Tag: kathy-hochul

KATHY HOCHUL – THE ACCIDENTAL AND INCOMPETENT GOVERNOR

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.

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GOVERNOR HOCHUL AND A HAM SANDWICH

As always, the contents of this blog constitute a compendium of multiple media reports supplemented by my personal opinion where indicated.

Dem Governor Kathy Hochul has been leading Repub Bruce Blakeman in the election polls all year, at times by a comfortable margin. However, two recent polls have disclosed that the spread has narrowed to the point that Blakemen has a realistic chance of an upset. The latest Marist poll reported that Hochul has an eleven point lead, and the latest Pollfinity poll reported that she has a mere three point lead. In addition, most news outlets and commentators have opined that Blakeman “won” their recent debate decisively. More on that later.

Hochul’s ascendancy to governor was 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 as popular among women. The expectation was that she would appeal to centrist, conservative, and rural voters upstate where Cuomo was weak. She provided 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.

More good fortune: 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 be succcessful, whereas others are not. You can decide into which category Hochul belongs.

In 2022 she was elected to a full term. Soon after, her handpicked lieutenant governor, former 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.

Hochul’s tenure as governor has been marred by a plethora of issues, controversies and bad decisions, for example;

  1. She has become known for “flip-flops.” She is not a person of strong convictions. She has changed her positions on topics such as Manhattan congestion pricing, tax policies and immigration, to name a few. Regarding congestion pricing, prior to the 2024 elections she delayed its implementation. Then, afterwards her opinion “evolved,” and she promulgated it. It has been very unpopular especially among the working class and small business owners. In addition, it does not appear to have relieved Manhattan’s congestion problem in the least.
  2. Prior to her selection as Lt. Governor she was a hardliner on immigration, particularly with respect to illegals obtaining drivers’ licenses. For instance, she opposed a state proposal to grant driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, even threatening to have them arrested if they applied at her offices. Then, in 2018, while serving as Lieutenant Governor, she reversed her stance, supporting the initiative to meet the labor demands of upstate farmers. As governor she has turned NY into a sanctuary state. Critics from both the progressive left and conservative right have opined that her policy trajectory on immigration has been unpredictable, with opponents like Bruce Blakeman and Representative Mike Lawler denoting she has shifted positions depending on which political faction she needs to appease at the time. In my view, this flip-flopping is typical of many of her policies. She may characterize this trait as “evolving,” but I view it as gaslighting.
  3. For years she was known as a moderate Dem, which was one of the main reasons Cuomo picked her as a running mate in the first place. Since Comrade Zoh was elected mayor of NYC, however, rather than restraining his wild policies she has entered into a mutually-beneficial political alliance with him. For example, she provided him with billions of dollars in state aid to help New York City close its considerable budget gap; and they joined forces on expanding free child care initiatives across the city by committing substantial state funding to the program.
  4. Mamdani has endorsed Hochul’s re-election bid, and Hochul relies on him and his progressive, youthful base for support. As the expression goes, “politics makes strange bedfellows.”
  5. Hochul has become toxic. A recent poll released by Sienna University/Times Union and NBC, among others, reported that 60% of respondents had an unfavorable view of her. Furthermore, according to the NY Post at least two Dems running for Congress have disavowed that they support her. In an open forum Cait Conley, Dem candidate in the Hudson Valley’s 17th Congressional District, actually agreed with her Repub opponent, Mike Lawler, that Hochul was responsible for NYS’s toxic business climate, including the “highest taxes in the nation,” congestion pricing and excessive red tape, concluding “Hochul has to go.” During a radio station interview North Country Dem nominee Blake Gendbien, who has been closely tied to Hochul, tried to downplay their mutual support by repeatedly dodging the host’s inquiries.
  6. The governor is supposed to control, or at least influence, the mayor. After all, the governor has the power of the purse. Hochul’s and Zoh’s relationship appears to be at least an equal partnership with Zoh actually dominating at times. Hochul’s motivation is clear. She wants the far left’s support in the current election. Who knows what promises she has made to those lunatics to be promulgated after the election.
  7. Historically, Hochul was against raising taxes. Yet recently she advocated assessing a tax on secondary homes in New York City. She wanted to implement an annual surcharge on non-primary NYC residences that are worth $5 million and higher, with the proceeds going toward paying down Mamdani’s $5.4 billion city budget gap. The Supreme Court struck this down on technicalities, but it could easily be resurrected, again after the election of course.
  8. The foregoing are problematic, but they pale before the next one. It’s no secret that NYS is in deep trouble financially. Years of Dem control, which has resulted in excessive spending, high taxes, waste and corruption have led businesses and people with the wherewithall to flee the state and resettle in states with lower taxes, a lower cost of living and a friendlier attitude towards business to do so. The obvious results have been a decline in the tax base and employment opportunities. In this day and age many businesses and individuals can easily operate remotely, and many of them have taken advantage of that. According to multiple media reports some 5,000 businesses have left NY in the last few years, and thousands more have scaled back their operations in the state. Moreover, in 2024 the state had a net decline of nearly 14,000 taxpayers, a disproportunate share of which were high income and wealthy taxpayers. This led to a classic Hochul flip-flop. Initially, in pushing her “tax the rich” program she basically told businesses and rich persons that if they don’t like it they should leave. As noted above many have. Later, recognizing the shrinking tax base she tried to lure them back. Said one commentator, “after taxing the hell out of us and even telling us to leave, Kathy Hochul is now begging people to return.” In short, I maintain that, as governor, one of Hochul’s primary responsibilites is to make NY more attractive to taxpayers, and she has failed miserably at that.

