Mario Cuomo would have saved America from

[malaise]

Reagan's destruction of the middle class and working class - he was a genuine liberal unlike Bill Clinton. He would also have saved America from Wall Street
He should have run.

Rest in peace good man.

[marym625]

1. How sad he's gone

I remember wishing he would receive the nomination and win the election. He was an awesome, amazing man.

A great loss for the country.

[whyzayker]

3. Both Cuomos are/were anti labor

I've been a NY state employee since 1989 and am currently a local president - Mario was a great orator but was part of the problem when it came to the destruction of the middle class. His son and current governor takes twice as much money from the Koch Bros. as Scott Walker.

Those of us who have dedicated our lives to the care and well being of the mentally ill and developmentally disabled in New York are shedding few tears over this man.

[marym625]

4. I didn't remember that about him

I am not a fan of his son. But I was of him. Sad to hear that. I would have to do research to remember everything but I do believe he was a good man.

[whyzayker]

6. I was also a fan....

....until I witnessed first hand the results of his policies against some of the most defenseless New Yorkers and those who served them. His son is 100 times worse.

[marym625]

7. his son sucks

That's sad to learn about him. Like I said, I don't recall that.
I am sure you are correct. Selective remembering on my part.

[Historic NY]

8. Considering he closed most institutions and made service...

delivery community based. There was a lot of uproar in my town when people found out the state was buy houses and putting groups homes in town. We have 6 or 7 maybe a couple more now and there is not a wimper any more. The horrors of Williowbrook and other locations faded under his administration, something the Carey administration fumbled over time and time again.

[George II]

9. Really? Do you realize that the fourth highest contributor to his campaign....

...(the highest being his mother) and third highest non-individual was the New York Hotel & Motel Trades Council (AFL-CIO)?

I seriously doubt they would have given him more than $112,650 if he was "anti-labor".

Also, among the top 25 contributors to his campaign were:

Communication Workers District 1 ($90,500)
Hotel Restaurant Club Employees and Bartenders Local 6 ($87,650)
International Brotherhood of Teamsters ($86,900)
Soft Drink Brewery Workers Local 812 ($82,800)
New York State Laborers ($75,900)

Total contributions to his campaign from labor unions was more than $2.5M!

Would those labor unions give that amount of money to his campaign if he was "anti-labor"?

How much as the Koch Brothers contributed to his campaign?

I love the way people pull stuff out of the air and post it as "fact".

[whyzayker]

10. 87K

I am not going to engage in one of those infamous DU pissing matches. I've been here since the first day DU opened for business and rarely post, but I couldn't just sit quietly while people went on about what a "liberal lion" Mario Cuomo was. As I stated, I was a fan at one time until I saw first hand the destructive effects of some of his policies.

On the subject of Andrew Cuomo and Koch money - 87k for the last (2010) campaign.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/03/david-koch-and-wife-gave-gov-andrew-cuomo-87k/73300/

[George II]

11. That article is incorrect. The two combined gave less than $60K in the 2010 election

[lake loon]

2. He would've won in 1992, if he had run.

A truly great man. Much more so than his son.

[Octafish]

5. When he spoke at the DNC in 1984...

...showed he would have been the kind of President the nation needs -- a Democratic president.

[nichomachus]

12. You can't say that

Any politician can do only what's possible within The System. To imagine what Mario would have done or what Elizabeth Warren will do is just wishful thinking -- and a fallacy. The System calls the shots. The president is not an absolute ruler. He/she has to work within The System.

[malaise]

13. Valid point

but the system was more flexible back then. It is also true as others have pointed out that speeches are words and not actions. Still he certainly acted re the death penalty in New York.

[Johonny]

14. I agree

He held back the tide in New York for years. The Reagan America didn't hammer New York until voters insanely went Republicans. While the Pataki-Giuliani years seemed great it had mostly to do with economic forces beyond their control. Meanwhile the poor decisions on infrastructure, education, union jobs, privatization still haunt New York to this day. I can't believe how bad the education system is in New York now compared to when I went through it. Sadly Mario's son is a little more Pataki-Obama than Mario. New York could use a whole legislature of Mario's...