Cuomophobia (Or, Hail Zohran, Our Fearless Leader!)

Not since Samuel Tilden prosecuted Boss Tweed and proved him guilty of corruption has there been a political earthquake of such great magnitude in New York City.  New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who is 33 years old and a Muslim of South Asian origin, won the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York.  Mamdani is a democratic socialist who is so progressive he makes Bernie Sanders look like a Tea Partier.  Among his policy proposals are municipally owned grocery stores for underserved communities, a "30 by '30" minimum wage increase - $30 an hour by 2030 - free bus service for the poor, and sanctuary for non-heterosexuals.

Well, all of the establishment leaders in both parties in New York State are appalled since Mamdani defeated former New York State governor and political hasbeen Andrew Cuomo - called the future of the Democratic Party by Defector columnist David Roth, who clearly hasn't been paying attention to Cuomo's past - for the Democratic mayoral nomination.  Top Democrats who supported Cuomo are second-guessing themselves and predicting impending doom for the party.  Republican leaders in New York State and in Washington, D.C. fear a hostile Islamic takeover of the city fueled by state socialism that would make the Big Apple a lemon for business owners, middle-class taxpayers, and Jewish residents (Islamophobia always takes precedence with Republicans over their own anti-Semitism).  

Progressives looking forward to the general election in New York City had better not get too confident - not yet, anyway.  Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams is still standing for re-election as an independent, and there is a precedent for a New York City mayor winning a second term as an independent after being dumped by his own party - John Lindsay, who was disowned by the Republicans but managed to win re-election without party backing in 1969.  Also, Republicans and center-right independents could pull off the same hat trick that Republicans and center-right independents pulled in Connecticut in 2006.  When U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman failed to win the Democratic nomination for a fourth Senate term that year, losing to Ned Lamont, the Republicans put up a token nominee while backing Lieberman's independent general election campaign.  Lieberman was re-elected, and Connecticut progressives who backed Lamont had to lick their wounds.  Substitute "Adams" for Lieberman and "Mamdani" for Lamont, and you get the GOP/establishment Democratic Big Apple playbook.  True, Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels vigilante group and conservative talk-radio host, is no token candidate, but a coalition of Republicans and establishment Democrats might pivot to Adams if they think Adams can prevail in a three-way campaign.

(Aside:  Ned Lamont was elected governor of Connecticut in 2018 and re-elected in 2022.  He is the rarest of birds - a Democrat who was allowed to make a comeback after an electoral defeat.)

So what do I care, right? I mean, this won't affect the gubernatorial election in my state of New Jersey, right?  But it may.  Don't think that Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli won't exploit the Mamdani nomination against Mikie Sherrill, his Democratic opponent, for his own purposes, when many commuters to Manhattan live in the state's northern counties and a Mamdani administration might have an effect on commuters through issues like congestion pricing.  Ciattarelli already has a head start by having the opportunity to ask voters to imagine a Sherrill administration working in concert with the mayor of New Jersey's largest city, Newark - Ras Baraka.  Imagine how many times Jack will mention the mayor of Newark - "Ras Bar-AKA!"  By the time November comes, Mayor Baraka will wish his father hadn't changed the family name from Jones.  So think of how Jack can exploit the name of Zohran Mamdani.  

It's very easy to demonize anyone whose surname ends in a vowel, as Ciattarelli's immigrant forbears realized when they came here from Italy.  But in New York City, the only person with a vowel at the end of his surname that got rejected was Andrew Cuomo.  Cuomo was rightly seen as an aging political warhorse out on one last pillage for power in an effort to redeem himself after his sex scandals and the COVID nursing-home scandal by asking to be elected the chief executive of five of New York State's counties (the NYC boroughs) after having been chief executive of all 62 of them.  He is a tried-and-true centrist and a transactional politician, unlike his revered and esteemed father, and he's as megalomaniacal as his brother Chris is self-important.  He offered nothing for New York City's beleaguered residents suffering from the high cost of living and the higher cost of Mayor Adams' stupidity.  Zohran Mamdani did offer something.  

It remains to be seen how NYC independents will vote in November, as New York is a closed-primary state that allows only registered party members to participate. And Curtis Sliwa will still likely garner a lot of support.  But the Democrats ought to remember that not every election campaign for office should have the same type of nominee.  Whether progressive or moderate, all Democrats are pretty much to the left of the GOP these days.  As a center-left Democrat, Mikie Sherrill, who has been blessed with extreme-right Republican electoral opponents that make her look more liberal than she is to progressive voters, is a perfect fit as the Democratic gubernatorial nominee for New Jersey.  As a Democrat more firmly in the middle of the road - so much, she can stand in the middle of the road without touching either yellow stripe with her feet - Abigail Spanberger is the perfect Democratic gubernatorial nominee for Virginia, a former Confederate state becoming more Northern than Southern thanks to an influx of newcomers from the Northeast and a growing realization of the state's geographical position north of 36°30′.  And as an arch-liberal, Zohran Mamdani is the perfect mayoral candidate for New York City, a city populated by immigrants, artists, models, photographers, progressive white women, black women, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, non-heterosexuals . . . I think I just described the guests I always meet at model Nancy Donahue's and hairdresser Harry King's annual parties.  😊

A Turkey of a Mayor

Eric Adams assumed the position of Mayor of the City of New York promising to do something about crime.

