My thought about Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Party.

[mr715]

14. I'll do my best, I'll try to be logical.

I think Mamdani is extremely likely to win, and that his electoral success is the result of an energetic style of campaign and policies that are popular (and will work). The policies he communicates are simple, straightforward, and relatable to the majority of NYers.

To your question of what actions have "they" (leadership) taken - it is that they have not endorsed and allowed the cultivation of a narrative that the politics Mamdani advocates are way out there. Free buses, amirite?

It boils down to Jeffries, a NYer in leadership has not endorsed. Gillibrand levied some pretty Islamophobic attacks and yes, apologized, but that she went there in the first place provides fuel for the GOP to conflate good governance with extremist policy.

I think that in their failure to recognize Mamdani's success and cultivate the energy he is bringing, they are showing themselves (again, the establishment is hurting themselves) to be unwilling to adapt to new models of politics. This is problematic because the narrative of them being out of touch and disconnected from the people that invest in them the authority to govern is already there, and this reinforces it. It, at least to me, has a tang of cowardice and I find distasteful.

I will admit to you to be completely transparent: Cuomo lost me. Mamdani won me.

My hope is that this at least clarifies my thinking, even if it isn't clear. Apologies for having a mind as clear as mud.