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Former New York State Governor Mario Cuomo Passed Away on January 1, 2015. on the Day of His Passing, His Son, Current Governor

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Former New York State Governor Mario Cuomo Passed Away on January 1, 2015. on the Day of His Passing, His Son, Current Governor Former New York State Governor Mario Cuomo passed away on January 1, 2015. On the day of his passing, his son, current Governor Andrew Cuomo was sworn into office for his second term (Cuomo, Andrew). Governor Andrew Cuomo gave a heartfelt and politically driven eulogy for his father that discussed both his personal and political life. The funeral for former Governor Cuomo was on January 6th, 2015 at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in Manhattan (Barron). The eulogy that Governor Andrew Cuomo gave for his father was an emotional tribute from an admiring son and a positive message of reinforcing the shared values the father and son considered important for both New York City and New York State. Governor Andrew Cuomo’s eulogy referenced his father’s frustrations with the current state of the city and addressed how New Yorkers need to work together to surmount the city’s pressing issues. Andrew Cuomo is the 56th governor of the State of New York. Taking office in 2010, he had previously vacated the position of New York Attorney General (Cuomo Website). Andrew Cuomo grew up in the political realm due, in part, to his fathers’ participation in Democratic politics. Andrew Cuomo is one of five children of Mario Cuomo and grew up in the borough of Queens, New York (Zengerle). His unique family and political history validates Andrew Cuomo’s credibility when discussing pressing and consistant issues that plague New York City and State. Andrew Cuomo recounts the close bond he shared with his father throughout life. Andrew Cuomo is a life-long New Yorker and even became roommates with his father while attending law school in Albany while his father was working as the Lieutenant Governor (Cuomo, Andrew). Andrew Cuomo represented his father as his campaign manager during his run for Lieutenant Governor (Cuomo, Andrew). The unique situation of giving a eulogy for his father, friend, and Plavnicky2 political mentor, as well as the current head of New York State honoring a former predecessor offers rare insight into the Cuomos' special relationship. In delivering his father's eulogy, Andrew Cuomo was saddled with the difficult task of being forced to balance the personal representations of a son with the political perspective of a high- ranking government official. Governor Cuomo’s eulogy for this father marks an important time in the state of New York. Not only is the eulogy from a political New York dynasty but it also emphasizes New York City's current issues. The ability to have the current governor of New York discuss issues that the former governor of New York had during his administration demonstrates the repeating patterns of political history, which is a crucial issue of executive leaders striving to change their communities. This paper will analyze this particular address including the use of place, rhetoric, shared text, and political ideology. It will also discuss the use of juxtaposition in the delivery of a eulogy from a child as well as an incumbent’s perspective. The ability of Andrew Cuomo to balance giving a eulogy on behalf of his beloved father while simultaneously offering respect and admiration for a former Governor reflects a unique dichotomy. Additionally this paper will address the circumstances that allowed Governor Andrew Cuomo to set a political agenda in his father’s honor. The similarities, not only in title and family history, but the unique circumstances of similar political issues repeating 30 years later offers insight into the need for progress and real change for the State of New York. Governor Andrew Cuomo shares the story of Mario Cuomo, as father as well as political heavyweight. In the months leading up to Mario Cuomo’s death, the United States entered into a new era of racial tensions. These tensions continue to remain high among sections of Plavnicky3 black, white, and minority communities. The untimely death of unarmed black individuals and the subsequent shooting of two New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers heighted tensions around the United States, and re-started the conversation about how to address racial tensions in a modern world. In the midst of the racial tensions, Eric Garner, an unarmed black man, was killed during a patrol stop by NYPD Officers (Baker). This event sparked controversy around New York City about how the different races were treated, and more specifically how they are treated differently. Several months later, in December of 2014, two NYPD Officers, Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, were murdered in their patrol car while on duty. Governor Cuomo was able to weave these recent events into the core of the eulogy he had