A few days ago Hochul and her Repub opponent, Bruce Blakeman met in their only scheduled debate. Most observers opined that Blakeman “won” decisively. The topics on which he “scored” were (1) the high price of energy, which, due to taxes embedded in the price, are 70% higher than the national average, (2) NYS’s sanctuary state practices, which severely compromise the safety and security of everyone, and (3) her close relationship with Comrade Zoh, an admitted anti-semite. Hochul’s weak rebuttal was to blame President Trump for everything. Voters have been hearing that from Dems for ten years, and they’re tired of it.

“Winning” the debate is fine, but historically, with few exceptions (Kennedy vs Nixon in 1960 and Trump vs Biden in 2024 being the most famous ones) the debate results have not been reflected in the polls. In this case, we will have to wait and see.

CONCLUSION

In my opinion, Hochul’s slim, shakey lead in the polls is an indictment of her poor record as governor as described above. The race should not be nearly this close. NYS is a deep blue state in which the Dem candidate virtually always wins a statewide election, often by a comfortable margin. 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.”

This situation reminds me of a famous expression that a District Attorney requesting a Grand Jury to issue an indictment against a person accused of a crime is almost always successful to the point that it’s been said that the DA could even get the GJ to issue an indictment against a “ham sandwich.” In my opinion, in NYS a majority of people would automatically vote for any Dem candidate regardless of his or her qualifications and experience, even the proverbial “ham sandwich.” (Some of you may recall that in a recent election cycle the voters in deep blue Alleghany County, PA actually elected a dead person to Congress.)


In this analogy, any candidate nominated by the Dems, regardless of his or her experience and qualifications, should defeat the Repub opponent. In this case Hochul represents the “ham sandwich.”


















































































































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KATHY HOCHUL HAS LOST HER MIND

As always, the content of this blog is a compendium of multiple media reports supplemented by my personal opinion, where indicated.

In my opinion, current empirical evidence indicates that NYS Governor Kathy Hochul has lost her mind. Recently she gave a speech in which she urged wealthy individuals who previously had relocated from NYS to other locales to return. In what universe does she think there is even a remote chance that will happen? If she honestly believes that, she is delusional. Did she forget that just a few years ago she gave a speech in which she basically told wealthy people and others who objected to her left-leaning policies and her cozying up to NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani that if they didn’t like it, they should “get out.” (Like the words from that old-time song, “Get on the bus, Gus.”)

