How the Democrat Party (Predictably) Failed Zohran Mamdani

      (By American Zen's Mike Flannigan, on loan from Ari)

I'll be honest with you. I didn't know Zohran Mamdani existed until about three weeks ago, if that. In my defense, I cover national, not local politics. But Mamdani is bringing about a sea change in New York City politics that cannot be ignored. 

     And a candidate like Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani doesn't exactly come around every election cycle. Thanks to Bernie Sanders' presidential bids in 2016 and 2020, more Gen Z candidates than ever have been running for political office. Some win (like Max Frost in Florida), some lose. But none of them since AOC have caught fire like Mamdani. And when he defeated Andrew Cuomo, the corrupt former NY governor, in last week's Democratic primary, he really put himself on the map.

     Republicans, starting with Trump, the very poster child of New York City corruption, have of course been openly hostile toward Mamdani. Andy Ogles called for his deportation over rap lyrics (Mamdani was briefly a hip hop artist). Who cares that Mamdani has been a naturalized citizen for seven years now? That's to be expected from Republicans who literally get the dry heaves at anything even remotely smelling like patchouli oil.

     But what's just as unsurprising and even more infuriating is how he's been treated by members of his own party, starting with barnacles like Chuck Schumer. About the only "support" Schumer has given Mamdani, even after he won the Democratic primary, was to rail against Republicans for going after him. As I write this, Schumer still has not officially endorsed Mamdani. So, what is it about Mamdani that makes Democrats' blood run cold? Here's a paragraph from his Wikipedia page:

     "His campaign platform includes support for fare-free city buses, public child care, city-owned grocery stores, a rent freeze on rent-stabilized units, additional affordable housing units, comprehensive public safety reform, and a $30 minimum wage by 2030. Mamdani also supports tax increases on corporations and those earning above $1 million annually. He has been sharply critical of the state of Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people, pledging to abide by the International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli leaders by arresting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he were to visit New York City."

      All of which being not merely populist but actual progressive positions. And that plus the fact that he was born in Uganda and is a Muslim, makes him extremely unpopular with the Democratic Old Guard that's looking more and more like the Republican Party before Trump. And this is why Democratic stalwarts like Rev. Al Sharpton and Jim Clyburn had stumped for Cuomo (Remember, Sharpton said not too long ago that Cuomo should resign as governor. He's also recently called for Cuomo to drop out of the race so he "wouldn't tarnish his legacy.").

     Essentially, what they're trying to do to Mamdani is what they did to David Hogg at the DNC, to the point of actually rewriting their own rules about electing officials. Hogg made waves a few mnnths ago when, as Vice Chair, he called for establishment Democrats to be primaried and replaced by younger, more forward-thinking candidates, Gen Zers like him. 

 

Where Goes New York, Goes the Rest of the Country? 

Let's not be too hasty. It's very reckless to see too much in a city election or even a congressional or senate race, especially in Navy blue New York City. But there are some numbers to which the Democratic Old Guard should pay closer attention.

    The night of the Democratic NYC mayoral primary, the mainstream media crunched the numbers and realized that a full 25% of the people who'd voted that night were people who had never voted before. That strongly suggests, at the very least, that the majority of those voters were New York City Gen Z voters just coming of age and voting for the first time. Any political scientist can tell you that younger voters, especially those in the 18-24 demographic, aren't loyal voters. They don't come out in large numbers like the older demographics, especially those 55-70.

    In fact, according to the NY Times (subscription required) last Sunday, the largest voting bloc on primary day were voters 18-30. Again, those are among the least faithful of the American electorate and there are good reasons for younger voters to avoid the polls. They've simply lost faith in both monolithic parties but young voters are especially turning away in droves from the Democratic Party. And right now, Democrats are more unpopular now than perhaps in any time in its history.

     Another statistic to which Democrats should pay closer attention and make the requisite course corrections is a Quinnipiac poll that came out about two weeks ago. It showed that Donald Trump's overall approval rating among voters was underwater at 38%, which is to be expected (although God knows why it isn't significantly lower than that). But that same poll also showed that Congressional Democrats are deeply in Davy Jones' locker at 21%, nearly half of what Trump's approval rating is.

      Does that mean Democrats are twice as destructive as Trump? No, of course not. But it shows an alarming lack of support because Democrats aren't doing nearly enough to stem the tide of Trump's wave of destruction. The Democrats on the Hill, led by Minority Leaders like Schumer and organic statue Hakeem Jeffries, still haven't gotten past the old, "Let's send a strongly-worded letter to the White House" mindset.

     And these same Democrats aren't addressing issues that are important to Gen Z voters in particular. To such voters, they're tired, old and out of touch. When a young, dynamic  candidate brings young voters to the polls in large numbers, they're not merely voting for you. That's just the end result. What gets them to the polls is when a candidate gives them hope (and not the bumper sticker hope that Obama peddled in 2008).

     The young voters who came out for Mamdani last month said through their votes and voices, "We believe in you because you give us hope." Whether Mamdani pays off that hope remains to be seen but that's what voters are seeing in him right now. And they also see the Democratic Old Guard has nothing left to offer them other than, "Republicans are bad and we're against Trump." They need to offer workable solutions and address concerns that are important to them.

     Mamdani represents that hope to countless voters in New York City and the machine Democrats like Schumer, Jeffries and Cuomo don't want that because they know they don't have it in them to reward that hope. So that's why it's always easier for them to tear down actual progressives like Bernie, AOC and Mamdani. It's always easier to kick down a sand castle than it is to build one.