A GOP, Cuomo romance, at least for now

One month ago, a Siena Research Institute poll showed Democratic Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo with a hefty 58 percent approval rating among Republicans.

"He's managed to out-Republican the Republicans," quipped a longtime Long Island political player who declined to be identified.

Some now wonder how long Cuomo's rapport with GOP "frenemies" may last.

Much of the karma he attained across the aisle flowed to Cuomo during the budget season, which ended in early April. The three-way, two-party deal included expiration of an income-tax surcharge on the state's top earners and significant cuts in education and health care spending.

Cuomo has pushed property-tax restraint as a priority. That resounds in upstate and suburban districts that have partisan competition. He also worked a deal on ethics legislation that won final approval in the Republican-run Senate and the Democratic-controlled Assembly.

Late in March, GOP chairman Ed Cox -- who prior to his current role served on a Cuomo transition committee for attorney general -- went with this spin: "With the 2010 elections producing a Senate Republican Majority and a stronger Republican Assembly conference, Governor Cuomo could close a gaping budget deficit by reducing spending and not raising taxes."

In that May Siena poll, though, the Democratic approval number was 74 percent, contributing to an overall favorable rating of 68 percent statewide. And this week, Cuomo's public stances on identifiably Democratic issues have been in the spotlight: Shoring up rent regulations, mostly in New York City, and legalizing gay marriage.

State Conservative Party chairman Michael Long -- whose party could oppose Republicans on the ballot who voted for same-sex nuptials -- said Tuesday Cuomo has earned "some Republican stripes, no ifs ands or buts about it."

Long contended, however, that Cuomo "had no other choice than to turn to conservative Republican ideas to turn the state around." And on rent-control for New York City, Long said, the issue is not about helping the poor but "currying favor with the left wing of his party."

That said, Long puts Cuomo's overall approach to his partisan opposition this way: "He's been a gentleman -- at this stage of the game."

Does the storied clout of municipal labor have an impact? Not at the moment, it seems. In Trenton, N.J., this week, the Democratic-led Senate approved a bill requiring public workers to contribute significantly more for pensions and health insurance and suspending the ability of unions to bargain over health care.

"We have Democrats acting like Republicans," said Dominick Marino, president of the state's Professional Firefighters Association. "Why do we have two parties?"

On this side of the river, former Nassau Assemb. Arthur J. Kremer, now an attorney in private practice, perceives a "marriage of convenience" between Cuomo and the Senate Republicans.

Should Cuomo's popularity dip, watch for the Senate to soon start throwing darts. As inter-partisan marriages go, Kremer says, "I wouldn't start buying the couple furniture."

Responded Cuomo spokesman Joshua Vlasto: "This is the agenda the governor laid out in the first days of the campaign last year for which he received broad support across the political spectrum -- from Democrats, independents, and Republicans."