Happy Thursday! I hope and trust your day will be rewarding. I'm glad you’re here.
Today in History: Today in 1947, "Meet The Press" (or, as Rush used to call it, "Meet The Depressed") made its debut. In 1861, Jefferson Davis was elected President of the Confederate States of America. Today’s birthdays include Emma Stone and Ethan Hawke.
Now, on with the show. Today, I’m going to take a second look at New York City's election results. Scott Pinsker yesterday explained well the reason for a second reaction pass from, well, everybody, including myself:
But it takes time to process new information. And after last night, there’s an awful lot to digest: We were guzzling data from a firehose, introducing the American people to a bevy of bright new liberal faces, including 34-year-old New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and 36-year-old Attorney General-elect of Virginia, Jay Jones.
Well noted, Scott. And I did indeed find myself, over my second morning cuppa yesterday, pondering the notion that I was going to need some time to sort my own thoughts on the subjects in front of us. Not that my initial thoughts were incorrect, but when you’re driving at over 200 MPH, it's not easy to identify every crease in the road.
Related: Dems Race Over the Cliff
The somewhat calmer situation of today allowed me to not only take stock of election night, but to figure out what‘s going to happen going forward with this bunch. As usual in such examinations, the mind wanders. I found myself deep in my own personal history, and a similarity struck me.
An old girlfriend of mine related a tale to me a number of years ago about a guy she dated for several months. A perfect gent, all sweetness and light. Until they got married. At which point, it turned into a real Jekyll-and-Hyde situation. They divorced some time later, thankfully. She swears now, he likely would have killed her, so bad did it get. The physical bruises are gone now, but the scars, both physical and mental, are still with her. Time apparently doesn't heal all wounds, after all. She never did figure out why the change, until years later. In hearing her story, however, I could: Once he had he power in his hands, things got ugly.
Like most of us, I watched Zohran Mancini’s cringeworthy victory speech the other night. In thinking back on it yesterday, I couldn’t help but recall my old girlfriend's situation, and the way she’s been since. This morning, many have remarked on the change of tone Mamdani had in his victory speech. Matt Margolis was the first I noticed, mostly because of my editorial proximity here at PJ Media:
New York City has a new mayor, and if you thought the radical left couldn’t get more brazen, think again. Zohran Mamdani’s victory speech Tuesday night wasn’t a celebration of civic service or unity. Instead, it was a sermon on socialist supremacy, a fiery manifesto that echoed Joe Biden’s infamous blood-red Independence Hall speech in 2022. Mamdani had openly campaigned as a socialist, and in his remarks, he reveled in it. He proclaimed it. He weaponized it.
“I am young. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist,” he declared. “And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this.”
That line alone should send shivers down the spine of every New Yorker who still believes in free enterprise, personal responsibility, and the idea that government exists to serve, not rule.
It certainly did me. As Matt suggests, the mayor-elect's speech had the tone of conquest, not cooperation. The man was obviously chosen by someone to run for the position. Who's paying for all this? Do the initials G.S. mean anything to you?
Mamdani, like most Soros and company loyalists, did seem to spend a LOT of time attacking Donald Trump. Gee, what a shock. He may want to have a chat with Fani Willis and Tish James about how that works out.
Add to that the backing of CAIR.
As to what's in the future with this guy as mayor, VodkaPundit says:
New York City recovered and thrived in the years after the 9/11 Islamic terror attacks that took down the Twin Towers and murdered about 2,700 New Yorkers. But the whole country felt attacked that day, and all of us had NYC's back during the recovery
Maybe they'll do fine, but I suspect not — even though the entire International Left will do whatever it can to prop up Mamdani and the city as socialist role models for the rest of the nation.
This time, I can't help but feel that the city is on its own.
Yeah, there is no way this is going to sell with a majority of Americans, regardless of what the far left says in its victory laps.
I didn’t attend Mamdani's victory party, of course. However, I do note several reports that it had a cash bar. So, you can’t get free booze from the guy you busted your butt to help get elected, yet who is promising free buses, free food, etc? Seems we are at the very top of the roller coaster, and we’re headed straight down, in a hurry. Likely, with a lot of screaming.
Speaking of those promises, let’s be right up front, here. A lot, in fact, most of what Mamdani was promising during the campaign, is well out of the purview of the Mayor of New York.
City-run grocery stores? I grant that he could run it through the Economic Development Corp., but remember too that they already run five or six public markets.
Raise taxes? Um, no. City Council sets the property tax rates. And personal income taxes are set by state law.
Free buses? The MTA has to approve that, and that is unlikely.
That's just the low-hanging fruit on that list. Mamdani's doomed to end up looking ineffective and weak, given what the changes he proposes face. The far left likes labeling Trump a wannabe king or a dictator, and yet, Mamdani gets a pass on all this muscle flexing.
Even assuming he’s able to get past those obstacles somehow, the people he’s depending on to pay those taxes are already racing for the exits. His policies will chase out those who can afford to leave and destroy the ones who can’t.
It's clear to me there were two major factors in Mamdani's election. First, New York City is a one-party town. Actual conservatives living in NYC are as rare as a talking dog. Given a choice between lukewarm and hot, people will go for the extreme every time. When all you've got is left and extreme left, the results are predictable. It also didn't help that Cuomo, who so badly mishandled COVID-19, was the more sane choice of the two.
Qualifications? Mamdani has none. Literally. Well, OK, he does have a pulse, and he doesn't like Trump. That seems to be the biggest requirement to run as a Democrat anymore.
A positive note is the demise of what little remained of Bill Kristol’s credibility. No, I'm not going any deeper than that. To be blunt: I don't have enough middle fingers to describe my feelings on that man.
Another is that Mamdani's win will also, by the very design of the campaign, cause the Democrats to play he communist card harder in the midterms. He is now the face of the Democrat party, and that will seal its fate. And as I've already suggested, that's not going to play well with Joe and Jane Average — even those still inexplicably attached to the Democrat party, much less independents and GOP voters. Even the Never Trumpers.
I'm glad I'm not driving a truck in the city anymore, because frankly, Mamdani's kind of leadership is only one crisis away from rioters burning the place down while he watches, unable, or more likely unwilling, to lift a finger to stop them. And I have little doubt that the crisis that starts it will be arranged in advance. The biggest plus for me out of any of this is that I won't be in the middle of it when it goes down.
Sadly, I must close with this: It appears that New Yorkers have forgotten.
Such are my thoughts this morning. Have a wonderful day. Thanks for stopping by, and tell your friends about us. I'll see you tomorrow.
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