New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has taken a tired old mantra out of the Democrats’ political playbook and put a new spin on it.
It goes like this: “If you disagree with us, you are an extremist.” Nothing new there. Dems have been accusing the GOP of “extremism” at least since the Reagan years. But Cuomo made the chant very personal when he told conservatives, “You don’t belong here! There is no place for you in New York!”
The comments came in a recent radio interview, where Cuomo was discussing the current rift within the Republican Party between what he calls “moderate Republicans” and “extreme conservatives.”
“Who are they?” Cuomo asked rhetorically. “Are they these extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault weapon, anti-gay? Is that who they are? Because if that is who they are and if they are extreme conservatives, they have no place in the state of New York. Because that is not who New Yorkers are.”
He went on to praise his “moderate” Republican predecessor, George Pataki, then added this: “I worked with moderate Republicans. Moderate Republicans passed my agenda the last three years.”
That is exactly why true Constitutional conservatives - those Cuomo labels as “extremists” - are opposing those so-called “moderates.” Because they are not moderates. They are liberals, just like Cuomo. Otherwise, they would never have passed his radical agenda.
Look for this “you don’t belong here; you’re not one of us” rhetoric to work its way into the campaigns of Democrats during this year’s off-season elections and the 2016 presidential contest - both of which may see Cuomo’s name on the ballot. Blinded by Obama’s re-election and the rise of radical leftist Bill de Blasio as mayor of New York City, Democrats (more properly known as Marxists or Social Fascists these days) don’t appear to understand the electoral backlash that could well be headed their way over the next three years.
This includes Andrew Cuomo, who seems to believe he can win not only re-election in Albany this year but also that he can dance around Hillary’s left flank to become a viable presidential alternative to the former First Lady, U.S. Senator and Secretary of State.
That will take some mighty fancy leftist boogying!
Expect more of this “extremist” talk from Dems and Dem loyalists, as evidenced by the comments of the Rev. William Barber II, head of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP, who called neighboring U.S. Senator Tim Scott, R-SC, a “ventriloquist dummy for the extreme right wing.” Scott, who is the only black member of the United States Senate, is a former congressman who was appointed to his current seat by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley after the resignation of Jim DeMint to become head of the Heritage Foundation.
(Ironic political footnote: During this time of terrible trial and tribulation for women and people of color, when conservative Republicans, particularly if they are from the south, are called out by the president and his minions for their alleged “racism” and “war on women,” isn’t it odd that an Indian-American female governor [Haley] was overwhelmingly elected in a southern state, and that this woman of color appointed a man of color to the United States Senate - only to have him mocked and called “a ventriloquist dummy for the extreme right wing” by the very ilk who spout this nonsense in the first place?)
Senator Scott, a gentle, capable and articulate man, responded by calling Barber’s remark “philosophical bigotry.”
“What we are hearing is baseless rhetoric about the same old things that have not worked so far,” Scott told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly. “We’ve had a 50-year war led by the government on poverty, and it hasn’t taken people out. What we should be preaching...is the fact that, in this country, conservatism - free market capitalism - produces greater success than the government can ever do.”
Can you imagine the chaos on the left if such thinking should ever take root among minorities or the rest of the allegedly “disenfranchised” base of the Democrat Party? That is why we will continue to hear the mantra, “You are an extremist! You don’t belong here! You’re not one of us!”
If you are a believer in the U.S. Constitution, just remember they are talking about you.
Doug describes himself as a recovering political speechwriter who agrees with himself more often than not. Readers are encouraged to email him at dpatton@cagle.com and/or to follow him on Twitter at @Doug_Patton.