Day: March 16, 2021

On Biden, Press Conferences and Cuomo

Buck Banks

Joe Biden has been president for nearly two months, and it would seem his honeymoon with the media (if there is such a thing) has ended, with criticism coming from all quarters for his lack of press conferences and for his staying on the sidelines of the trainwreck that is Andrew Cuomo’s gubernatorial career.

First, the fact is Biden held two town halls since the election where the questions from regular people were thoughtful and meaningful — a refreshing contrast to the White House press corps’ attempts to illicit a gotcha. He also regularly responds to questions hollered at him by journalists as he passes from one place to another.

Finally, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki holds regular press conferences where she handles media queries with poise, skill and little prevaricating, if not some expected deflection. That’s a far cry from her predecessors in the same position in the Trump administration who, when they did give a rare press conference, mainly just repeated their boss’ lies and took questions only from friendly representatives of conservative media outlets.

On the Cuomo question, Biden and his team have been consistent in witholding judgement pending a complete investigation of the allegations against New York’s governor. The attempt to paint Biden into a corner as the only person who can prevent a damaging rift between the Democratic Party and Cuomo is ludicrous. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have already done that — with Gillibrand’s trigger finger being only slightly less itchy than when she called for Sen. Al Franken’s resignation BEFORE an investigation of sexual harrassment allegations. Cuomo is only hurting Cuomo, not the Democratic Party, and his political party is in no greater danger from his truculence and intractability than the Knights of Columbus are from his Italian lineage.

But think for a moment — what if Donald Trump were still president.
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22 Governors Have Not Been Vaccinated

Buck Banks

22

Insider: “12 Republicans and 10 Democrats tell Insider they’re waiting their turn, abiding by the vaccination distribution guidelines they’ve helped set or waiting for the vaccine supplies in their state to increase. … One senior level staffer for a Democratic governor told Insider she’s worried about her boss, who hasn’t been vaccinated because he won’t jump the line… Health officials contacted by Insider said it’s certainly fair for governors to receive the COVID-19 vaccine to help encourage others to do so.”

Trump’s Insurrection Inspired a Wave of New Candidates

Buck Banks

11,000

The Daily Beast: “Seasoned political operatives say they’ve never seen anything like it.” Amanda Litman, who founded the nonprofit group Run For Something in 2017 to give first-time candidates for local office the tools they need to launch a campaign, said, “In the last two months roughly 11,000 people have registered with Run For Something to express an interest in a campaign for public office. … We saw January 2021 turn into our best candidate recruitment month yet since launching on inauguration day in 2017.”