo’s power in Albany in 2014, especially among upstate New York voters. Regarding statewide opinion on gun control, 41% of respondents supported the gun laws, hardly a supermajority, with 30% of residents claiming that New York State went too far. Should those 30% leave the Empire state, Mister Governor?

And regarding gay rights, New York became the sixth state to legalize the expansion of the sacrament to same-sex couples. In 2011, a New York Daily News poll offered that New Yorkers in general supported gay marriage by margins in the upper 50s, yet with most Republicans opposing the change. 2013One CBSnews.com poll registered that a slim majority supported gay marriage. Even if a majority of New Yorkers support the change, the majority of Republicans do not, thus putting an end to the notion that Republicans are split, at least on the issue.

Reviewing the statistics, the polls, and the moral import of Gov. Cuomo’s comments, the residents of the state of New York should demand an apology for his frank, and frankly offensive, remarks. Despite the liberal voting trends in the Empire State, Cuomo’s imperial (and imperious) attitudes are patently offensive and ignore the diversity of opinion within his state, as well as the freedom of thought and association which state leaders are expected to recognize in every citizen.

 

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