In melding the "Mamdani, anti-Zionist (and antisemite)" and "Mamdani, jihadist" lines of attack, and still coming up short, it felt like the Cuomo campaign was the last, ignoble breath for a very specific frame of politics.
Appreciated your piece Noah! Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to the winner. From my dispassionate view from LaLa Land Mamdani captured the elusive "it" magic and rode that to the finish line. The people responded and now let's see how he does. Game on!
More attention needs to be paid to Brad Lander's befuddled primary campaign which was alternately contemptuous of Cuomo and focused on dumb pandering ideas like turning remote golf courses far from transit into housing developments as a solution to the high cost of housing. Lander could have been the progressive, experienced, anti-Netanyahu but still-a-Zionist option; Cuomo's presumed governing competence plus Mamdani's political values without the divisive baggage. Instead Brad ran an inane campaign in which he tried to be the cool hip kid that he isn't instead of the seasoned, good government local heir to the Bernie Sanders vision of a just society and a safe prosperous city. Lander's political ineptness brought us Mamdani as much as Cuomo's idiocy did.
In melding the "Mamdani, anti-Zionist (and antisemite)" and "Mamdani, jihadist" lines of attack, and still coming up short, it felt like the Cuomo campaign was the last, ignoble breath for a very specific frame of politics.
I think Mamdani is likely to fail, but if he's willing to listen to others, he might find a way to actually lower the cost of living for New Yorkers.
Appreciated your piece Noah! Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to the winner. From my dispassionate view from LaLa Land Mamdani captured the elusive "it" magic and rode that to the finish line. The people responded and now let's see how he does. Game on!
More attention needs to be paid to Brad Lander's befuddled primary campaign which was alternately contemptuous of Cuomo and focused on dumb pandering ideas like turning remote golf courses far from transit into housing developments as a solution to the high cost of housing. Lander could have been the progressive, experienced, anti-Netanyahu but still-a-Zionist option; Cuomo's presumed governing competence plus Mamdani's political values without the divisive baggage. Instead Brad ran an inane campaign in which he tried to be the cool hip kid that he isn't instead of the seasoned, good government local heir to the Bernie Sanders vision of a just society and a safe prosperous city. Lander's political ineptness brought us Mamdani as much as Cuomo's idiocy did.
Fair enough!