Top Democrats Unite to Tell Anyone Who Dares Oppose Andrew Cuomo to Go to Hell

Speaking at New York’s Democratic Party convention on Thursday, Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez reportedly celebrated Gov. Andrew Cuomo securing the party’s nomination by taking thinly veiled shots at Cuomo’s progressive challenger Cynthia Nixon.

As New York Daily News reporter Ken Lovett flagged, Perez called Cuomo and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, who was also nominated for another term, “charter members of the accomplishment wing of the Democratic Party.”

It’s a line so lame that only Perez, who’s used his tenure leading the party to slowly weed out and sideline left wing Democrats, would use it again. His implication was pretty clear: After much excitement around Cynthia Nixon’s progressive, resurgent campaign, Perez was drawing the focus back to what he believes really matters: concrete accomplishments.

That’s a funny word to use while describing Cuomo’s track record as governor, and a final fuck you to progressives audacious enough to think this was their opportunity to shake up the party establishment. What’s more, Perez was one of a large group of top Democrats, including Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, who descended on the convention to back Cuomo. Cuomo did not need the help at all; he won 95 percent of the vote at the convention. It’s almost like the real point of this establishment muscle was to send a message to the party’s progressive wing.

Think of this moment the next time you’re being told to fall in line and vote for a corporate Democrat in the name of party unity.

Update, 5:49 pm: When asked about Perez’s decision to go all-in on backing Cuomo, Congressman Keith Ellison, of Minnesota, said in a statement to Politico: “The Democratic Party should not intervene in the primary process. It is our role to be fair to all contestants and let the voters decide.” A source also told the site that Ellison was not told of the endorsement decision beforehand.