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New York Governor Kathy Hochul in 2019. Photo: Mark Lennihan/AP/NBC.
New York’s Kathy Hochul is playing smart, very smart. As governor, she has risen to the top job in state government. Before that, she played second violin in then-Governor Andrew Cuomo’s orchestra. It’s really not easy for her. She defied most of New York’s political conventional wisdom. She’s the governor of Niagara-Buffalo, defying the state’s age-old “you have to be from five boroughs” wisdom. She was the first woman to hold the top job, not only attaining exalted status, but not giving up. Not only is she a woman, but she has proven that she knows how to exercise power and then maintain that power. This raised the issue of gender discrimination in the New York State government. Why did it take so long to get a woman in an executive position? She will run again and win again in Democratic New York. Maybe she’s just lucky enough to catch up with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who himself has shown absolutely no signs of a political recovery, let’s appreciate Hoher, her female perspective, and ability to compare to Andrew.
Is this new to our New York politics? The answer is yes. One reason is that there are few and far between men who can run New York in the public mind. Maybe I’m being stereotyped, but I find that in politics, the goals set by those in power are attainable and feasible. When I talk to voters and female public officials, the language I hear revolves around the achievability of social policy, not the traditional cow-dung language of lofty promises. As soon as Hocher took office, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Take it for what it’s worth, Hochul is one of those who inspire confidence. Yet people will always find themselves annoyed by the political language of this administration. After all, much of what we hear from politicians, especially those previously immersed in bureaucracy, is policy stuff that is boring to many. People who give us this language find it safer to bore us than to stimulate us. In this society, we’ve come to expect stimulation, and when we’re not, we resent it. This is why so many politicians hire speechwriters who are, in many ways, nothing more than glorified entertainers.
When people expect entertainment, they are often disappointed. Why? Because, in order to be successful, politicians must satisfy several groups that, combined, make up an electoral majority. If even a small percentage of people leave the group that elects politicians, individual politicians lose their positions, which means loss of salary, benefits and prestige. So our politics, like everything else, is often swayed by those who give us movies and pop music, not those who want the best life for all of us. Is that what we want?
Governor Hochul faces some risks. One of them is that she can neither and will not be an entertainer for a public who clamors for entertainment. This may be moderated by her gender, but it also involves pleas for entertainment. Frankly, there are real challenges here. We know that egotistical Donald Trump sees himself as an entertainer. Perhaps that’s why the media pays so much attention to the former president, who is a regular presence in our newspapers and electronic broadcasts. On the other hand, Hochul seems to have arrived in a very good position to have people respect her ability and decency.
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