Socialist Mamdani crushes Cuomo, and I’m OK with it

For anyone who read my commentary last week, it should be no surprise that I am overjoyed that state Rep. Zohran Mamdani trounced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the New York City mayoral Democratic primary on Tuesday.

Cuomo is a repulsive creep who, as governor, killed thousands of elderly New Yorkers by filling nursing homes with COVID-infected patients. He then lied persistently about his misdeeds. Adding insult to injury, Cuomo groped and mishandled vulnerable women, an offense that led to his resignation in disgrace.

Except for Mamdani’s use of the verboten term ‘socialist’ and his outspokenly anti-Israeli positions, someone like him fits quite well into the present Democratic Party.

Finally, Cuomo removed bail for violent criminals, something he tried to cover up in his primary race by promising to be “tough on crime.” The fact that Wall Street plutocrats — led by the feckless former mayor, Michael Bloomberg — were backing this shameless reprobate made me even more eager to see him defeated.

Clearly, I am not happy to see Mamdani victorious because I agree with his politics. Looking at the positions he advocates, I can’t find one that doesn’t turn my stomach — but that is also the case when listening to Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, and Amy Klobuchar.

I’ve been told that Mamdani is worse than these other leftists because he calls himself a socialist and bleeds for Hamas. Let me register my doubts that once in office (if he manages to win the general election) he would do anything to nationalize anything. His Upper East Side Manhattan backers, who poured out to vote for him, wouldn’t allow him to act like Castro or Lenin.

What Mamdani would likely do if elected mayor would be to make all the horrible conditions produced by New York’s big-city government even worse. Streets, outside the opulent neighborhoods inhabited by Mamdani’s benefactors, will be overrun by criminal thugs. New York City will become even more of a magnet for LGBTQ+ and Black Lives Matter exhibitionists, and normal people will move out of the urban zoo even faster than they’re doing right now.

Mamdani fits right in

Those claiming that Zohran Mamdani marks some unprecedented plunge into leftist madness haven’t been paying attention. High-ranking Democrats such as the Squad, Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, and Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii have long paved the way. Cultural leftists already infest Congress and crowd the statehouses. Aside from Mamdani’s unapologetic use of the word “socialist” and his anti-Israel posturing, he fits quite well in the modern Democratic Party. Nothing about him signals a deeper descent than what voters already hear nightly on MSNBC.

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Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images

In the general election, Mamdani may end up splitting the left-wing vote with fellow Democrats, including Mayor Eric Adams, who plans to run as an independent. That kind of vote-splitting could hand the race to Republican Curtis Sliwa, who has positioned himself as the law-and-order candidate. He’s the only one I’d actually like to see win. Still, I won’t pretend I wouldn’t enjoy the irony if Mamdani pulled it off. A Mamdani victory would deliver maximum schadenfreude.

Democrats forsake the working class

For decades, New Yorkers and denizens of other major cities have sabotaged themselves at the ballot box — electing pro-criminal politicians, embracing every deranged social experiment, and lately drooling over criminal illegal aliens. Despite the hand-wringing on Fox News, these urban voters aren’t victims of the Democratic Party. They’ve reshaped it. They turned a once-working-class coalition into a hive of government dependents and ideological psychopaths.

Justice demands that these “progressives” live with the consequences of their own political choices. They asked for this. Let them have it — good and hard. The tragedy, of course, is that normal people will suffer too. Those without the money to flee to private buildings with armed security or relocate entirely will pay the price. That’s why I hesitate to cast Mamdani as some kind of avenging angel.

Still, even with the obvious costs of a Mamdani administration, his rise might accelerate a trend that’s both inevitable and necessary. Sane people with means will keep fleeing cities run by criminals and ideologues. Those who stay behind — those who cheer on the chaos — can live with the rot they helped create.

Nothing new under the sun

Let me close with a brief speculation about politicians like Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar, Mamdani, and their counterparts in Europe — figures who somehow blend radical leftist politics with expressions of Islamic fervor. On paper, devout Muslims ought to align with the Christian right on most social issues. And many Muslim parents across the country have taken a stand, loudly opposing LGBTQ+ indoctrination in schools.

So why don’t Muslim politicians follow suit? Two possible explanations come to mind. Either they’re mimicking the old communist playbook — aligning with fringe social movements as a means to power — or they’re using Islamic identity as a wrecking ball to level what’s left of Western tradition and cohesion.

Let’s not pretend both options are equally likely. I suspect it’s the latter.

A version of this article was originally published in Chronicles.