And he did.  It seems he got involved it. 

The federal government indicted Mayor Adams for seeking and accepting improper gifts, including luxury travel and illegal campaign contributions from wealthy foreigners.  Some of those foreigners were from Turkey, who bribed him an enormous sum of money to get a large building in Manhattan approved for the new Turkish consulate in New York.  And the mayor was even accused of overruling the Fire Department of New York - who know a thing or two about the dangers of fire in large buildings, particularly two very tell buildings in the Financial District - when the building the Turks wanted to set up shop in failed fire-code inspection.  

Oh yeah, this had been going on since Adams was Brooklyn borough president. His alleged undisclosed travel dates back to 2016, totaling more than $100,000.

Mayor Adams deserves the presumption of innocence until he's proven guilty in a court of law.  But with so many issues besetting New York - an affordable-housing shortage, a larger migrant population, education - how can Adams serve effectively as mayor and still seek his vindication in a court of law at the same time? 

Election Endorsements 2021

There's a big storm where I live - late October is fast becoming my least favorite time of year (especially after Sandy, nine years ago this time) - but that isn't going to distract me from doing my duty as a citizen and issue my election endorsements for 2021.  I voted already - early voting is now in New Jersey - but, thanks to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's cynical hijacking of the Postal Service and his decision to emaciate the agency and make service slow and unreliable, I would not advise voting by mail unless you pick up the ballot yourself form your county clerk's office and put it in a ballot drop box rather than a mailbox.

That out of the way, I now offer this blog's endorsements for Election Day next week.

For Mayor of New York City: This blog endorses Democrat Eric Adams.  Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, whose group is famous for patrolling Times Square, has diabolical ideas for New York City - like getting rid of COVID vaccine mandates. Eric Adams, who was a real cop, wants to make the city safer both from crime and from COVID.

For Governor of New Jersey: This blog endorses incumbent Democrat Phil Murphy.  Murphy's progressive record is based largely on initiatives first introduced by the Democratic legislature under former Republican Governor Chris Christie and re-introduced over and over until we finally had a Democratic governor to sign them into law.  And he did.  Even if our governor is more reactive than proactive, he's still pushing New Jersey forward, and as he said, New Jersey isn't going back.

For Governor of Virginia: This blog endorses former Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe.  Really.  He compiled a fine record in Virginia when he was governor last time, so why not give him another term?  Besides, his Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin is trying to seem moderate and accommodating to people who may disagree with him while giving a nod and a wink to Trump supporters by endorsing some of their policy objectives - no COVID vaccine mandates, no teaching of critical race theory in public universities but pretending it's meant for elementary schools - but saying that he personally can't stand their tactics.  Virginia doesn't need a governor who gives the voters two faces for the price of one. 

For Mayor of Boston: This blog is making no endorsement, because, quite frankly, I have not followed that campaign.  All I know for certain is that the winner will be a woman because there are only two candidates to choose from, both women.  I'm sorry to say, though, that nether one of them is an Irish Catholic.  Didn't God decree that the mayor of Boston should always be an Irish Catholic? Or the Muses, or St. Patrick, or someone like that?

Those are my endorsements.  Now go out and vote.  Boston, you're on your own. 😉    

Off To the Races

I'm not assessing former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg as a presidential candidate because I already did that in an earlier post this month - except to say that he hopes to do what Joe Biden (but also Michael Bennet and Steve Bullock) is trying to do, which is bring together the moderates, independents and suburban women who helped the Democrats win back the House of Representatives in 2018 to win.  Except that people are resenting Bloomberg for jumping in so late with the idea that he can buy the Democratic presidential nomination. Which might help Biden, who knows he has to earn it and is an ordinary guy without a lot of money.

And Biden needs all the help he can get.  His debate performance probably would have been judged more favorably by the pundits if he hadn't identified former Illinois senator Carol Moseley Braun, the first black woman in to be elected to the Senate, as the only black woman elected to the Senate when trumpeting her endorsement of his candidacy - with the second black woman elected to the Senate, Kamala Harris, standing a few feet away from him.  The last thing you want to do is diss a sista like that, especially when your whole candidacy depends on black support.  But that's better than all of the brothas and sistas dissing you.  Ask Pete Buttigieg.

But then, it's perfectly understandable that Biden would forget Harris' existence.  So have the voters.  At least Andrew Yang remembered Beto O'Rourke.

