In the 1987 Legislative Correspondents Association annual gridiron show, Andrew Cuomo was depicted as Darth Vader. The thinking among the press corps at the time was that he acted as an enforcer for his father, then-Governor Mario Cuomo.

Vader, played by Rex Smith, then the Albany bureau chief and national correspondent for Newsday, appeared on stage to music reminiscent of “The Imperial March” from Star Wars, and exclaimed, “The force is with me; we have our ways.” That was followed by Vader and three “Vader-ettes”, belting out the words, “For we are living in a political world and I am a political hack,” to the tune of Madonna’s “Material Girl.” You can watch it here.

While the LCA Show is strictly satire, a source close to the legislature thinks that Andrew Cuomo’s bullying behavior, which reportedly continues to this day, has prevented any accumulation of goodwill among lawmakers who may eventually decide his fate.

“He’s been the master of the dark side,” one long-time Albany observer told Capital Tonight. “Nobody cried when the Sith Lord fell down the well.”

The latest revelations reported by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times stating that the governor’s top aides altered a Department of Health report for political purposes aren’t helping matters.

In response, Beth Garvey, counsel to the governor released a statement Friday saying the administration’s actions were misconstrued; instead, the governor’s top aides replaced one data set with another one because it was “more accurate.”

Here is part of the statement:

COVID Taskforce members, including Melissa DeRosa, Linda Lacewell, and Jim Malatras, were involved in reviewing the draft report -- none of them changed any of the fatality numbers or "altered" the fatality data.  After asking DOH questions as to the source of the previously unpublished data -- to which there were not clear or complete answers  -- and probing to determine whether it was relevant to the outcome of the report, a decision was made to use the data set that was reported by the place of death with firsthand knowledge of the circumstances, which gave a higher degree of comfort in its accuracy. 

When asked how serious the latest allegations are for the governor, John Kaehny of ReInvent Albany said, extremely.

“It casts doubt on everything this administration says going forward. The fact that there was a deliberate omission of really, really important information in the middle of a terrible pandemic is shattering to public confidence,” he said.

Good government groups sent a letter this week to the governor and legislative leaders imploring them to release specific public data relating to the pandemic; conduct comprehensive oversight hearings; and begin “an NTSB-type” of independent investigation.

“What’s being missed here, is the public interest,” Kaehny said. “It’s gotten so politicized.”

Indeed, one legislative source said that some lawmakers are looking at the governor’s current weakened state as a gift.

“The ultra-progressives think it’s Christmas morning. They got the ultimate gift,” the source said. “But me and my staff mostly say, eh. He’s like a wounded animal right now and a wounded animal will get a burst of energy and try to fight this. He’s not as wounded as they want him to be.”

While the governor’s standing among some lawmakers is falling, it’s not clear when or if he will hit rock bottom.  

A recent Quinnipiac Poll which came out before the latest revelations reported by WSJ and the NYTIMES, shows him still relatively strong among Democrats, in spite of facing twin scandals.

On Saturday, the Albany Times Union editorial board called on the governor to resign, which would seem to signal the end is near.

But Albany observers who have watched Cuomo for decades aren’t so sure.

“Predicting if he’ll resign is like writing a book about the pandemic half way through the pandemic. It’s premature,” a source said. 

At the same time, the same source quipped, “There’s no soft landing for him on this because he’s built up resentment among lawmakers for decades.”