That is just what many of them have done. Recently, NY State Senator Steve Rhoades disclosed the brutal statistic that “one [NY resident] leaves [the state] every 2 minutes and 23 seconds.” Think about that. Repub gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman sarcastically declared that “Hochul has finally discovered what New Yorkers already know. When you raise taxes, drive up the cost of living make it harder to do business, and try to destroy families’ savings people leave.” Moreover, he characterized Hochul’s pleas to the rich to return “the most honest moment of her administration.” In my view, if it’s not number one, it’s certainly in the top three.

Rich people are very astute. That’s how they became rich in the first place. They left primarily because of her governance. They were tired of the deteriorating quality of life, particularly in NYC. They were tired of the outrageously high cost of living, including rent, taxes, food and other necessities. They know that Hochul’s reputation is that she says one thing and then does the opposite, case in point, her congestion policy. Now they can see the handwriting on the wall. Despite her assertions to the contrary at some point, probably after the 2026 election she will give in to the lefties and raise taxes, and not just on the “wealthy.”

The lefties are becoming increasingly creative in ways to confiscate your money. For example, there has been talk of levying a “death tax” on a decedent’s wealth. By the way, in NYC how much annual income defines one as “wealthy?” Is it $100,000, $200,000, more? That sounds like a lot, but any NYC resident will tell you money doesn’t go very far when one factors in the high cost of living and punitive tax base. Now, having experienced the low or no-state taxes of Florida, Texas, Tennessee and other “red states” the rich have no intention of returning.

Furthermore, Hochul and Mamdani have formed a political partnership despite their ideological differences. As you may recall Hochul, in an attempt to unite the moderate and left-wing portions of the Dem Party in NYS, endorsed the socialist/communist/antisemitic Mamdani in his successful 2025 mayoral campaign. She was hopeful that he would support her in her re-election bid. He did, but he can always withdraw it or threaten to do so, and she knows it.

Hochul’s call for the rich former residents to return comes as she attempts to expand the state’s tax base in order to satisfy one of Mamdani’s primary demands that she raise tax rates. Blakeman derisively stated “Kathy Hochul finally discovered what New Yorkers already know. When you raise taxes, drive up the cost of living, make it harder to do business, and try to destroy families’ savings, people leave.” Barstool Sports Founder Dave Portnoy was not constrained by political niceties. He called it “unbelievable arrogance and hypocrisy” to ask wealthy New Yorkers to return home.

Mamdani has already become the dominant partner in the aforementioned alignment. It’s very unusual, if not unique, for a mayor to hold sway over a governor, but that’s how I see it. The left wing is very aggressive. Hochul is desperate to secure its support in her re-election campaign. She won a tight race in 2022, and she needs a united party behind her to win in 2026. As I indicated above already, she has been facing immense political pressure from the socialist wing to raise income and corporate taxes in order to pay for its planned extravagant spending programs, such as subsidizing bus rides and universal free childcare and healthcare. So far, she has resisted, but I expect her to cave eventually.

Conclusion

For New Yorkers the hits just keep on coming. It’s hard for me to feel sorry for them since they elected him. What did they expect would happen? They asked for it (socialism/communism), and they’re getting it.

Mamdani and his crew don’t have the foggiest notion of how to govern. I wouldn’t select them to run a lemonade stand much a large, complex city like NYC. Unless the adults manage to retake control, I fear that NYC, which has always been the crown jewel of the US, will inevitably deteriorate into a communist/socialist hellhole, i.e. an extremely unpleasant, filthy, squalid, miserable, chaotic, nightmarish place in which to live, work or even visit. If you think that is an extreme statement, just wait.

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