So where do I put everyone's chances in the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination campaign?  They all have a 50-50 chance, because I'm beginning to think that there will be a brokered convention.  Everyone is dismissing Bloomberg's strategy to run a national primary campaign - when, unlike France, there is no national primary - and skip the first four states (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina)  simply because it's never worked before.  Well, there's always a first time, isn't there?  I could say Bloomberg isn't going to win, but then in 2015 I said the same thing about Trump, and look how that turned out.  One caveat, though:  The New York mayor's office has long been a dead end for politicians ambitious for higher office, as Bill de Blasio, Rudolph Giuliani, and Fiorello La Guardia all found out when they sought or thought of seeking the Presidency and as Ed Koch found out when he ran for governor of New York State, while the New York State governorship proved to be the springboard for both Roosevelts to assume the Presidency.

Andrew Cuomo, you should have run for President.  Just don't bother running now.

Election 2009: Endorsements

Oh, gee whizbangers, is there an election coming up? Well, I always make endorsements in the most important races in any election, including off-year contests, so I might as well swallow and get them out of the way.

The problem with making endorsements this year is that the choices are mostly dismal. Far from being a year of hope and change, 2009 has been a year in which we've been trying to dig ourselves out of the mess we were left with George Bush The Younger, and the candidates for public office - most especially the gubernatorial campaigns in New Jersey and Virginia - seem underwhelming and not so much up to the job. Obama can only do so much at the national level. At the state level, it seems we in New Jersey and Virginia both need an experienced Yoda to pull our craft out of the muck but have to choose between a group of minimally experienced Luke Skywalkers who are just beginning to understand the Force.

So, with apologies to the master George Lucas, here are my endorsements:

For Governor of New Jersey: This blog endorses Jon Corzine, the incumbent Democrat, for a second term. Corzine continues to support expanding health care options, especially for women, and he has a record of slowing the rate of increase in local property taxes. Chris Christie - who is not a ditto machine salesman - is pro-life, would cut state spending in some of our (I'm from New Jersey, remember) most essential services, and his tax plan makes no sense. Plus, he seems to be too friendly to big business. Corzine's best asset is that he's mitigated the systematic problems that have affected this state since Corzine was still a Wall Street executive and not even in politics, so, like Obama, he has to deal with a mess that's been around for too long. Christie shows no understanding of the mess.

For Governor of Virginia: This blog endorses R. Creigh Deeds, the Democratic candidate, over Republican Bob McDonnell. Deeds, consistently behind in the polls, isn't likely to win, but he deserves my recommendation. While the economic and educational policies both candidates espouse are similar, Deeds gets my vote (or would, if I lived in Virginia) for several reasons. His transportation proposals, for example, would create a bipartisan commission to produce a comprehensive transportation plan for the state and raise money for it with taxes from Virginians. McDonnell, a tax increase opponent, wants to charge motorists tolls entering the state from North Carolina on Interstates 85 and 95, which is tantamount to paying an admission fee to get into Virginia. But these proposals are nothing compared to his energy policies; McDonnell would drill off the Virginia coast for oil and gas and support more coal production in addition to environmentally friendly energy sources, while Deeds would concentrate more exclusively on green energy.

But here are the biggest reasons I can't support McDonnell: He against renewing the order signed by outgoing Governor Tim Kaine banning discrimination against gays on the grounds that the order was illegal. He is also against a proposal to close a gun show loophole that allows firearms to infiltrate the streets in Northeastern cities. Deeds supports both.

For Mayor of New York City: This blog endorses independent Michael Bloomberg for a third term. Bill Thompson, the Democratic candidate and Bloomberg's biggest challenger, doesn't have a stellar record at education while the Bloomberg administration has helped push up grades and test scores. Also, New York City has been run more efficiently than any mayoral administration in recent memory, and it's produced obvious results. If Rudolph Giuliani cleaned up the city, Bloomberg has done a good job of keeping it clean, and without the fascism of his predecessor. The best reason to endorse him? He's cheap labor. He only makes a dollar a year as mayor. Bloomberg has been a very good bargain so far for the city at eight dollars.

On New Jersey Public Question #1: This blog endorses a "Yes" vote to acquire more open space. This endorsement is not based on costs, which are expected to be steep for this ballot initiative if it passes; it's based on common sense. New Jersey is already the most overbuilt state in the Union, and much of the development is spread out so much that it gobbles up more land than it should. In fact, a new senior housing complex is going up in Verona, New Jersey, in Essex County, where the population is actually decreasing. Why is Essex County, the only county in New Jersey without a state park, losing open space even as it's losing people? Because developers will build stuff we don't need just about anywhere. A "Yes" vote on this public question will save more land from those with an appetite for construction.

For West Caldwell, N.J. Town Council: This blog again endorses Robert Issetts, because a) he is a Democrat running to join an all-Republican council, and b) he's my neighbor. :-)

That's it for this election. Oh gosh, are the midterms coming up next year? See you then, in 2010.