Cuomo took responsibility in fighting Covid-19, while other leaders failed to protect country from virus

Editor:

Recently I have been hearing and reading that Governor Cuomo does not care about upstate or small business.

Personally I think he is a ruthless politician but in truth we should not shoot the firefighter. We need to stop the arsonist.

I run a small business. During the peak of Covid-19 in New York, I was swamped keeping up by myself with the matters considered essential to public safety.

I also know the pain and inconvenience of compliance to reopen – for me virus-rated air filters, plastic seats, matting for a constantly sanitized meeting area, limited access, taking temperatures, etc. etc. Measures like that are part of life for all of us for the foreseeable future.

But, by golly, New York is open and holding C-19 at bay for now. It rages in other places which played politics with it. They ignored, and ignore, that the entire European continent closed more drastically than NY, opened sooner, and has miniscule numbers and deaths in comparison. (And now we are learning about delayed strokes, brain, heart, and kidney damage that may haunt us for years to come. )

I do not like saying it but Cuomo is not the enemy in this case. Trump assumed powers over wages, the right to commander plants, to order production, to close and regulate all aspects of all business all the way back in March when he gave up in telling us the total number of infections would be stopped at 15.

And Cuomo did not take the small business money. Senators’ wives and big business got huge amounts of the PPP money meant for us. In my case I was approved but the SBA ignored the law’s formulas and diverted money so I too ended up without any.

To make matters worse the Federal audit committee meant to protect us was composed of Inspector Generals. But Trump has been firing them one by one – starting the first week with the Chairman, Glenn Fine.

Cuomo is a convenient person to blame by partisans and people suffering because he is at least doing something.

We are in the midst of a breakdown of law which is why SCOTUS has put Trump down several times. On immigration, for the first time, it came out and said they did not “believe” what a sitting President told them. Conservative judges refused to be made fools of in the name of party.

In the two recent subpoena related cases, SCOTUS laid out a two hundred year history of law and held the President’s premise had no validity. They took the time to carefully explain why he was blowing hot air. Sadly, there are too many violations to ever litigate every one through lengthy court proceedings each and every time.

Focusing only on small business and C-19, Trump has squirted – and keeps squirting –  lighter fluid on the flames rather use the extinguisher our laws gave him – and him alone – to use. Our Covid failure is his failure to respect our laws and get off the golf course.

That’s why I say do not shoot the firefighter. Stop the arsonist and every darn fool who plays with matches.

Conrad F. Cropsey

Albion