Kathy Hochul Is Emerging as New York’s Kamala Harris — and She Deserves a Similar Fate

Kathy Hochul and Kamala Harris’ inadequacies are almost as identical as their initials. Both have demonstrated political weakness, a lack of preparedness, unpopularity, poor communication skills, and an alarming deference to the radical left. This election cycle, if we are to save our state, New York Republicans have an opportunity to do to Governor Hochul what President Trump did to Vice President Harris: articulate her failures and expose her as utterly unfit to the task of getting New York back on track. As Vice President, Ms. Harris stumbled from one disaster to the next. Her mismanagement of the border crisis, awkward public appearances, and inability to inspire confidence even among Democrats reminded Americans why, as a presidential candidate in 2020, she dropped out before Iowa and, by President Biden’s own admission, was only selected as his running mate due to her immutable characteristics. Mrs. Hochul’s rise to prominence is not much different. She was selected by Governor Andrew Cuomo to be his running mate precisely because she was so unlikely to upstage him, and she only inherited the top spot after scandal brought him down. While she did win reelection in her own right, it was the worst performance by a statewide Democratic candidate in a generation.Like Ms. Harris, Mrs. Hochul has bounced from crisis to crisis, always a step behind. She failed to handle New York’s migrant crisis, allowing the situation to spiral so far out of control that the Trump Justice Department has now brought suit. Her administration’s weak response to rising crime, combined with her failure to stand up to Albany’s pro-criminal bail laws, has left New Yorkers feeling unsafe. Like Ms. Harris, she governs with no real mandate and no real leadership.And like Ms. Harris, she remains very unpopular. The former vice president’s approval ratings were consistently underwater. The Democratic base never truly warmed to her: does anyone think she would have made it through a competitive primary had she not been anointed the nomination in backroom dealing? Her awkward public speaking, filled with word salads and forced laughter, did not help her public image.The February Siena College poll shows Mrs. Hochul with a favorability rating of just 39 percent, with 47 percent viewing her unfavorably. Only 31 percent of New Yorkers want to reelect her while 57 percent want “someone else.”This is in part because like Ms. Harris, Mrs. Hochul is seen as a vacillating leader without the backbone to stand up to the far left. Ms. Harris has spent her career cozying up to the most extreme elements of her party, from supporting taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants to calling for an end to cash bail. Mr. Trump’s closing argument famously used a clip of her espousing support for taxpayer-funded gender reassignment surgeries for inmates. Mrs. Hochul, too, governs in fear of the radical left, who have steamrolled her again and again, from the recent botched attempt to delay the special election in New York’s 21st district, to Albany Democrats nixing her highly qualified nominee for chief judge of the Court of Appeals in favor of a progressive activist judge, to far-left wish-list items like congestion pricing and banning gas stoves. Instead of taking a stand against New York’s disastrous bail reform laws, she caved to Albany progressives and did nothing meaningful to fix them. Instead of pushing back on the migrant crisis, she signed an executive order making New York a sanctuary state. And instead of making New York more affordable, she’s made it more expensive — whether through energy mandates, higher fees, or taxes that drive businesses and families out of the state.Mr. Trump’s convincing victory over Ms. Harris serves as a blueprint for what we must achieve in New York. His bold leadership and commitment to disrupting the status quo have set a new standard in American politics. Mr. Trump didn’t just defeat Ms. Harris — he exposed her as an empty suit propped up by a party that had no faith in her. That’s exactly what we must do to New York’s own empress with no clothes, Mrs. Hochul.New Yorkers are desperate for change. The cost of living is crushing families. Crime is still too high. New York continues to lead the nation in outmigration as businesses and citizens alike seek freer, less expensive locales. If we want to save New York, we must deliver the same wake-up call to Albany that America just delivered to Washington. The future of our state depends on it.

Kathy Hochul Is Emerging as New York’s Kamala Harris — and She Deserves a Similar Fate

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