McLaughlin: ‘I’m very, very sorry about that’

Republican Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin apologized for comments he made comparing Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, to German despot Adolf Hitler.

“I’m very, very, sorry about that,” McLaughlin, R-Schaghticoke, said in a video statement. “I apologize to the governor and to all of you for doing that. It was the wrong analogy to make.”

McLaughlin said his statement was made “in the heat of the moment” and was an “honest mistake.”

McLaughlin’s comments came at a press conference calling for bills to be more fully aired before they are voted on. While the issue has long simmered for members of the Assembly’s minority conference, the event was prompted by the recent passage of the NY SAFE Act, which tightened gun controls and criminal penalties for illegal gun possession.

McLaughlin’s statements were deemed inappropriate by Democrats and Republicans alike. After initially rejecting criticism from a journalist at the press conference, McLaughlin issued the apology.

“I do maintain we need to do better than this in New York,” he said of the legislative process.

Here’s the full video:

  1. Charlie Brown says:


    Actually the people “overthrowing the government” and trampling the constitution are people like Cuomo and Obama for that matter. I think that perhaps YOU are the one that just doesn’t get it when it comes to our constitution. Our country and our constitution wouldn’t even exist had our founding fathers NOT objected to an oppressive government that lacked true representation of the people’s wishes.

    In fact, the authors of the constitution actually overthrew a government which they found tyrannical. The government that our founding fathers objected to as being tyrannical is far less so than whatever it is that we currently have.

  2. dan says:

    I know Steve personally. And I know that he works hard for his constituents whether they’re dem or republican. Governor Cuomo acts without impunity and given that this state is overwhelmingly democrat.. it’s nice to know that at least one voice of opposition is willing to stand up to this guy. The comments were overboard in the comparison but perhaps that is what was needed to shed some light on the injustices that have been going on for since Andrew was elected.

  3. Billy The Kidd says:

    Shouldn’t have apologized. Everything you said was correct. Your only mistake Steve was believing that the idiots who live in the Capital District actually want good government. They don’t,and that’s the truth

  4. John Quincy says:

    Steve was ok with Andrew when he was running for office last year. He bragged in his mailings about how he had fixed problems with NYS with the help of the Governor.

  5. Mitchell Ennis says:

    He should not have compared King Cuomo to Hitler. That would be incorrect. Cuomo should be compared to any of the many Dictators that have found absolute power by initially violating the law for they’re own personal gain. It seems clear the way cuomo does things and his past comments he loves to bypass the law.

    I would like to Cuomo resign, but that won’t happen with all the New York City liberals behind him.

  6. Steve says:

    He is my assemblyman and Machione is my senator. Two of the most unqualified and embarrassing people in NY politics and they “represent” me in NY. It is the idiots like these two who have destroyed the Republican party in NY.

  7. Phil says:

    Liberals and Democrats do this all the time. Where is the outrage from the left then? Cuomo is emulating Obama. That does equate to a despot in my book.

  8. jakester says:

    not enough room here to include all the names democrats called president Bush.

    Although Cuomo isn’t responsible for killing people as Hitler was, he is a narcisist responsible for killing the middle class hopes and dreams.
    The comparision of Cuomo or Obama to a dictator is completely accurate.
    Both use any means they have to advance THEIR agenda while circumventing
    due process… this has become the norm. No matter what your feeling is about the remark, the message itself is entirely apropos. He’s killed the spirit of many many many middleclass working families.

  9. Norman says:

    McLaughlin showed good sense apologizing for his intemperate remarks.

    The analogies he used do not even come close to the historical realities. Yet, many on the far Right wing of conservative politics find no problem comparing our Governor (and President) with totalitarian mass murderers. These folks basically consider the US, certainly NY, to be in a “state of emergency.”

    I anticipate there will be more outbursts of this nature in the days to come. Far Right wing attitudes against the State and hateful propaganda has deeply penetrated the scene.

    You did well to apologize Mr. McLaughlin.

  10. Achtung McLaughlin says:

    Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin only got 51 % of the vote before his absurd and offensive Hitler anaology. Not only did he blow his chance to be minority leader (a job worth less than a warm bucket of spit)but he also makes his own re-election difficult if not impossible.

  11. elmer says:

    True, the First Amendment does fully protect your right to be an ass. Still doesn’t make it a good idea.

  12. John Quincy says:



  13. fxwayward1 says:

    He has no reason to apologize to Cuomo. Cuomo has raped the second amendment and should be removed from office for his questionable and unlawful actions.

  14. Gino says:

    I agree, the Hitler comment was over the top- he should have just called him the Ayatollah Cuomeini. No apologies necessary!!

