“You played politics with the virus and you lost.” — Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D, NY), slamming Gov. Ron DeSantis (R, FL), on cnn, 6/25/20. Ten months later, the tables are turned.

“Andrew Cuomo had the temerity to tell a national audience that, ‘Our way worked. And it was beautiful.’ [This is] shameless and vulgar self-aggrandizing — which he’s only able to get away with because of criminal lack of media scrutiny.” — Gov. Ron DeSantis, pointing out that Cuomo’s “executive order forcing nursing homes in his state to accept [covid] patients” sent thousands to their deaths, 8/18/20

A year ago, the media’s tale of two governors was 180 degrees out of phase. The notoriously nasty Gov. Cuomo was at the top of the Democrat political food chain. Gov. DeSantis, a (gasp!) Trump supporter, was treated the way every effective Republican is treated: with relentless smears.

When Cuomo started holding daily coronavirus press briefings, his fandom went off the charts. Reporters were all but throwing their panties at him. In Vogue, journalist Molly Jong-Fast wrote, “Why We Are Crushing on Andrew Cuomo Right Now,” while “comedian” Chelsea Handler compared Cuomo to the Incredible Hulk and thanked him for his “tight white polo shirts.”

Andrew Cuomo has long been one of the nastiest, most arrogant pols in American politics, protected, of course, by the legacy of his father, “Mario the Pious” — another Democrat just dripping with moral superiority.

But the truth always has a way of coming out, and Cuomo’s malfeasance has come back to bite him, with nursing home investigations swirling, “Me-Too” accusations piling up, and a deafening Democrat Party chorus demanding his resignation. The once-loving media has turned on him, and, according to the latest Emerson College poll, Cuomo’s job approval “is down from a stellar 71 percent last April to just 38 percent now,” according to The New York Post.

To the drive-bys, liberal Cuomo was the hero and conservative DeSantis the zero — and New York was the pandemic shutdown model while free Florida was going down the covid drain. But the fog of lies is clearing, revealing that the reality was precisely the reverse, all along. Everything the media has projected to America for the last year has been flipped on its head:

ZERO CUOMO

Media Luv

• “Andrew Cuomo Is the Control Freak We Need Right Now: In ordinary times, Mr. Cuomo’s relentlessness and bullying drive New Yorkers crazy. In the age of the coronavirus, they soothe our battered nerves.” — The New York Times, 3/16/20
• “Help, I Think I’m in Love with Andrew Cuomo.” — Rebecca Fishbein, Jezebel, 3/19/20
• “New York Women Are Coronavirus Crushing on Andrew Cuomo: ‘Is He Single?’” — The New York Post, dubbing Cuomo “the new Luv Guv,” 3/21/20
• “Watching Andrew Cuomo is inspiring, uplifting, fascinating. He weaves details and humor and math and common sense all together. He is magnificent. Let’s just listen to him.” — Jennifer Rubin, “conservative” Washington Post columnist, on Twitter, 3/25/20
• “The Pandemic Has Spawned an Unlikely Comedy Duo: Cuomo & Cuomo.” — Vogue, on the recurring schtick (Gov. Cuomo’s 11 appearances with his brother, anchor Chris Cuomo) on cnn’s “Cuomo Prime Time,” 4/3/20
• “I am the ‘Luv Guv.’ I’m a cool dude in a loose mood, you know that. I just say let it go, just go with the flow, baby.” — Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D, NY), two weeks after issuing New York state directive that forced nursing homes to take covid patients, on cnn’s “Cuomo Prime Time,” 4/9/20
• “Even lifelong Republicans tell me they look at Cuomo and they’re like, ‘God, there’s a leader.’” — Joe Scarborough, quoted in The Hill, 4/15/20
• “I saw people online falling in love with [Cuomo]… I said, ‘Well, yeah, everyone should be a Cuomosexual.” — Trevor Noah, on “The Ellen Show,” 4/20/20
• “Gov. Andrew Cuomo Approves of People Who Identify as ‘Cuomosexuals.’” — The Los Angeles Times, 4/28/20
• “This is the mountain that New Yorkers climbed.” — cbs News, video of Cuomo unveiling his giant green foam sculpture “symbolizing New York’s pandemic curve,” on Twitter, 6/29/20
• “I did a new [poster] for what we went through with covid and I think the general shape is familiar to you. We went up the mountain, we curved the mountain, we came down the other side …” — Gov. Cuomo, offering a poster he designed, titled “New York Tough: Smart, United, Disciplined, Loving,” for sale at New York State government website, 7/13/20
• “August 18, 2020: Cuomo announced he will publish a book titled, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the covid-19 Pandemic. Cuomo bagged a seven-figure advance from Crown…” — The Daily Caller timeline
• “Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of New York will receive this year’s International Emmy Founders Award, in recognition of his leadership during the covid-19 pandemic and his masterful use of television to inform and calm people around the world.” — Bruce L. Paisner, president, International Academy, iemmys.tv, 11/20/20