delivered for his father. During his father’s tenure as the 52nd Governor of New York during the late 1980s and early 1990s, he too had to address the difficulties with cultural and racial tensions within New York City (Cuomo, Andrew). While a eulogy is typically meant to honor the life and legacy of the deceased individual, Governor Cuomo used his platform as son and Governor to address these issues, demonstrate the correlation to past issues throughout New York City’s history, and to dedicate a promise to his father and the State of New York that he would do his best to work with his fellow citizens to rectify these issues. Another important aspect evidencing the timely nature of this address was that the former governor passed away on the day of his son’s second inauguration. Not only did the former governor pass away moments after his son was sworn into office for a second term, but the State Legislature allowed the governor to postpone his State of the State address in honor of the fallen public servant (Cuomo, Andrew). This act of courtesy and Plavnicky4 respect for the fallen public servant demonstrates the great respect the people and bureaucratic system in New York had for Mario Cuomo. It also demonstrates the political power held by the Democratic chief executive in a legislature, which holds a republican majority by only one seat. Mario Cuomo’s eulogy was performed in the traditional setting, his funeral service. The eulogy was delivered in front of a large crowd at St. Ignatius Loyola Church on a cold, snowy day in New York. The location of Mario Cuomo’s eulogy was symbolic in that the former governor had a strong connection to his faith and God. According to Andrew Cuomo’s eulogy, his father believed, “…Jesus’ teachings could be reduced to one world. And that word is love. And love means acceptance, compassion and support to help people. To do good. And that’s what he wanted government to be” (Cuomo, Andrew). The use of biblical text emphasizes Mario Cuomo’s connection to God and his ability to translate that passion and connect to his political duties. The former governor’s service was attended by many current and former political figures including other prominent members of the Democratic Party. The list includes: former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former New York Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, New York City Mayor, Bill de Blasio (Cuomo, Andrew). Many members of the state legislature were also in attendance. Andrew Cuomo stressed his father’s dissatisfactions with the bureaucratic system as well as the distain he had for political corruption and the disgrace it brought to the rest of the government. During the eulogy, Governor Cuomo paid a special thanks to former State Senate Majority Leader, Dean Skelos and members of the State Assembly including former Speaker Sheldon Silver for their work and tremendous admiration for his father’s message. The timing of this service Plavnicky5 is important to note, as both Dean Skelos and Sheldon Silver were later indicted on corruption charges. Such a message leads one to wonder what Mario Cuomo would have to say about that if he were still alive, as well as what role Andrew Cuomo played in the leaders' indictment as of the date of that address. At the beginning of Governor Cuomo’s address, he references his father’s distaste for extemporaneous delivery. Due in part to his great admiration for Winston Churchill’s speaking ability, Mario Cuomo thought it important to remain true to a speaker’s message and not be influenced or persuaded by outside forces. Governor Cuomo reflected upon his father’s message that written speech is better prepared and more favorably received then impromptu delivery. Quoting his father, “who cares about what the audience wants to hear. It’s not about what they want to hear, it’s about what you need to say”. As Governor Cuomo ended his eulogy he reflected upon that message, speaking directly to his father’s spirit and said that he read his eulogy word for word since this address was about what he wanted to say and not about what the audience wanted to hear. Evoking his father’s preferences for public speaking, specifically for his eulogy shows the great respect these members of the Cuomo family had for one another. Since it might be considered distasteful to tarnish a eulogy that a son gives for his father, press coverage of the address was understandably positive and respectful. News coverage focused primarily on the mass fan-fare surrounding the funeral, the major political names that attended the services, and the thousands of New Yorkers that came to pay their respects for the former public official. As reported by the Times Union newspaper, members of the Catholic Church had some negative remarks regarding Governor Cuomo’s eulogy for his father. Asserting that, “…eulogies at Catholic funerals Plavnicky6 are discouraged and are supplanted by a priest’s brief homily focused on the Mass readings” (Grondahl).
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