"Mr. Cuomo had been a longtime supporter of gun control, and after the mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., last summer, he instructed his aides to begin developing new gun control proposals. But he had done little publicly, other than making an occasional comment at a news conference, until Newtown."
"'I think for me, like for people all across this country, that was it,' the governor said in an interview last week. 'You said, 'Enough.’ That was it. It’s not an intellectual response; it was more emotional, visceral. Just, it was enough.'
Because emotion is the absolute best thing upon which to base policy. Frickin' politicians.
Here is one of the more telling paragraphs in the article: "The weeks between the mass shooting and the bill signing illustrated the classic Cuomo formula, honed over years in public life and refined during his first two years as governor. Eggs are broken, speed rules, an open process is sacrificed, and results are achieved — sometimes triumphant, often jagged and imperfect. Before New York’s new gun control law was even passed, lawmakers were acknowledging that they would have to pass a second measure to clean up some of its errors."
I take no issue with a man who gets results, but I do think there's a right and wrong way to go about most things.
Likewise, I understand that nothing in this world is perfect, but to sacrifice solid legislation (or anything else, for that matter) for speed just doesn't make sense to me. I remember a quote someone told be in the past, that, "if you don't have time to do something right the first time, where are you going to find the time to fix it?" I try to keep that in mind when I do things. I think it would serve public "servants" well to heed those words, as well.
Personally, I have no respect for someone who feels the need to resort to threats to get what he/she wants. If that's the level you need to stoop to, then there's something wrong with what you're trying to achieve. That, or you're not presenting your case in the proper manner.
"Senator Gregory R. Ball of Putnam County, a gun-rights advocate and avid trap shooter, emerged from the Republicans’ private meeting with a defeated look. 'I don’t think any lives will be saved today,' he said. 'The only life that may have been helped is the political life of Andrew Cuomo running for president.'"
If Cuomo does in fact secure the Democrat nomination in three-plus years, it will assure that I will once again not vote for that party.