New York Disaster

• “We have learned of the 1st positive case of covid-19 in NY… There is no reason for undue anxiety — the general risk remains low in NY. We are diligently managing this situation…” — Gov. Cuomo, a month after President Trump issued his China travel ban, on Twitter, 3/1/20
• “This isn’t our first rodeo… We don’t even think it’s going to be as bad as it was in other countries.” — Gov. Cuomo, shrugging off concerns about coronavirus, abc News, 3/2/20. Three weeks later, on 3/25/20, reports Breitbart, when New York’s cases of covid were 15 times that of any other state, Cuomo announced that instead of travel restrictions, “we welcome people from across the globe. We have people coming here, we have people who came here from China, who came here from Italy, who came here from all across the globe.”
• “I have to do more? No — you have to do something! You’re supposed to be the President.” — Gov. Cuomo, to Trump, after the President (accurately) said Cuomo wasn’t doing enough to mitigate the virus, on Twitter, 3/16/20
• “What am I going to do with 400 ventilators when I need 30,000? You pick the 26,000 people who are going to die because you only sent 400 ventilators.” — Gov. Cuomo, after Trump asked why Cuomo needed more than the 10,000 ventilators he already had, The Hill, 3/24/20. Cuomo later admitted Trump was correct that New York had plenty of ventilators; at the pandemic’s peak, New York used less than 6,000.
• “During this global health emergency, all NHs [nursing homes] must comply with the expedited receipt of residents returning from hospitals to NHs… No resident shall be denied readmission or admission to the NH solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of covid-19. NHs are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for covid-19 prior to admission or readmission.” — New York State Department of Health, directive issued to all New York nursing homes and hospitals, 3/25/20 (emphasis in original). That directive, according to AP, sent 9,056 covid patients to hundreds of nursing homes, spreading sickness and death.
• “Now is not the best time to put your mother in a nursing home.” — Gov. Cuomo, press conference, a month after ordering nursing homes to take covid patients, MarketWatch, 4/22/20
• “They don’t have a right to object. That is the rule and that is the regulation and they have to comply with that.” — Gov. Cuomo, declaring that nursing homes couldn’t challenge his order to admit covid patients, quoted in The New York Post, 4/23/20
• “Who can we prosecute for those deaths? Nobody. Nobody. Mother Nature? God?” — Gov. Cuomo, cbs News, 5/17/20
• “Cuomo’s annual budget [he signed 4/3/20] … included a little-noticed passage [Cuomo and his staff inserted] shielding corporate officials who run New York hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities from liability for covid-related deaths and injuries.” — “Cuomo Gave Immunity to Nursing Home Executives After Big Campaign Donations,” in The [UK] Guardian, 5/26/20
• “It just never happened in New York where we needed to say to a nursing home, ‘We need you to take this person even though they’re covid-positive.’ It never happened.” — Gov. Cuomo, quoted at cnn, 10/2/20. cnn then issued a rare fact-check on a Democrat: “Cuomo’s assertion that ‘it never happened’ is false. According to … the New York State Department of Health, ‘6,326 covid-positive residents were admitted to [nursing home] facilities’ following Cuomo’s mandate that nursing homes accept … covid-positive patients from hospitals.”
• From January to December 2020, New York’s total nonfarm employment plunged 10.4 percent. Manufacturing jobs were down 8.6 percent. Financial activities fell 5.2 percent. Professional and business services dropped 10.6 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• “N.Y. Severely Undercounted Virus Deaths in Nursing Homes, Report Says: The State Attorney General, Letitia James, Said It’s Likely That the Cuomo Administration Failed to Report Thousands of covid-19 Deaths of Nursing Home Residents.” — The New York Times, reporting that Cuomo may have undercounted by as much as 50 percent, 1/28/21
• “Who cares [if they] died in the hospital, died in a nursing home? They died.” — Gov. Cuomo, quoted in The New York Post, 1/29/21
• “From the outset of the pandemic, New York State has had the highest number of deaths of any state and still does (47,000), and the second-highest deaths-per-million of anywhere in the country.” — National Review, 3/1/21
• “Cuomo Aides Rewrote Nursing Home Report to Hide Higher Death Toll.” — The New York Times, 3/4/21
• “[A]ccording to members of his own staff, [Cuomo] lied about the number of deaths … in reports to the federal government… The falsified report was created in July 2020. [Cuomo’s] book was released in October 2020. So the question is this: would an accurate report of the true scope of New York’s nursing home deaths have killed Cuomo’s book deal, and did the motive for falsifying the report come in the form of millions of dollars attached to the book deal?” — John Nolte, Breitbart, 3/10/21
• As of 3/14/21, New York’s daily average of new covid cases over the previous seven days was 6,812 (35 people per 100,000), compared to Florida’s 4,602 (21 people per 100,000) according to The New York Times coronavirus map. New York has had 249 covid deaths per 100,000 people, while Florida has had 150.

