Gov. Cuomo Yet To Accept Remington Arms Offer of Ventilators, HAS Accepted From Chinese

P. Gardner Goldsmith | April 6, 2020
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Is it possible that some Americans have become disenchanted with that lovable charmer, New York’s Best Governor™, Andrew Cuomo? Like David Lee Roth singing “Where Have All The Good Times Gone?”, are people looking back on the old days of their Cuomo affair and scratching their heads, because now he’s showing signs of gruffness, disingenuousness, and outright ugliness of character?

And, if so, what could have broken the spell?

Here’s a wild stab in the dark. Some folks might have heard the incredible news that the brother to CNN's Chris Cuomo not only decided the Remington Arms plant in Ilion wasn’t “essential” to remain open (Remington reopened it's doors on April 5th, after the federal government designated gun retailers an "essential service"), but that, despite his claims that his government desperately needed ventilators to save lives, has not replied to Remington’s offer to use its plant and workforce to make ventilators.

According to the Times Telegram:

‘The Remington plant in Ilion now has approximately one million square feet of unused and available manufacturing space,’ said Ken D’Arcy, chief executive officer of Remington Arms in a March 23 letter to Cuomo and President Donald Trump. ‘We would be honored to donate our facility to the production of ventilators, surgical masks, hospital beds or any other products mission-critical to the war on coronavirus.’

As of April 5, Mr. Cuomo- who has had time to make many public statements about the need for ventilators - has not had the time to reply.

Remember, Remington made its publicly visible offer to Mr. Cuomo on March 23, yet on March 24, he pressed his need, saying on television that the medical system was in such straits, that they in the NY-government-run response to COVID-19 were “splitting ventilators” because they had “no other options… the only way we can obtain these ventilators is from the federal government – period.” He also stressed that the President should “make" businesses create ventilators through “Federal Defense Production Act”.

How odd, that Andy should say all these things, and call for the President to take over businesses and force them to make things, when he had already been put on notice that Remington – the gun-maker Andrew himself shut down – had already offered to put their employees back to work in order to provide him with precisely what he demanded…

It almost seems as if he'd rather complain than work with the gun manufacturer.

And now, nearly two weeks later, Cuomo’s non-response to Remington appears even more insulting, because, on April 4, he told the press that he was getting 1,000 ventilators from China.

Yeah. Place those on a scale. In the final week of March, Cuomo claims he needs 30,000 ventilators in a few weeks, or the state will be overwhelmed. This coming the day AFTER a gun company he deemed "non-essential" offered to make ventilators and other equipment – an invite he hasn’t even acknowledged. Then, on April 4, he proudly announces that he’s going to get 1,000 ventilators via the authoritarian Chinese government, the very government that mismanaged the outbreak in the first place and sent over 100,000 faulty test kits to Spain and the Czech Republic.

How could anyone not like this wholly consistent, charming man?

After all, this is the same Andrew Cuomo who, on January 22, 2019, ordered the World Trade Center lit pink to celebrate the passage of a pro-abortion law so sweeping, it legalized taking the life of a baby in the ninth month of pregnancy.

This is the same Andrew Cuomo who, even as he claimed the state was in desperate need of ventilators and accused Donald Trump of not helping, did NOT tell reporters that his government already had put thousands in storage, then, when called-out, back-tracked, and tried to offer context he did not originally offer.

This isn’t to say that New York hospitals could need more than the government put in storage, but it does indicate to us that Mr. Cuomo was not transparent.

Even with a lack of transparency, in some ways, Cuomo's way of thinking is fairly clear.

 

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