Forgive us for finding real comedy in how Zohran Mamdani’s rise is making the Democratic establishment squirm.
Onetime “New Democrat” Bill Clinton, who won the White House by breaking with the party’s left, now has had to lead the parade of folks congratulating Mamdani on winning the Democratic primary — without actually endorsing him.
Oh, and there’s Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand popping up the other week to insist Mamdani denounce the phrase “globalize the intifada” — only to soon feel compelled to turn tail and apologize to him for saying in a radio interview that the anti-Zionist supports “global jihad” and Hamas.
Added irony: Mamdani’s excuse for being OK with others’ use of “globalize the intifada” is that he doesn’t want to be the “word police” — yet somehow it’s fine for his supporters to police Gillibrand’s use of “jihad”?
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Sen. Chuck Schumer told Jewish Insider, “Sen. Schumer condemns the phrase ‘Globalize the Intifada’ and believes that it should not be used” — but Chuck’s mostly mum on Mamdani himself.
Outright condemning city Democrats’ chosen mayoral nominee risks angering the party’s base enough that the senators might lose their own next primary — but embracing this far-left Israel-basher could poison their general-election chances.
Gov. Kathy Hochul faces the same dilemma, except that she’s up next year — and to protect her own “sensible” brand has already had to come out against most of Mamdani’s agenda, which he can’t deliver on unless he wins the state’s OK.
(Then again, Hochul tried to cover her left flank a bit by joining in the slams of Gillibrand’s “jihad” comments.)
Seems he’ll have the support of the state Senate, at least: Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and her powerful No. 2, Michael Gianaris, have both endorsed the anti-police Mamdani; of course, they started placing their bets with the hard left years ago.
But most of the city’s House delegation look like deer in the headlights: Will Reps. Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman feel compelled to follow city Comptroller Brad Lander in pretending Mamdani’s just fine for Jews?
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is in a bind of his own: To have any hope of becoming majority leader, he needs the party to pick up swing seats next year; for now he’s holding off on any commitment by merely asking Mamdani to “clarify” the whole “intifada” thing.
Rep. Ritchie Torres, a staunch supporter of Israel and outspoken foe of antisemites, is playing it cool, admitting his “profound differences of opinion” with Mamdani while aiming to continue their “dialogue”; on the other hand, Torres just admited he’s now likely to drop his plans to challenge Hochul from the right next year.
Meanwhile, city unions (which had mostly sat on the fence or endorsed Cuomo) are scrambling to win the favor of the likely next mayor: the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, 32BJ SEIU, the New York State Nurses Association, and the city Central Labor Council have all bent the knee, with the United Federation of Teachers reportedly set to follow.
Scrambling back into the sunlight is ex-Rep. Jamaal Bowman, ousted from his suburban district in last year’s primary thanks to his own anti-Israel record: There’s even talk he’ll be Mayor Mamdani’s pick to run the city’s public schools.
You can almost always count on politicians to put their self-interest (career, salary and perks) ahead of any principle; utlra-progressives’ steady rise in the city and state Democratic Party had shifted Cuomo far to the left even before scandal forced him to quit as governor.
Indeed, Mayor Eric Adams now stands out for his courage: He never stopped slamming the state’s dangerous “criminal-justice reforms,” has stood publicly and firmly against the anti-Israel extremists and dared to keep calling out the Biden administration’s bungling on the border.
That stand earned Adams a revenge federal investigation that may still end his career even now that the charges are dropped, since the smears kept him out of the primary.
At least the mayor, in contrast to most of the Democratic establishment, still has his honor intact.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