HERO DESANTIS

Media Hate

• “In Florida, We Love Our Beaches. Thanks to Our Governor, Now We Can Die for Them.” — Diane Roberts, complaining about Gov. DeSantis returning to normal, “whatever that means,” op-ed in The Washington Post, 4/22/20
• “The situation in Florida appears to be on the verge of becoming totally out of control… DeSantis seems unwilling to acknowledge that reality — and how wrong he was about his state’s battle against the virus.” — Chris Cillizza, cnn, 7/14/20
• “This is a leadership failure of mammoth proportions, a failure that will contribute to long-term illness and death for many of the citizens that a governor is supposed to protect. No wonder that a hashtag is trending: #DeSantisResign.” — editorial, “In the Worst Public Health Crisis in Generations, DeSantis Is a Massive Fail,” The Naples [FL] Daily News, 7/17/20
• “Florida is now being named the worldwide epicenter of the disease … but DeSantis has maintained he will not issue a statewide mask order or reverse plans to reopen the economy.” — Newsweek, 7/21/20
• “Florida Lawyer Fundraising to Put a Ron ‘DeathSantis’ Billboard Outside of the Governor’s Mansion.” — The Orlando Weekly, 7/28/20
• “‘He has these press conferences where he says how great everything is,’ Miami Beach [Democrat] Mayor Dan Gelber said. ‘It’s more like an Amway meeting than an emergency management meeting. This constant refrain of how well everyone is doing. It’s so the wrong approach.’” — South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 12/3/20
• “Even by Florida Standards, Gov. Ron DeSantis Is a covid-19 Catastrophe.” — The Washington Post, 12/21/20
• “Florida’s governor was slow to respond to the pandemic and his covid-19 vaccine distribution plan has been marked by chaos, but critics say he’s been quick to recognize the political gold in those precious doses. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, ignored federal guidelines and prioritized getting senior citizens — one of Florida’s most potent voting blocs — vaccinated first. When Holocaust survivors and Cuban survivors of the Bay of Pigs debacle — revered members of two other key Florida voting blocs — got their first shots, DeSantis made sure he was there for the news conferences.” — nbc News, absurdly “reporting” that vaccinating the elderly is some kind of political ploy, 2/18/21

Florida Strong

• “Palm Beach has also seen an influx of … New Yorkers with cribs and nannies in tow… Houses are being bought sight unseen, and the frenzy has only increased … making it one of the hottest real estate markets in the U.S.” — Bloomberg, 12/11/20
• Florida unemployment in December 2020, the last state data available, was 5.1 percent, while New York’s was 8.7 percent. Construction jobs in Florida were down only 1.7 percent in 2020, while New York’s fell 5.5 percent, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures.
• “The latest domestic migration statistics are in, and they show that Florida’s population continues to grow despite the ongoing pandemic. As the third most populous state in the United States, Florida continues to attract highly-skilled workers who are looking for respite from the high cost of living afforded by other U.S. states. Orlando, in particular, remains a popular location for both population growth and job growth. What’s especially interesting this year is the news that several leading national and global companies are leaving states like California and New York, and either opening new offices or fully relocating to the Sunshine State.” — 100 Units, 1/26/21
• “[Palm Beach] is really working with you, not trying to put wood in your wheels [as in New York].” — Philippe Delgrange, owner of Manhattan’s chic LeBilboquet, on opening another restaurant in Florida, The New York Post, 2/13/21
• “When the virus initially hit … all of the ‘experts’ were wrong initially. And so after the initial two-week lockdown, if you remember ‘two weeks to slow the spread,’ Gov. Ron DeSantis decided to do really three things. He said, first we’re going to protect the most vulnerable, which were the elderly — Florida has the second-largest elderly population in the country. We were going to protect the immunocompromised, those with issues all around the state. And then third, we’re not going to close down our state’s economy…” — Robert McClure, president of the free-market James Madison Institute and DeSantis advisor, to The Epoch Times, 3/1/21
• “Compared to Florida: 40 states have suffered higher covid mortality overall for seniors per capita. 40 states have a higher rate of cases per capita since Florida’s reopening on Sept. 25. [And] 36 states show a higher increase in all-cause mortality year over year from 2019-2020.” — Florida gop, on Twitter, 3/4/21
• “In his … State of the State address, DeSantis asserted that Florida was in better shape than others because its businesses and schools are open. Florida’s unemployment rate ranked below the national average… ‘While so many other states kept locking people down over these many months, Florida lifted people up,’ DeSantis said.” — AP, admitting that virus tolls were not worse in Florida as critics predicted despite freedom, 3/13/21

“DeSantis Is Ascendant and Cuomo Is Faltering,” exclaimed a baffled New York Times on 3/6/21. Sure, “Florida has a lower rate of [covid] deaths than New York, including at long-term care facilities like nursing homes.” But that’s only because “New York was the epicenter of the country’s first wave… States like Florida learned from New York.” Uh-huh.

The media can’t yet admit that DeSantis was right, but they do know that their Luv Guv — who implemented all their favored lockdowns, shutdowns, and restrictions on individual freedom (while killing seniors and sexually harassing everything in sight) — has laid a giant egg. Folks, nobody’s talking about a Cuomo Presidency any more. They’re wondering if he’ll politically survive the month. We’ve just seen demonstrated, yet again, that liberalism fails, every time it’s tried. And freedom rocks.

Cartoons ©2021 by permission of A.F. Branco and Creators Syndicate, Inc.