OPINION:
America’s establishment media deserves some credit in Andrew Cuomo’s burgeoning scandals — not for uncovering them, but for enabling them.
In Mr. Cuomo’s case, the establishment media did not just ignore the warning signs of potentially serious issues, they fawned over him. By so doing, they did not just allow him to keep these hidden, they gave him the confidence that they would remain so.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s troubles mount daily. In late January, New York state Attorney General Letitia James released a report that Mr. Cuomo’s office dramatically underreported the number of coronavirus deaths in New York nursing homes. Then came the report that last June top staff from Mr. Cuomo’s office deliberately lowered those numbers.
Intertwined around the nursing home death scandal have been accusations against Mr. Cuomo of inappropriate sexual advances. As of March 12, six women have come forward. Miss James is again investigating the governor.
Calls for Mr. Cuomo’s resignation have been rising. Recently, a top state Democrat joined the call and 59 Democratic members of the State Assembly and Senate have done so in joint statement. Several of Mr. Cuomo’s top aides have resigned. Now, the New York State Assembly is taking the first step in the impeachment process by beginning an investigation with full subpoena power.
As these events underlying these scandals actually transpired, the establishment media was nowhere to be seen. Now as revelations have risen to the level of no longer ignorable, the establishment media must cover them. They also must cover for themselves.
Far from objectively reporting on Mr. Cuomo, the establishment media lauded him. He was not just credited with leading in the coronavirus fight, he was the paradigm for it. They dubbed him “America’s Governor.”
Now unable to exonerate Mr. Cuomo, establishment media must try to exonerate themselves. To them, his scandals are mystifying: Who could have seen them coming? For one, those who bothered to look.
The establishment media did more than just ignore Mr. Cuomo, they enabled him. In an act of supreme chutzpah, Mr. Cuomo stated he’s “thinking about writing a book about what we went through,” after his aides had altered reports on nursing home deaths. He could dare to take this audacious step because he knew the establishment media were not doing their job. He had no reason to believe they would call him on this because they had never critically reported on him before.
It took the New York attorney general’s report to thrust it under their collective nose. This despite the fact that Mr. Cuomo’s policy of putting coronavirus-infected patients into nursing homes was diametrically opposed to prevailing medical practice of segregating nursing home residents away from possible infection.
And despite Mr. Cuomo’s policy running counter to the conventional practice, his administration was reporting better nursing home results than some other states. Such contrary practice and results should have tipped someone to look into how this was achieved. The establishment media did not.
The establishment media enabled Mr. Cuomo more than just not examining these cases before they were unavoidable. They did so by broadly signaling that they were uninterested in examining him objectively under any circumstances.
This lack of objective reporting goes well beyond Mr. Cuomo. It has long been clear where the establishment media’s political preferences lie. As a result, they have collectively avoided examining liberal politicians in general. More than just hiding indiscretions, the establishment media’s malfeasance has implicitly facilitated them.
In any area, such decreasing deterrence increases incidence. So too with the prevailing culture of unaccountability for liberal politicians. They have not been scrutinized as they seek office, when they are in office and right up to the point until an episode becomes unavoidable.
Of course, such a culture alters outcomes — before the fact, during the fact and after the fact. It influences elections, behavior in office and misbehavior when it occurs. The question in New York’s ongoing investigations should not be Mr. Cuomo alone, but on how many more Cuomos the establishment media have enabled.
• J.T. Young served in the Office of Management and Budget and at the Treasury Department.
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