New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made headlines over the weekend for comments he made about “extreme conservatives” in New York State. During an interview with Susan Arbetter on WCNY radio on Friday, Cuomo criticized “right-to-life,” “pro-assault weapon,” “anti-gay” conservatives:
CUOMO: The Republican Party candidates are running against the SAFE Act — it was voted for by moderate Republicans who run the Senate! Their problem is not me and the Democrats; their problem is themselves. Who are they? Are they these extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay? Is that who they are? Because if that’s who they are and they’re the extreme conservatives, they have no place in the state of New York, because that’s not who New Yorkers are.
Cuomo did lend his support to the “moderate Republicans” that have consistently worked with Democrats to pass his agenda. But he urged the “extreme conservatives” to “figure out if your extreme conservative philosophy can survive in this state and the answer is no.”
On radio this morning, Glenn questioned whether or not the New York outpost of TheBlaze would still be welcome in the state given the company’s pro-life, pro-Second Amendment stance. Furthermore, Glenn questioned what Cuomo meant by the term “anti-gay” for he couldn’t think anyone who is against a homosexual’s right to live and work in society.
The governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, said some conservatives have no place in the state of New York. ‘Extreme conservative’ – the right-to-life, pro-assault weapon, and anti-gay have no place in the state of New York because that's not what we as New Yorkers are.
Wow, I didn't know you could speak for everybody in New York. And I don't even know what ‘anti-gay’ means. You'll have to be more specific because I'm the guy who holds two out of those three opinions. They're the first two. The third is: I stand with members of GLAAD or anybody who is a fascist and says you don't have a right to live, you don't have a right to work, you don't have a right to pursue your happiness. I'll stand against anybody who is a fascist, whether it's a heterofascist or a homofascist. I'll stand against you. And I will join with anybody who understands what fascism is because I still find these things self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they're endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. And nobody can change them.
Now, Andrew Cuomo says, who are these extreme conservatives who are right to life, pro-assault weapon and anti-gay… because that's not who New Yorkers are. Well, I'd like to ask a few questions.
If you're a moderate conservative, does that mean you're okay with killing half the babies? Is there a number, Governor Cuomo, because right-to-life doesn't make you a moderate to, say, half the babies? By the way, the numbers in your state fall apart… Right now it is up to five months… you can come in and kill your baby. But once you go above five months, everything starts to change with your constituents… Most people will say they're absolutely pro-life, with an exception of incest, rape, and life of the mother. That's where the numbers start to really get strong. And that doesn't seem extremist. That seems rational to me. That seems like somebody who has a heart. Now, I know there are a lot of people that say, I don't agree with that. And quite honestly, Governor, I wish I could join them. I wish I could be that way. But my heart won't let me join them… But I don't condemn them… I want to learn from them. And I might find that they're absolutely right. I might find that they're absolutely wrong. But I will decide that.
When it comes to the Second Amendment, let me ask you something: What kind of gun is okay? Because if I take the metal or the plastic off of an AR, I pretty much have a deer rifle. It's only that we've spray painted them black and made them look spooky. Yes, they're semi-automatics, but so are semi-automatic guns. Lee Harvey Oswald killed with the bolt action, so he had to put another round in the chamber himself. But look at the damage he did. So where is the line here? Is it only the ones that are spooky looking and painted black? Are deer rifles okay? And if I made an AR look like a deer rifle, I'm sure, Governor, you wouldn't know the difference. Would that be okay? I want to know where the line is on guns because I really thought abortions should be safe and rare. I thought that was your position. Now it's anybody who is pro-life is an extremist. Right now you're saying ‘assault weapons’, but all of the laws that are being enacted in the state of New York are not just against assault weapons. They're against any weapon.
And I'm sorry, Governor, but I don't know anybody who is anti-gay. And if they do, I would be the first to point them out and say, ‘That person hates gay people because they're gay.’ There are gay people that I don't like. It has nothing to do with their sexuality. There are straight people I don't like. It has nothing to do with they're sexuality. I think basing your like and dislike on somebody's sexuality is one of the most moronic things I've heard. How about on this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day we judge the man by the content of his character… because I have a dream today that someday liberals and conservatives, our children can go and play together, and learn together, and be together. I have a dream today that I'm not a second-class citizen in this country.
My good friend, Pastor Hutcherson, died a few months ago. He was a black man who watched the freedom buses burn. He watched them burn. He watched his own people beaten. He hated Martin Luther King when he was young because he wanted revenge. And then he found the Lord. And that changed his heart. He no longer wanted revenge. He was thirsty for love. And he spent his whole life trying to find people who are like-minded, that understood anger and rage is not the answer. Love is the answer. If you say that people who are pro-life, pro-assault weapon, and however you define anti-gay don’t have a place in your society and in your state, I don't think I have a place in your state… I don't want to live in a country where we round people up for their opinion. The arrogance is astounding from the left.
Cuomo’s office has since come out and said the governor’s comments were “distorted.” The office points to another portion of the interview in which Cuomo says “it is fine” to oppose gun control measures and to be anti-abortion, adding that “he respects both positions.”
You can listen to the entire interview HERE. (Applicable audio begins around 9 minute 20 seconds)
Front page image courtesy of the AP
