The rhetoric, the oratory, the ability to capture the very essence of liberalism came not simply from a skill with language but from an understanding of the essence of what he was saying, a belief in what he was feeling and a need to find the humanity and justice in our society in every possible circumstance.
And so Mario Cuomo whose partnership with the Liberal Party made and kept him Governor of New York State for twelve years, became the last true voice of liberalism in the 20th Century… the voice that understood that government at its best could be the levelling force of equal opportunity in a country essentially controlled by a minority of the rich and powerful.
While his words came from a belief system, his actions would be limited by the realities of what government could afford to do. Yet Mario Cuomo, as the son of an immigrant and with the powerful body and sensibility of an athlete and working man, also saw the problems ahead for the very people who adored and revered him…working class Americans.
In the famous Presidential convention speech which put him on the national political map as he spoke to the man whose economic policies would essentially destroy the remnants of FDR’s liberal New Deal and told Ronald Reagan that his view of America only encompassed the ‘have’s and not the have-nots” he also foretold of the day when the fingers of working class men would be too clumsy to use the little keys of computers – a situation which would cost them their jobs.
That awareness, that sensitivity, that keen intelligence was often lost in the sheer energy and power of the personality. Known famously and perhaps infamously for his toughness, harsh language, roiling temper and outspokenness, Mario Cuomo became at the end of his political life known more for what he did not do than what he did in office. His failure to run for President on two different occasions when the Democratic Party needed his strength, skills and experience may become the great untold story of his life. Never explained, never discussed, never examined, Cuomo said he simply didn’t want to be President as he didn’t want to be a Supreme Court Justice. That may be the perfect answer, yet a plane awaited him in December 1991 for a flight to New Hampshire to announce his candidacy. Lost in a battle over the New York State budget, he never made that flight.
So then, oratory aside, what is the Cuomo legacy?
In his second inaugural address, delivered just hours before the passing of his father, Andrew Cuomo said that both the American education system and the criminal justice system reeked of a separation between those who “have” in America and the overwhelming millions who do not.
And that this ‘two-country’ state of affairs needed critical changes if they were to bring our democracy back to a state of order and success.
As Governor essentially in control of the New York State Legislature, Andrew Cuomo has power his father did not. Mario struggled with cutting programs not adding to them and fighting the Legislature for budget funds for ‘people’ programs. Andrew can essentially do whatever he has the strength and knowledge to do. We are not sure he has either at this juncture. There is evidence of ‘will’ but not performance. There is evidence of ‘career ambition’ more than evidence of knowledge of either the education or criminal justice systems…or even of the selection of people who can genuinely bring something new to the table.
But the words are there. And that is promising.
Once upon a time in immigrant-dominated America, Fathers wanted more for their children than they had themselves. Recent generations show that this ‘want’ has been lost but years from now, if Andrew can rise above his ambition (and desire to play hard-ball harder than his Dad) Mario’s son could become his true legacy – the Governor of New York who made changes that made America a better place to live.
