“It’s déjà vu,” as my personal yogi once said, “all over again.” The ability of Democrats to unclench the jaws of victory and pry defeat out like a rotten molar can’t be overstated. It depends upon how much the recent primary results in New York City harbing national sentiment.
I like its mayor, Zohran Mamdani. Much as Republicans and their mendacious media tell you otherwise, he’s neither a communist nor an antisemite. Those prevaricators couldn’t define communism on their way out of a wet paper bag. He’s a Democratic Socialist (also right-side undefinable.) I have no problem with that any more than I do with Scandinavian countries, all of whom fit the definition and are distinctly capitalistic. What they get for higher taxes is economic security in retirement, free education and healthcare. Saabs. Volvos. Erickson electronics, Fiskars tools, Bang & Olufsen, Ambu bags. The products aren’t free, but they confirm thriving capitalism.
Mayor M speaks out against Israel’s conduct after the horrors of the horrifying, subhuman Hamas slaughter on October 7, 2023. A response was inarguably called for, but not, in the opinion of many, what has come since and continues. Many Jews agree with Mamdani. It’s not antisemitism; it’s antipolicyism. I admire Israel’s many accomplishments, especially in science, technology, and medicine. It’s given the world much and we should hope it always will. Just not this.
The mayor didn’t do Democrats any favors come November, though. His endorsements for NYC’s Democratic primaries all won. Knocked off was Dan Goldman, one of the most effective Representatives and interrogators, when they show up, of Trump’s goons. But he’s a mainstream Democrat. In NYC, that was fatal.
One winner– not the Goldman slayer – was Darializa Avila Chevalier, 32, whose credentials are impressive in many ways, and who’s clearly very smart. But her thoughts? Not so much. She’d eliminate police, prisons, and borders. And she openly prefers communism. For those being told she’s proof of MAGAfoxian claims, her similars among Democrats number in the zeros. But there will be ads. Billions of dark dollars’ worth. And they’ll hurt. From now till November, Republicans will claim communists have taken over the Democratic Party, which is as false as Trumpic authoritarianism taking over the Republican one is true.
As a Constitution-respecting American, I believe in fairness, opportunity, and equally accessible voting by all citizens; even Republicans who, in the era of Trump, are the ones committing voter fraud. I approve of helping those struggling in an increasingly heartless system, thanks mostly to Republicans. I support regulations on pollutants and other poisons, on drugs and automobiles; occupational safety. Child labor laws. Public education. Separation of church and state. And I recognize that immigration is an indispensable part of American progress.
I vote Democratic, and I’m horrified by the attempts of today’s Republican Party, having bent over to Trump, to eliminate every one of those law-, morality-, and empathy-based values. Christian values, one might have said, until Trump.
Until Trump, the central issue separating our political parties, debated honestly, legislated with compromise, was the role of government in our lives. Should it be hands-off other than providing roads, police, and soldiers? Or should it, as in the Preamble to the Constitution, “Promote the general welfare”? Across the philosophical spectrum, disagreeing Americans were once considered Americans.
No longer. For a democracy, what we have now is suicidal: a self-centered, narcissistic, vengeful, know-nothing-but-thinks-he-knows-everything “president” who vilifies the opposition in the most obscene, embarrassing, and childish terms, and, weaponizing his Department of “Justice,” seeks to punish them. Try them for treason. It’s dictatorship, and MAGA loves it.
Which makes it critical that Democrats regain control of Congress in November and the White House in 2028. And which explains my concern over the NYC results. I don’t love the leadership of the Democratic National Committee. They’ve been as uninspiring as they are unable to form a coherent, approachable message to voters. The need for a new generation of leadership is apparent, younger and enthusiastic. But “Throw them all out” is a pathway to loss. So is basing votes solely on one’s view of Israel. America is a big country and, unless Trump and Steven Miller have their way, free. What will happen will happen. But please, Democratic Socialists of America: don’t do a Green Party thing.
Now, a brief return to Trump’s Reflecting Pool fiasco: So committed is he to convincing everyone his failure is due to unseen vandals bearing unseen knives and “criminally made algae” (in commie labs at Harvard?) that he’s fenced it off, added cameras and, as is his wont, troops. So now we’ll see. If it was vandalism, the pool should clear up like outgrown teenage acne.
And finally, a new definition of schadenfreude: Observing the failures and scant turnout for Trump’s “all about me,” puny Great American State Fair; and the number of people bailing out when, substituting himself for self-canceled musicians, he gave a lazy speech recycling his sad lies about turning America into the “hottest” country on Earth. (Climate change reference?)
Happy Birthday, America. Don’t blow it.
