Money for Nothing

It’s all Relative when Everything is Free

Even though NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani seems to be much more extreme than President Donald Trump, Mamdani just gave former governor of NYC, Andrew Cuomo, a thrashing. What’s up with that?

Mamdani, the presumptive Democratic mayoral candidate, is proposing to raise taxes on “richer white neighborhoods.” Dear progressives, what’s up with that rabid racist’s remark?

NYC Wants a Socialist Mayor?

The Manhattan Contrarian knows about smugness, and he also suspects plenty of folk are snickering behind his back. Still, Francis Menton is willing to fight back by questioning hard: Do they know what Mamdani is really proposing?

• free transit buses for all
• free childcare for all children 6 weeks to 5 years old
• city-owned grocery stores
• a rent freeze on all regulated apartments
• vast expansion of city-owned subsidized housing (building on the success of NYCHA!)
• some sort of “crack down” on landlords
• mental health intervention corps to intervene with violent criminals in lieu of police

All of this is to be paid for by “taxes on big corporations and the wealthiest New Yorkers,” according to Mamdani.

Then there is the matter of “globalizing the intifada.” Mamdani founded the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at Bowdoin College. As Mr. Menton cautions, don’t think this guy doesn’t mean it.

Often pressed on any of these issues, he has absolutely declined to back down or moderate on any of it. His no-limits version of the leftist project has earned him the endorsement of a who’s who of the far left of the Democratic Party: Bernie Sanders, AOC, New York AG Letitia James, New York City “Public Advocate” Jumaane Williams, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, ex-U.S. Congressman Jamal Bowman, and so forth.

Mamdani must be looking for a trifecta – mayors of big inner cities. By winning, he would be the third leg of a mayoral contest: Karen Bass in Los Angeles and Brandon Johnson in Chicago. Number 3 would be Mayor Mamdani in New York.

Mamdani, representing the young and activist arm of the Democrat Party, seems to think the Pary cannot/will not stand up to this activist faction. Their hesitation should allow Republicans to define the Democrats in a way from which a majority of voters will recoil. Well, we can only hope, Mr. Menton.

At this point, Mamdani’s running is also giving Democrats heartburn.  … he can be pointed to (along with Bass and Johnson) as representing and defining what the Democratic Party stands for, and what the Democrats will do if put in charge nationally.

(Mamdani’s) ascendancy puts what passes for the national leadership of the Democratic Party in a rather tough spot. … maybe they don’t see it that way. But their choice at this point is either to support this guy enthusiastically or repudiate him and try to get other Democrats to join in the repudiation.

So far, the big guns are mostly in support.

Consider Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the most senior of the elected Democratic leadership. From New York Jewish Week, June 25:

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader who likes to call himself the “shomer” (guardian) of Israel, spoke with Mamdani Wednesday and congratulated him on social media. “I have known @ZohranKMamdani since we worked together to provide debt relief for thousands of beleaguered taxi drivers & fought to stop a fracked gas plant in Astoria,” Schumer posted on X. “He ran an impressive campaign that connected with New Yorkers about affordability, fairness, & opportunity.”

Talk about Hatred for Trump

(The New York Times does note here that Schumer stopped short of a full-on endorsement.). Uptown Manhattan’s prominent Jewish Congressional Representative, Jerrold Nadler, did not stop short, and he endorsed Mamdani:

U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, the pro-Israel stalwart on the Upper West Side and parts of the Upper East Side, was even more enthusiastic in a statement intended to assure pro-Israel voters that he understood their qualms. “Voters in New York City demanded change and, with Zohran’s triumph, we have a direct repudiation of Donald Trump’s politics of tax cuts and authoritarianism,” Nadler said Wednesday, as he endorsed Mamdani in the general election.

The Times points out that a few Democratic congressmembers from swing suburban districts expressed hesitancy about Mamdani. But did any of them repudiate him? Did any say, “This is not what our party stands for?” Not that Mr. Menton can find.

Mamdani No Sure Bet

Mamdani represents what the young and activist wing of the Democratic Party supports and believes in. Because the Democratic leadership cannot and will not stand up to this faction, Mamdani provides an excellent opportunity for the Republicans to define what Democrats represent.

In this primary, Mamdani got about 432,000 votes out of about a million cast. That represents about 43% of a 30% turnout of the Democratic electorate in a closed primary. The total number of registered voters in New York City exceeds 5 million. Granted, writes Menton, “the heavily Democratic general electorate tends to support whatever the primary voters have tossed their way.:

But in this upcoming election, there are plenty of votes that can be marshaled to defeat Mamdani if the opposition can get organized and can coalesce around one candidate. The most likely such candidate is the current incumbent, Eric Adams.

Will Mamdani Win in November?

Out of a million votes cast, Mamdani received about 432,000 votes. That represents about 43% of a 30% turnout of the Democratic electorate in a closed primary, explains Menton.

The total number of registered voters in New York City exceeds 5 million. Granted, the heavily Democratic general electorate tends to support whatever the primary voters have tossed their way.

In this upcoming election, continues Mr. Menton, if the opposition can become organized to  coalesce around one candidate, plenty of votes can be marshaled to defeat Mamdani.

The most likely such candidate is the current incumbent, Eric Adams, who himself is rather badly flawed. But then, everything is relative.