Pre-adolescent behavior of Cuomo and Hochull, and Mayor DeBlasio at “Labor Day Parade” is a major unforced error for Cuomo Campaign
What was the problem ? Did Andrew Cuomo think Zephyr Teachout had Cooties ? — Cuomo, Hochull and DeBlasio sure acted like she did — Postings on social media call the exchange “awkward” and “cringeworthy”
GOP candidate Rob Astorino needs to leverage Cuomo's ill treatment of Teachout ASAP while it still is fresh — then it will be the gift that keeps on giving for the whole campaign
Politico said it this way: “New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo greeted participants in New York City’s Labor Day Parade on Saturday, but one person didn’t get a warm welcome: his primary opponent. *** A video posted on NewYorkTrue.com shows Zephyr Teachout, who is challenging Cuomo in the state’s Democratic primary, approaching the governor at the parade. She tries several times to get his attention, but first an aide asks everyone to step back, and then Cuomo turns away from Teachout, shouting instead to New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. De Blasio moves through the crowd and hugs Cuomo, but neither acknowledges Teachout in the minute-long clip....” (See “Andrew Cuomo, Zephyr Teachout parade video goes viral” by Adam Sneed, 9/6/14, Politico [http://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/andrew-cuomo-zephyr-teachout-parade-video-110669.html][with video link of the incident]).
New York Magazine contained this in its devastating report of the incident: “...[Y]ou'd think that Cuomo had no idea who Teachout was, because he completely ignored her as she stood directly in front of him. *** In a hilariously awkward video posted to New York True, a smiling Teachout maneuvers around paradegoers, aides, and journalists until she is less than an arm's length away from Cuomo and his running mate, Kathy Hochul. The pair quickly turns their backs toward Teachout, who then taps Hochul on the arm. Hochul does not respond. Then, with Teachout still standing right there, Cuomo shouts, "Where's the mayor?" at an approaching Bill de Blasio. "Where's the mayor when you need him? We need the mayor!" Cuomo continues, his jokey tone failing to mask what sounds like genuine desperation. While also ignoring Teachout, de Blasio physically embraces Hochul and Cuomo....” (See “Watch Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio Completely Ignore Zephyr Teachout” by Caroline Bankoff, 9/6/14, NY Magazine/ Daily Intelligencer [http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/09/watch-cuomo-and-de-blasio-ignore-teachout.html][with video link of the incident]).
The Daily News and NY Times also mentioned the incident giving the Governor negative marks in his handling of the whole thing.
The Republican Gubernatorial candidate should immediately take Governor Cuomo to task for his rudeness and brutish bad manners. If Astorino does so while the whole thing is still news, he can go back to it over and over during the campaign all the way to November.
