Ditching Cuomo is a good move for Democrats

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( Get Jonathan Bernstein’s newsletter every morning in your inbox. [Click here to subscribe](. Tuesday brought some reminders that neither party has a monopoly on politicians they should want nothing to do with — and that, right now, Democrats are far more capable than Republicans of taking action. First, with a state attorney general’s investigation into sexual-harassment allegations finding [plenty of fault]( with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Democrats were just about unanimous, from President Joe Biden on down, that the governor needs to resign. Cuomo isn’t going anywhere for now, but with impeachment a viable option and the party strongly against him, there’s a good chance that he’s finished. (Cuomo has denied the accusations.) Even if he hangs on, the Democrats’ reaction is a sharp contrast with how Republican have handled — well, take your pick, but certainly the accusations against former President Donald Trump, which were even more alarming than those against Cuomo. And then there was a House special election in Ohio, in which the bulk of the party came together to successfully nominate Shontel Brown and defeat Nina Turner, a former state senator and prominent supporter of Senator Bernie Sanders. The party’s problem with Turner wasn’t that she was ideologically too extreme; it was that she has never shown any sign of party loyalty but had demonstrated some signs of demagoguery, which she promptly reinforced in a speech after the results were clear, in which she blamed “[evil money](.” Again, both parties have these kinds of politicians. But Republicans if anything encourage demagogues and irresponsible leaders, which is why they currently have a few dozen of them (at least!) in Congress, while the Democrats have at most a handful. And, again, this has nothing to do with ideology. Outliers in the Democratic House caucus such as Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, ‎Ayanna Pressley, and Cori Bush can also be pragmatic and open to cutting deals. Let’s not give Democrats too much credit here. It’s not that they’re so good at this; it’s that Republicans have become so dysfunctional that they’re willing to tolerate, and even encourage, politicians who promise to make them even more disorganized in the future. And, yes, there are some Democratic counterexamples, not least Cuomo, who the party continued to support until his flaws became obvious. But Tuesday was a good day for Democratic control of their own party. 1. Frank R. Baumgartner at the Monkey Cage on [public opinion and the death penalty](. 2. Eric McGhee on [the recall in California](. 3. My Bloomberg Opinion colleague Conor Sen [on economic growth](. 4. Ed Kilgore on [Cori Bush and evictions](. 5. Lili Loofbourow on [Cuomo](. 6. And Ariel Edwards-Levy on [getting vaccinated — what Americans have in common](. Get Early Returns every morning in your inbox. [Click here to subscribe](. Also subscribe to [Bloomberg All Access]( and get much, much more. You’ll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, the Bloomberg Open and the Bloomberg Close. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Early Returns newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022