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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRemembering Mario Cuomo
I remember a sunny, cool day in the fall of 1990. The media was reporting that Governor Mario Cuomo was going to be visiting a Veterans Home in our county. A co-worker and I went to the event on our lunch hour. After Governor Cuomo gave his speech -- and that man was a most powerful communicator! -- he saw me in the audience, and came over to discuss a Native American issue.
I dont mind saying that I loved that Governor Cuomo started our conversation by thanking me for assisting him previously, with a rather hostile crowd. For in those days, the state was considering placing a nuclear dump in our county. Although I was as opposed to that concept as anyone, I had treated Governor Cuomo with great respect. For I had learned, from back when he served as NYSs Lieutenant Governor, that Mario Cuomo was an honest man.
At that time, I was a single father, raising two little boys. My life was pretty full: my wonderful little boys; working at the mental health clinic; and also serving as Onondaga Chief Paul Watermans top aide on burial protection and repatriation issues in the northeast. I did have a crush on my co-worker, and I suspect that conversation with Mario Cuomo impressed her in a positive way. (We soon began dating, and she was one of the most outstanding people Ive ever had the pleasure of knowing. However, after about a great year, we recognized that I was too busy with my sons, and working with Paul, to be able to invest the time and energy in the relationship she surely deserved. We parted as good friends. It remains one of those what if? episodes of my life.)
It likely comes as no surprise to any conscious DU community member that there have been very few non-Indian politicians that the traditional Iroquois have respected. The only other one that I can think of from the century of the 1900s would be Robert F. Kennedy. I could write for a week about why men such as Nelson Rockefeller or George Pataki were deemed as wholly unworthy of respect. Yet Kennedy and Cuomo were exceptional -- they could be trusted. I guess two other what ifs? would be if either had ever served as the President of the United States? Im fully convinced our nation would have benefited from human beings of their quality serving as president.
(A brief side-note: a reporter from an area newspaper approached me moments after my conversation with Governor Cuomo. He asked if I would tell him what that was all about? I asked him why he had mis-quoted me in an article 18 months previously? He said that the editor had changed his work, specifically attributing some utter nonsense to me. I didnt believe him at the time; however, I did talk to him about a burial protection issue that was heating up. And, for the next two years or so, he did write a number of outstanding articles on Native American rights, including the case at hand, which ended up in NYS Supreme Court.)
Although I cant say that I was ever friends with Mario Cuomo, he did give me a card that day, upon which he gave me private contact information. I had the honor of meeting him a few times. And I remember a meeting at his office in Albany, that his closest friend/attorney set up. A large construction company, complete with their lawyer and hired-gun archaeologist, was seated at one side of the table; Chief Waterman, two Oneida representatives, and I were on the other side. The Council of Chiefs had determined that I would serve as our sides spokesperson. I remember Paul saying that he wasnt concerned that I was going against two men who had Ph.Ds, because I was telling the truth. I was younger then, of course, and I remember after the meeting, that I felt the same as I used to after one of my best boxing matches. Plus, I wouldnt end up sore the next day -- in boxing, everyone gets hurt. But that night, I easily destroyed our oppositions lies. I was on fire, the way young men can be.
Several months later, Governor Cuomos attorney friend called me at my work. The state was going to open a new department, to work exclusively on Native American issues. Besides the burial protection issues, it would focus on disputes about both taxes, and a proposed casino. I would be lying if I said that I wasnt pretty interested in the job he was offering me. But there was no way that I would stop serving with Chief Waterman, the most honorable human being that Ive ever met.
Back then, Andrew Cuomo served his father as a top advisor. We all knew that the son was a highly intelligent man. My impression of him from back then was that he was ambitious. I am not intending that as a compliment. He struck me as cold. It was funny: although his voice sounded exactly like his fathers, and he clearly shares some physical attributes with Mario Cuomo, he seemed to lack the quality of humanity. I cant think of a better way to express that; I hope that it makes sense.
The last communication that I had with Mario was about six months ago, when I e-mailed him. I didnt hear back from him, but that was fine. Of all the politicians that Ive met over the decades, Governor Mario Cuomo impressed me the most. By far, really.
Its strange: yesterday, the NYS public schools teachers union went to picket outside the Governors residence. Sad to say that public education is being attacked, even here in this state. I had spoken with some regional union leaders two days before, suggesting that the union and the Board of Education(s) should be joining together on the issues involved. While I am unsure if Andrew Cuomo would approve of that, Im confident that his father would have said it was important that the teachers union and BOEs join together to advocate for public education.
Rest in peace, Governor Cuomo.
H2O Man
KMOD
(7,906 posts)for taking the time to share this story.
A beautiful tribute, for our late, beloved Governor.
I have enjoyed remembering those days. I knew it wouldn't seem as "outstanding" to others as to me, but hoped people would enjoy reading it.
Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)....the late Governor Cuomo (although I've never had the pleasure of meeting him personally) and the present Governor Cuomo. They might be kin, but are two different men.