  15. Rick says:

    When Your Right You Shouldn’t Back Down, I Agreeed a 1000%.

  16. JoeSchmoe says:

    I am not sure sure why this is called name calling. There was no need to back down. It was an example that closely resembles what a Dictator from Germany did. No transparency, operate under the cover of darkness, forgo the rules, intimiate law makers, didn’t let anyone actually read the bill or allow public comment.. Hmm.. I think it was a great comparison, and if the shoe fits.. oh well. Didn’t we as Americans promise the world we would never go down this path again? Yet we allow it in our own state?

  17. Dale Gribble says:

    @ Charlie Brown
    “In fact, the authors of the constitution actually overthrew a government which they found tyrannical”

    Correct me if I am wrong (which I am not) but after 1776, King George III was and his govt was still in power in England.
    Therefore the founders did not “over throw” any govt.
    Alot of the infrastructure of colonial america was present and remained.
    The states had thier legislatures. councils, governors, mayors…. etc

    The founders set up a bill of rights, which was similar to the magna carta. They set up a govt, which did not answer to the king, but the people.


    I would ask you to do some light reading on the following then rethink the above statement:
    The Stamp act (which was passed to pay off the debt brought on by the french indian war)
    The sugar act
    quatering of soldiers

    virtually representation vs. Actual representation

  18. BurnTheBull!!! says:

    Andrew Cuomo has not implied racism in his politics, but he is quite guilty of every other crime which defines the megalomania of dictators. He has no respect for the legislative process, is an atrocious bully with with his work force, and his egotistical ambition is far greater than his conscience (if the latter exists at all). He is, hands down, the dirtiest tactition in New York’s political game! McLaughlin’s statements were accurate enough that no apology was warranted.

  19. Norman says:

    “It was an example that closely resembles what a Dictator from Germany did.”

    Perhaps the John Birch Society can get away with falsifications of history
    on its website, but you should know better. Your quote is scatter brain thinking and utterly at odds with what actually happened in Germany and in NYS. The danger of believing in Right wing propaganda is you don’t need to think, you just accept falsehoods, lies, and smear tactics.

    McLaughlin did the right thing and apologized. He is a big boy and knows when to retreat. You obviously don’t. ‘nough said.

  20. Bart says:

    Comparisons of Governor Cuomo to WW II madmen should be no mystery to Assemblyman McLaughlin. His visit on Tea Party radio host Melody Burns’ afternoon show on January 17, 2013 featured, as it does nearly every day, numerous callers using the same insane comparisons, and were never refuted by Assemblyman McLaughlin. For these reason I question the sincerity Assemblyman McLaughlin’s apology regarding his comments.

  21. Bart says:

    Nicely done! Assemblyman McLaughlin made MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, and not in a good way! Well played, sir!

  22. Ellen EG says:

    McLaughlin didn’t have a problem with voting for the Tier IV bill in the dead of night. But hey, that was about knee-capping the unions and kicking state workers in the butt, not reining in his Right Wing Tea Party base.

    As Steve said – both he and Marchione are unqualified Right Wing blowhards whose base is slowly eroding. But not fast enough to save him from pandering.

  23. adkgirl says:

    The bill should have been debated. Discussion should have not been thwarted. Why did the guv avoid a debate or discussion? Could it be that he is not skilled for debate or discussion?

  24. William says:

    I find Steve McLaughlin to be one of the most loathsome members of the Assembly and the Republican party. I was embarrassed by his conduct when he was my Assemblyman(representing Delmar) mostly because of his embrace of everything “tea party.” Now I pity his constituents on the other side of the river. His farcical grin at inappropriate moments evidences a thoughtless mind.

  25. jakester says:

    William, really? What he said, mere spoken words, are worse than what Monserate, Diaz, Espada, Shelly Silver, Spitzer, Paterson and Cuomo acutally have done… not embarrassed by them huh?
    please, get a dose of reality.

  26. Brian Bienduga says:

    I am not personally offended by his remarks, I rather agree with them. But I have to respect a guy who can be objective enough to to understand and empathize with both sides of the discussion. It was a classy move to back up and admit the analogy may have bothered some people, clearly that was not his intent so he apologized to those he may have offended. Very classy and respectful of Mr. McLaughlin. Meanwhile governor cuomo is a bold faced liar, not concerned with who he offends, he continually lies to the public and media.

    William – Mr. McLaughlins “grin” often comes out when the people he is debating with make points that counter their own argument. The ignorance behind the SAFE NY Act is epic, and thinking that is will solve violence is the kind of short shortsightedness that does not allow you to see the end of your nose.

  27. Sneazy says:

    Mussolini would have been more appropriate. After all as the Gov says: “It is what it is.”

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