As always, the contents of this blog constitute a compendium of multiple media reports supplemented by my personal opinion, where indicated.
Kathy Hochul is doing a fabulous job as governor of NYS….. in the eyes of the ultra left-wing neo-communists and others who hate America and the American way of life and want to see it fail. However, in my opinion and that of all clear-thinking Americans she is grossly incompetent to the point that four more years of her tenure could very well devastate NYS and NYC beyond any chance for recovery. If you doubt me or view my opinion as too extreme, read on.
As I discussed in an earlier blog Hochul was an accidental governor based on a fortuitous set of circumstances that bore little relationship to her record as a politician. In 2014 NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo was seeking a running mate to “balance” the ticket. Hochul seemed to be the best choice. She was a former Congresswoman from a conservative-leaning district and had been an Erie County Clerk. He had run poorly in that area in 2010, and he was not particularly popular among women. The expectation was that she would appeal to centrist, conservative, and rural voters upstate where Cuomo was weak. She would provide both geographic and gender balance, and she was also a moderate. Furthermore, Hochul was the party’s sole female statewide candidate that year. Thus, Hochul was plucked from obscurity into the bigtime by Andrew Cuomo to join him on the ticket as his Lt. Governor because he needed a female from upstate NY to balance the ticket.
More good fortune soon followed. In August 2012 Cuomo became embroiled in a sexual harasssment scandal. He was forced to resign and Hochul became the first female NYS governor without possessing the requisite experience and qualifications. In that type of situation some people are able to grow into the job and become succcessful, whereas others are not. It’s become obvious into which category Hochul belongs.
In 2022 she was elected to a full term. Hochul’s tenure as governor has been marred by a plethora of issues, controversies, flip- flops and bad decisions. I outlined most of these in my previous blog. they commenced even before she got her feet wet on the job:
- Her handpicked choice as lieutenant governor, State Senator Brian Benjamin, was indicted on corruption charges and was forced to resign. Hochul was widely criticized because she had been cognizant of Benjamin’s legal problems, but she picked him regardless.
- According to the Wall Street Journal as a direct result of Hochul’s excessive tax rates, utility rates, NYS’s designation as a sanctuary state, her turning NYS into a virtual welfare state, high crime rates, and failing schools NYS’s population and tax base is shrinking. Several businsses and individuals have relocated to more business and tax-friendly states, such as FL and TX, and more will likely follow.
- The nonpartison Tax Foundation denoted that NYS ranks 47th among all states for high property taxes, 42nd for sales taxes, and 50th for taxes on individuals, which makes it among the least friendly states for both businesses and individuals. Moreover, the combined Federal, state and local taxes take more than one-half of the earnings of those in the highest tax brackets.
- The Dems like to criticize the Repubs on affordably issues. Well Hochu’s policies have been a major contributor to the affordability crisis in NY.
- Utility bills are70% above the national average partially due to the various “hidden” taxes in consumers’ bills. For example, according to Ken Girardini, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, the state has allowed Con Ed to pass along certain taxes it pays to consumers. This has become a prime campaign issue for Bruce Blakeman.
- As I said, she has been a major “flip-flopper.” One example was her views on congestion pricing in NYC, which she opposed at first and thenpromulgated after the 2022 election. If she wins the upcoming election I expect her to enact more unpopular changes. Many people do not trust her.
- Most damaging of all is her perceived subservience to NYC Mayor Comrade Zoh. She is the governor; he is the mayor. She controls the purse strings. She should be the dominant one. Obviously, she is hoping for his and his followers’ support in the upcoming election. We’ll see how that works out. Try as she might, she’s not “left” enough for many of them.
- Zoh nor she has the requisite knowledge and experience to run a lemonade stand much less NYS and NYC. Blakeman characterizes them as “dumb and dumber.” His attitude is that the more they campaign together the better for him.
CONCLUSION
She has not put forth any solutions for the problems that are plaguing NY currrently or will prospectively. She just blames Trump, who, as we all know, is not an officeholder in NY. What a joke! If Trump were behind this all 50 states would be suffering along with NY, but that is not the case.
NYS is deep blue. Dem registered voters outnumber Repubs by more than 2:1 (48% vs 23%). NYS has not elected a Repub governor since George Pataki who served from 1995-2006. It should be noted that since then NY has become even more radically “blue.”
Despite all her faults, according to the latest election poll by Activote Hochul leads Blakeman 59% – 41%. This lends credence to my assessment in an earlier blog that deep blue NYS would elect anyone running as a Dem, even a ham sandwich.
I hope Blakeman can engineer an upset, but it is unlikely.
Remember,voters get the government they deserve.
