Congressman Gregory Meeks and the Serenade of the Sycophants
By Gary Glennell Toms
On April 5 of this year, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo held a press conference dubbed “Roll Up Your Sleeves”. Prominent CEOs, clergymembers, community leaders and activists were in attendance. However, the spotlight belonged to Congressman Gregory Meeks. Meeks seized the opportunity to proclaim that “we all owe” Governor Cuomo a debt of gratitude for the leadership he’s displayed ever since Covid-19 began ravaging the state. As reported in amNY, “Black leaders in southeast Queens expressed gratitude for Governor Cuomo’s leadership over the past year in which their communities suffered disproportionately. Congressman Gregory Meeks, the chair of the Queens County Democratic Party, saturated the room with support for Cuomo who is under the microscope for sexual misconduct allegations being investigated by state Attorney General Letitia James and the state Assembly Judiciary Committee against him. ‘We forget that the administration in Washington DC, did not have a clue, or if they did, they were not telling us the truth as to what was going on,’ Meeks said. ‘[Cuomo] was going to doctors and scientists and as they were changing what they were saying, as they started realizing, he would come and give us that information on the spot. Information that we need to try to move forward to save lives because around the world, we did not know, we had never seen anything like this in 100 years… We owe him a deep debt of thanks and gratitude.”
The power-players stood behind Meeks and applauded as he sang Governor Cuomo’s praises. Meeks periodically stared at Cuomo as if to say…. “I got you, bro. I got you.” It was during that moment that I realized I wasn’t just watching a press conference. I was listening to “The Serenade of the Sycophants,” written and conducted by Meeks. Why do I believe this to be true? Well, what other explanation could there possibly be? The Covid-19 nursing home and sexual harassment scandals have rocked the Cuomo administration to its core and caused many to question Cuomo’s character and tactics. What other explanation could there possibly be? Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins have called for Cuomo to resign, and they’re heavyweights in the Democratic Party. Yet, everyone in attendance acted as though the scandals and numerous calls for Cuomo’s resignation had never been reported or, and this is even worse, that they didn’t matter. You know something? They may not matter to Cuomo’s sycophants, but they matter to every New Yorker whose loved one died in a nursing home overrun with Covid-19. They matter to the women who claimed Cuomo abused them. They matter to every sexual assault survivor in the state. I would’ve had a greater level of respect for Meeks, or anyone else that attended, if he started out saying….. “I’m deeply troubled by the Covid-19 nursing home deaths scandal and sexual harassment allegations involving the governor, but I’ll say no more until the investigation has concluded.” He didn’t even bother to do that, and I’m completely stunned that the women, Black women in particular, were standing there applauding the congressman’s comments in the wake of an investigation by the state’s attorney general. Their actions were the equivalent of telling the Cuomo accusers….”Bitches, please!” If they were all about supporting women’s rights and women that have or may have been sexually abused, they could’ve simply stood there and not applauded. Applauding with enthusiasm and glee was bad optics! Period! Those familiar with the underworld of politics know damn well why these people and Meeks took part in the concert. Schumer and Gillibrand certainly do.
I’ll end on this note. On January 4 of this year, the Office of Congressman Gregory Meeks issued the following press release.
Meeks Issues Statement on Allegations Regarding Milan Taylor
January 4, 2021
Press Release
Queens, New York – Today, Congressman Gregory W. Meeks issued the following statement regarding allegations made against Milan Taylor by multiple women from the Rockaway Youth Task Force:
“I’m deeply disturbed by the accusations levied against Mr. Taylor by multiple young women. I strongly believe that we should listen to women and protect them at all cost. With such serious allegations, we cannot be silent and we must take action to ensure that young women are not abused, intimidated or taken advantage of by people that are supposed to be leaders in the community. There should be a swift and thorough investigation, and if these allegations are true, Mr. Taylor must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Congressman Meeks, I have a question that I’d like you to answer. Is there a specific reason why you haven’t issued a similar statement regarding the Cuomo allegations?