Earlier this month, Gov. Cuomo challenged legislature to pass a "clean-government program" in the aftermath of Speaker Sheldon Silver's arrest (which could be argued that his remarks are framed entirely around this very event), declaring that New York could face a crisis of public distrust. He made it very clear that he would not sign a budget without "a full slate of ethics reforms".
While Cuomo was directly addressing students of the New York University School of Law, his implied audience are decision makers in the legislative process, residents of New York, and arguably Americans as a whole, for corruption is not an issue exclusive to the state of New York.
Cuomo's delivery and choice of diction takes a controversial, complex, and objective issue like ethics and corruption and makes it easier for his implied audience to grasp. His linguistic tone, while confrontational of those who oppose legislative transparency, and critical of current legislature, is optimistic for the future of the state of New York in the event that ethics reform takes place. He acknowledges the challenge that reform presents, but if New Yorkers work together, he believes that New York can become a model that the rest of the United States can follow. I believe he does an excellent job of balancing confrontation and criticism with optimism, progress, and pro-activeness.
A transcript of Cuomo's remarks can be found here
NY is a very different place from the rest of the US do you think it would effective to have the rest of the US follow their lead?
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