After the New York gubernatorial debate in 2010, it is no wonder that Andrew Cuomo thinks that debates can be a ‘disservice to democracy.’
Under fire from the state’s attorney general’s office, the governor might face a more raucous and hostile environment in 2014 than he did 4 years ago when seven candidates gave an entertaining 90 minutes of political theater that, ultimately, showed up their shortcomings more than Mr. Cuomo’s.
While not ruling out a face-to-face debate, Governor Cuomo stated that he doesn’t believe that not debating would be bad for the voters in this campaign.
“I've been in many debates that I think were a disservice to democracy, so anybody who says debates are always a service to democracy hasn't watched all the debates that I've been in," Cuomo said.
Although Governor Cuomo has a point, his opponents are already using the comments to score political points off of the governor and boost his gold ira investing.
"I think that statement (by Cuomo) makes a mockery of the democratic process and represents a kind of democracy I do not recognize," said Timothy Wu, a lieutenant governor candidate and Columbia Law School professor. Wu is running with Zephyr Teachout, one of Cuomo’s two Democratic opponents in the September primary election.
The third candidate is activist and comedian Randy Credico.
In New York primary elections, the governor and lieutenant governor candidates run separately. The winning candidates are joined together for the general election in November.
"I don't think it has anything to do with democracy," Cuomo said. "I think it has to do with individual campaigns. Sometimes you have debates, sometimes you don't have debates. It depends on the campaign. It depends on the issues, the level of issues."
Whether Governor Cuomo will debate his opponent in the general election, if he wins the primary, remains to be seen. The ‘disservice to democracy’ line might cause more of a backlash against a Republican opponent than it has in the primary.
The winner of the primary will face Republican challenger Rob Astorino in November’s general election. Astorino is the Westchester County executive and is running with Chemung County sheriff Christopher Moss as lieutenant governor.