They got Mamdani’d

 

“A democracy can never survive if pawns don’t protect other pawns.” Dr. BLR

 

The old saying goes that politics are a strange bedfellow, that’s unless you don’t lie down with the same dogs. The world had to endure the lunacy of the Biden/Trump and then Harris/Trump shenanigans for the latter part of 2024. The result is still heartbreaking for at least half of the voting public, but I won’t go back in history. 

A canvass of politicians from around the country will showcase geriatrics at all levels of government. As someone in favor of term limits for all these grifters, it’s refreshing when a young person comes along to challenge the established dead wood. No pun intended. Well, maybe. Zohran Mamdani, say that a few times! A young local New York City politician told himself he was tired as hell and wasn’t going to take it anymore. Okay, I don’t think he said that, but you get my drift. He decided to take on disgraced former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, whom he kicked ass in the primary. But that wasn’t good enough for Cuomo. He decided to try again as an independent, running on his “Fight and Deliver” line. What a bunch of bullshit. But there was no way he was going to allow Mamdani to win twice. 

The campaigns employed different tactics. Cuomo relied on the old divide-and-conquer playbook, hoping to use anti-Islam rhetoric to siphon off enough votes to win. He allegedly doctored pictures of Mamdani to make him appear more Muslim. However, he didn’t expect that Mamdani, a 34-year-old neophyte taking on the big boys, would mobilize a groundswell of young people to knock on doors and get out the vote.  

A rather handsome and charismatic Ugandan of Indian descent had a vocabulary that appealed to all the groups he encountered. He rapped for the young Black supporters. He spoke different languages to the multiple constituent groups. He checked all the boxes, but the most appealing thing about him to me was that he was unapologetic about who he was, where he came from, and, most importantly, the religion he worshiped. By all means, he never should have won in the city that never sleeps. A Muslim in a city with a very influential Jewish population, fighting antisemitism because of Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people. This last statement may upset some, but it’s not my position. “The first individual to publicly describe Israel’s actions in the recent conflict as a ‘textbook case of genocide’ was Raz Segal, an Israeli-American scholar of Jewish history and Holocaust and genocide studies, on October 13, 2023, just days after Israel began its bombing campaign in Gaza.” So there. Don’t shoot the messenger - I digress.

Mamdani, like most politicians, made many promises during his campaign, rooted in his Democratic Socialist ideology: free city buses, a two-year rent freeze on stabilized apartments, higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy, and universal free child care. This reminded me of Oprah Winfrey’s slogan, “You get a car!” I’ve seen this style of campaigning and never believed it would get people off their asses and to the polls. Well, I was wrong.

He assembled a strong team from diverse political ideologies and inspired young people, telling them he would do things differently. Blah, blah, blah. He’s a politician. Can you believe them? I watched the last televised debates and felt that “Blue blood money” would secure Cuomo's victory. I felt strongly about this, so when I went to bed before the results were called, I knew that when I woke up the next morning, the news would confirm my prediction. 

Interestingly, in the same way I felt about President Trump’s two victories in 2016 and 2024, I was shocked to see the news report that Mamdani had won by a wide margin, 56% to 44%. He knocked Cuomo the fuck out. This was huge. The people spoke, saying they wanted change. And they got it! The culture of New York politics was transformed into Democratic Socialism. What that means, I have no idea. However, the world will be watching in the future. 

In his acceptance speech, attended by a shitload of tired-looking politicians, Mamdani said he would govern for all, not for the billionaires. He called it a movement. With those few words, you could see the concern on the faces of those tired politicians about their coffers drying up. Also at the event were scores of young people from different ethnic backgrounds, religions, and hues, cheering. I couldn’t have been happier because a change was about to occur for them, and they had a contemporary leading the way instead of a career politician.

Okay, enough of the praise. Mamdani will have to deliver. Unless he pulls a rabbit out of a hat, the establishment will make sure he fails. I predict the media will go after him at the first misstep. His phone will be tapped, and around-the-clock surveillance will document his every move. His father, Mahmoud Mamdami, will also have to be very careful in his role as a professor of political science and African studies at Columbia University, which the Trump Administration has already targeted. 

As time passes, you will notice his beard and sideburns graying more quickly due to stress and late nights at work. His bright smile will start to fade because of his frustration with the silly questions he’ll continually be asked by upstart reporters trying to make a name for themselves. There will be religious issues, as the Jewish community will not be happy with any of his decisions that affect them. However, he retained his Jewish Police Commissioner, Jessica Tisch, whom former Mayor Eric Adams had selected. A brief look at Commissioner Tisch’s background revealed that her family is among America’s wealthiest, with a net worth of approximately $ 10 billion in 2024, according to Forbes. Knowing this, I'm baffled as to why he would want to keep a fox in the henhouse. The NYPD is one of the foremost agencies for maintaining intelligence files, likely on par with the FBI, on prominent people from all walks of life. Whatever. It’s his call. I wish him luck, but I will be watching. 

Within the first week of taking office, Mayor Mamdani revoked Executive Order No. 52, which then-Mayor Eric Adams had issued. The following definition of antisemitism is being removed. “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities;” “calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion;” “accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust;’ “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor;” and “holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.” 

This removal will no doubt upset a hell of a lot of Jewish people. Mayor Mamdani is doing what he promised his supporters. Wait, didn’t we hear the same thing when President Trump started making good on his promises, and scores of his non-supporters were up in arms? Get out your popcorn, folks. It’s going to be a contentious four years. I can’t wait.