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A former top aide to Andrew Cuomo has slammed his successor in the New York governor’s office as ‘tone-deaf’ for her tactics in the abortion rights battle ahead of the key midterm elections.

In an op-ed on Friday for the Daily Beast, Melissa DeRosa took aim at Governor Kathy Hochul as well as other Democrats, criticizing them for how they have responded to the likely overturning of Roe v Wade.

After the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion indicated that the court will remove nationwide legal protections for abortion, Democrats have been energized ahead of the midterms.

But DeRosa, who was once dubbed a ‘mean girl’ by fellow Cuomo staffers, argues that Democrats have overestimated the abortion issue’s importance to voters in states where the ruling will have little impact. 

‘Eager to change the subject from crime and the economy and make abortion the electoral issue, Democrats in blue states where Roe has been codified appeared political and tone-deaf,’ wrote DeRosa.

In an op-ed on Friday for the Daily Beast, Melissa DeRosa took aim at Governor Kathy Hochul as well as other Democrats, criticizing them for their tactics in the abortion rights battle

In an op-ed on Friday for the Daily Beast, Melissa DeRosa took aim at Governor Kathy Hochul as well as other Democrats, criticizing them for their tactics in the abortion rights battle

DeRosa slammed her old boss's successor Kathy Hochul (above) saying that the governor is 'tone-deaf' and implying that she is a phony progressive

DeRosa slammed her old boss’s successor Kathy Hochul (above) saying that the governor is ‘tone-deaf’ and implying that she is a phony progressive

In an op-ed on Friday for the Daily Beast , Melissa DeRosa took aim at some in her own party

In an op-ed on Friday for the Daily Beast , Melissa DeRosa took aim at some in her own party

DeRosa called out Hochul by name, calling her ‘a former NRA A-rated conservative Democrat who previously boasted about how many times she voted against “Obamacare”.’ 

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Hochul previously served in Congress as a moderate, becoming the first Democrat in 40 years to win a conservative upstate district. She has said that her views on gun control have ‘evolved’ since her time in the House.

After Hochul declared a $35 million fund to help women seeking abortions travel to get them in New York, DeRosa said that that her pro-choice friends suggested that ‘if the state is so flush with cash they’d like their tax dollars back.’ 

DeRosa also slammed Hochul for a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed in which she appealed to businesses to move the headquarters to New York due to the state’s strong legal protections for abortion. 

‘In a post COVID world where businesses have moved to more tax-friendly states and in the midst of a crime wave, does the governor really believe that pitching businesses based on abortion policies is persuasive?’ asked DeRosa. 

‘It was a piece so ill-advised it felt like a set-up by the paper’s conservative-leaning editorial board,’ she added.

DeRosa resigned at Cuomo's top aide in August 2021, just days before he stepped down as governor in the face of snowballing scandals

DeRosa resigned at Cuomo’s top aide in August 2021, just days before he stepped down as governor in the face of snowballing scandals

DeRosa also took swipes at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, calling him ‘the proverbial dog who caught the car’ for failing to compromise with moderates to pass a law protecting some abortions.

‘In a moment when Republicans should rightly be on the defensive, Democrats have inexplicably handed them a lifeline,’ she wrote.

DeRosa resigned at Cuomo’s top aide in August 2021, just days before he stepped down as governor in the face of snowballing scandals over sexual harassment allegations and his handling of nursing home deaths in the pandemic.

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Hochul, who had been a little-known figure as Cuomo’s lieutenant governor, automatically succeeded him, and she is seeking re-election to the post in November.

Though Cuomo has mostly maintained a low profile since leaving office in disgrace, the former political star has also taken vicious swipes at Hochul. 

Cuomo has mostly maintained a low profile since leaving office in disgrace, but is reportedly plotting a political comeback of some kind

Cuomo has mostly maintained a low profile since leaving office in disgrace, but is reportedly plotting a political comeback of some kind

Last month, he slammed  Hochul for her ‘incompetence’ and ‘backdoor deals,’ citing in part the recently announced $850 million Buffalo Bills’ stadium deal that could directly benefit Hochul’s husband’s concession business. 

Cuomo made the jabs in a New York Daily News column titled ‘There’s a better way forward for New York State.’ 

‘The Albany culture now is ‘see no evil’ and ‘go along to get along.’ State government is back to parochial politics, fundraising and incompetence,’ the embattled career politician wrote.

Cuomo has reportedly been eyeing a return to politics, but his plans to seize back the spotlight remain closely guarded. 

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