Though you may know me as “lipris,” my name is Phillip Anderson and I’ve been writing about progressive politics in New York state for over a decade. I did some of my earliest blogging right here at Big Orange back in the day. In 2006, I co-founded a blog called The Albany Project that covered, among many, many things, one Andrew Mark Cuomo, currently the governor of the state of New York.
Governor Cuomo is already beginning to make all the moves he thinks he needs to prepare for a run at the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in 2020. After writing about Cuomo for so many years, I think he would be a terrible choice for both the nation and the Democratic Party as a whole.
And that’s why I’m writing a book. It’s tentatively titled “The Case Against Andrew Cuomo,” and I’m shooting to deliver it by the late Spring/early Summer of 2018. And you can help make this happen!
I’ve just launched an Indiegogo campaign that could really use your support. And I’ve got cool swag as well.
Why, you ask?
Well, here’s my campaign pitch.
Who am I and why am I doing this?
My name is Phillip Anderson and I’ve been writing about politics in New York state for over a decade. My writing has focused mainly on corruption, ethics and good governance issues as well economic and social justice. Along the way, I even spent some time in government as New Media Director for the New York state Senate.
I’ve long chronicled the career of Governor Andrew Cuomo and how he has dealt with or often simply ignored many of the issues that matter greatly to New Yorkers and progressives across the country. I’ve written for years about the ethical shortcomings and scandals, the petty and vindictive feuds with progressives and progressive policy itself, the legislative cloak and dagger fights, all the progressive policy victories so often championed by Governor Cuomo that never seem to stand up to further scrutiny, and, last but hardly least, the all consuming political ambitions of a man that now wants to be the President of the United States.
All of this is why I feel compelled to write this book and share what I’ve learned over the years with all of those potential Democratic primary voters who maybe haven’t followed Andrew Cuomo as closely as I and others have. I’ve written roughly 700K words about Cuomo over the years, all with links to primary sources, and I’ve come to understand a great many things about the man. What I can tell you is that I feel he would be a terrible choice for the nation and an even worse choice for the Democratic Party.
Rest assured, Andrew Cuomo is definitely running for president and voters across the country deserve to know much more about who he really is as both a politician as well as someone who would seek to lead the Democratic Party forward in the post-Trump era.
Your support for this project is absolutely vital in helping to make that happen.
What you'll be supporting
By backing this project, you’ll allow me to take the time to assemble a clear and rational case for why Andrew Cuomo represents a politics that the Democratic Party and the country at large is leaving behind.
That said, let me be clear, I have no desire whatsoever to write a hit piece. This has been true for all my years of covering Cuomo. I believe the objective facts clearly support my thesis that Cuomo is the wrong candidate at the wrong time for the wrong party. I intend to make the case against Cuomo with facts, not hyperbole, not conspiracy theories, not with bullsh*t. When the governor and his crew come after this book, and they most certainly will, they will have to engage with it on the merits of the case, not on the fact that it is anyway unfair or speculative or factually incorrect.
And that’s why the case I will put forth has to be bulletproof. Your support for this project will allow me to engage an actual researcher. The book will be fully footnoted and fact-checked. It would be a waste of so much effort to write a book that can be picked apart because we didn’t get the facts right. That’s just not going to happen because the potential consequences are just too great. This is a serious endeavor and I intend to treat the entire enterprise with the seriousness it deserves.
In short, I plan on working my tail off to produce a book you will be proud to have supported.
It's much more than just a book
“The Case Against Andrew Cuomo” is also more than just a book. It will also be a living, continuously updated resource on the web with links, audio and video, and commentary as it happens*. The site, anybodybutcuomo.com, is nothing but a splash page at the moment, but that will change in the coming weeks and months. A large part of this effort is to build an accessible and genuinely useful resource for potential voters but also for journalists as well. I’ll be putting my many years of experience running online campaigns to build out the site but also a social media element that will put accurate, actionable and shareable information in the hands of citizens across the country.
By backing this project, you’ll be supporting far more than simply a book.
*And yes, before you ask, this means The Albany Project is coming back as well.
But what about stuff? Do you have stuff?
We've got some great stuff for backers! The sticker is being designed at this very moment. It's a 5x2 inch oval. It's perfect for your car or your laptop or your dog (don't put stickers on dogs) or your guitar case or whatever.
And check out this shirt!
Not bad, right?
One of the perks on offer is to have your name included in a special "backers" section of the acknowledgments. I fully realize that there are probably plenty of people who would very much like back this campaign in a significant way but have no desire to have their name included in this book. I fully understand. This is Andrew Cuomo we're talking about. If you would rather not have your name listed, just let me know. You know who you are.
We've got loads of other perks that you can check out over on the right and there will be more coming soon. As a certain US Attorney for the Southern District of Manhattan once said, "stay tuned."
Other Ways You Can Help
Spread the word! You can be of immense help by sharing this campaign with your networks. You can follow the book on Twitter and Facebook. You can put that sticker on your car and wear that shirt and when people ask you about it, you can tell them that you know who Andrew Cuomo really is. You can tell them why you think he'd maybe not the best choice for the country or the Democratic Party in general. You can tell your friends in Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina and elsewhere that maybe they should consider someone else.
Make no mistake, Andrew Cuomo (D-$$) is running for president in 2020. He’s a national name from a major state and he’s a hell of a fundraiser. It’ll be tough to sell himself to Democratic primary voters, but not impossible. I think he’d be a terrible choice for both the country and the party.
That's why I am writing this book. If you agree, I hope you'll consider backing this project and help spread the word.
Hopefully, I'll see you at Netroots next year. I'll be wearing one of these shirts.
UPDATE: What you see here is a big-shot New York Times reporter tweeting about the campaign for my book less than 90 minutes after it launched. NBD.
Thanks to David Nir for flagging this!