Mamdani Plays The Victim
So, NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani tried to play the victim over the weekend because his aunt (in a hajib) was viewed suspiciously in the aftermath of 9-11 in New York. Was she arrested, tried, beaten or otherwise actually persecuted? No, apparently people just looked at her suspiciously. Now first of all, I have been to New York many times, never in a hajib, and someone always looks at me suspiciously – it’s New York for crying out loud. Looking at people suspiciously is just being smart. Yet when the Vice President pointed out what I just pointed out, perhaps even with less grace than I did, in Mamdani’s mind it is more proof racial/religious animus. Mamdani is running a playbook here, one we should recognize.
If you are not seeing shades of Obama in this aspect of the Mamdani campaign, you’re blind. Remember Saturday? When we looked at empathy going too far? That’s what elected Obama – misplaced and overstated empathy for the racial sins of the past.
Mamdani is trying to cash in the same ticket. Unfortunately there is one big difference – the people that Mamdani is trying to present as victims turned our own airplanes into weapons and killed thousands of Americans, turning New York into a waste land, at least for a bit – destroyed a section of the Pentagon and, save for the bravery and sacrifice of a few that died in a plane crash in Pennsylvania would have done far more. Not looking real victim-like here.
But of course Mamdani is not the only one trying on the Obama playbook for size – some silly Republicans are trying to use a tactic against him that failed against Obama. What’s the definition of insanity again?
Mamdani is leading the polls in New York because he is promising free stuff. It’s pretty simple really. Democratic policy has made the place unaffordable and unlivable. Rather than fix those issues, Mamdani is promising to give people money or goods to make it seem affordable. A lot of people, a whole lot of people, would rather take the check than do the hard work of fixing the problems. Only problem is, taking the check exacerbates the problems and affordability will always stay just out of reach.
But Mamdani is making a big mistake here. Few things can raise the hair on the back of a New Yorkers neck – the place is pretty much a constant low level combat zone. But the Yankees/Mets issue can get things riled up – and so can invoking the memory of 9-11. Those attacks , for a while, invoked deep patriotism and a will to make it right on levels not seen in this nation for a long time. Mamdani is playing with fire reminding New Yorkers that it was his people, even if it was only the radicalized ones, that executed that attack.
The New York mayoral elections seems like a shoe-in for him at this juncture. But over confidence is an ugly task master, and Mamdani is showing the signs.
Over-Playing A Hand Bonus: Watch Rachel Maddow lose it upon learning that Comcast donated to the White House remodel. Don’t laugh, the woman is experiencing genuine emotional distress. Always remember, “If Trump does it, it must be bad.”
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