How far left can Gov. Andrew Cuomo rush in the face of the Cynthia Nixon challenge?
His latest ploy was to issue an official statement hailing May Day — the international workers holiday of socialists and communists for more than 125 years.
“We celebrate the contributions of the working men and women who built this state and this nation and we recommit ourselves to the fight for fairness and equality,” he declared.
Hmm: May Day isn’t actually an American holiday, official or otherwise. It’s Labor Day (Sept. 3 this year) that’s dedicated to the principles Cuomo cited.
True, May Day is a big deal outside the US. And some unions and groups, particularly on the far left, hold events here to mark it. (Nixon, in fact, was on the picket lines for one.)
But in this country, it’s long been identified with the radical left, since it was officially adopted by the International Socialist Conference in 1889.
That Cuomo should lurch that far left isn’t surprising. The past few weeks have seen him try to outflank Nixon (whom he leads by 22 points in the latest poll) on every conceivable item on the far left’s shopping list.
To be fair, the gov has a strong record of support for private-sector unions, especially such traditional ones as the building trades.
But he’s also the guy who, according to The New York Times, back in 2010 vowed “to counter the well-financed labor unions he believes have bullied previous governors and lawmakers into making bad decisions.”
Yes, those days are long gone — he’s largely surrendered to the public-sector unions he swore to fight. But if he’s ever issued a May Day statement before, his press office couldn’t come up with one.
If this keeps up, it’s only a matter of time before he finds some barricade to storm while crooning “The Internationale.”