H2O Man
(73,333 posts)I realize that most successful politicians are like other prostitutes: they are able to convince their "audience" that what they say to you is authentic, and deeply felt. But there are a very few who are authentic. And everything that I learned from the experiences of meeting him, then communicating frequently with his top aides, convinced me that Mario Cuomo was honorable.
appalachiablue
(41,055 posts)H2O Man
(73,333 posts)I remember talking with my normal brother, the day that I first met Governor Cuomo. My brother was a "Tip O'Neill democrat," who lived in California. He felt that Cuomo could be a solid democratic president. I remember him asking me a series of questions regarding my impression of Governor Cuomo as a man. I said he was authentic.
malaise
(267,827 posts)Rec
Happy New Year Waterman
And Happy New Year to you & yours!
F4lconF16
(3,747 posts)It's helpful to read about icons of old, as a newcomer to the political scene. It's also nice to hear personal experiences, particularly those as well written as your posts always are.
I listened to some of his speeches earlier today; he seems to me to be exactly as you describe him. A true progressive, but above all else, a human being that cared about other human beings. I hope that we continue to listen to and pay attention to his words and actions. We need more like him.
On another note: you often speak highly of Chief Waterman. Is there a biography or something you would recommend?
As bad as the 1980s were nationally (Reagan-Reagan-Bush the Elder), having Mario Cuomo and Jesse Jackson deliver outstanding addresses at the Democratic National Convention was great. Governor Cuomo represented the best in liberal thought, while Jesse spoke for the progressive left. In the 1990s, those ideals were put on the back-burner by a new, more conservative type of democratic leaders. But, as Arthur Schlesinger often noted, democratic politics goes in cycles. The re-awakening of the more liberal-progressive school of thought is beginning to cause some tensions within the party -- especially as 2016 comes upon us. I think that's a good thing!
(My sons wrote a book about Paul; it was published in 2012, in a limited edition that sold out quickly. I think it will be coming out again soon. I'll ask them when I see them if hey know.)
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)H2O Man
(73,333 posts)I think he ranks among the most gifted communicators of the past century.
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)else do we have to truly articulate our liberal beliefs in such a way that you feel
it in your heart and your eyes well up with tears? We always say Obama is so eloquent - which he is - but I think in a different way - not like Ted, Byrd, and Mario.
I always think it's what's missing in the healthcare debate. Someone like
Mario - who could talk about the hugest elephant in the room - that we should
care about those less fortunate who can't see a doctor
If every Democrat rang this bell - things would have been totally different
last November.
bigtree
(85,919 posts)... I'll file this remembrance away as a solid reaffirmation of my own affection for the man - and for the politician.
You got it exactly right about Andrew. Not a bit of what I felt for his dad seems to associate itself with the son. Not unusual, I guess, but as you say, worth noting.
My family and I had just arrived at the beach and I switched on the telly in the motel room and Mario had just begun 'the speech.' We were full up with republicans in the WH and anywhere else; full up with Reagan, and, needless to say, we sat riveted to the screen in that dingy beachtown motel room until every delicious word had crossed his lips and danced around in our giddy heads.
The mayor dug so deep into Reagan's hide that it shocked us as much as it excited us.
"...We need a platform we can all agree to so that we can sing out the truth for the nation to hear, in chorus, its logic so clear and commanding that no slick Madison Avenue commercial, no amount of geniality, no martial music will be able to muffle the sound of the truth."
"...Think about it practically: What chance would the Republican candidate have had in 1980 if he had told the American people that he intended to pay for his so-called economic recovery with bankruptcies, unemployment, more homeless, more hungry, and the largest government debt known to humankind? If he had told the voters in 1980 that truth, would American voters have signed the loan certificate for him on Election Day? Of course not! That was an election won under false pretenses. It was won with smoke and mirrors and illusions. And that's the kind of recovery we have now..."
"...remind Americans that if they are not happy with all that the President has done so far, they should consider how much worse it will be if he is left to his radical proclivities for another four years unrestrained. Unrestrained."
The passion of a truth-teller...it's a beautiful thing. It gave us hope - possibly the only thing which allowed us to sustain the political defeat of those ideals he expressed - possibly the reason those ideals are still inherent in our political passion today.
During the Reagan era, just having Governor Cuomo speak the Truth at the convention gave me hope -- and there wasn't a lot else on the national level that did.
Response to H2O Man (Original post)
Name removed Message auto-removed
Octafish
(55,745 posts)When one cares about another, it shows.
I was about to ask if you saw what the great DUer aquart wrote:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026035940
Thank you for sharing, H2O Man.
H2O Man
(73,333 posts)I enjoyed aquart's OP, too.
Mario Cuomo kept up the standard of values that represents the very best of the Democratic Party. He told the Truth at a time when too many of our elected representatives held their tongues.
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)Our Lt. Governor and then Governor during my years in NYC, he made us proud.
RIP, Governor.
He made us proud, and we respected him. I believe that he respected us, too.