When Andrew Cuomo opened his mouth for a bit of historical revisionism, the Democratic governor of New York unwittingly handed Republicans a hammer. Now House Speaker Paul Ryan isn’t hesitating to hit Democrats over the head with that blunt instrument.
The Congressional Leadership Fund, a Ryan-aligned super PAC, just cut a new radio ad slamming Anthony Brindisi who is challenging Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y.
New Republican attack ad courtesy of Andrew Cuomo https://t.co/BryJ5Em9Ra
— Philip Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) August 20, 2018
This is a strong line of attack because when Cuomo said America “was never that great,” he gave Republicans a whole new national foil. They have been dinging candidates non-stop because of their connection to Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Now they can switch over to Cuomo and condemn whole swathes of Democrats as unpatriotic at once.
[Trump: How can Andrew Cuomo survive saying America was ‘never that great?’]
Obviously this plays best in New York where the tie between a candidate and Cuomo actually exists. But it could also have national effect. Cuomo made a cultural argument, a statement much like kneeling during the national anthem. It is the sort of thing that makes the red blood boil in flag-waving patriotic nephews of Uncle Sam. In that way, it is a gift to Republicans at a time they desperately need it.
