Hi everyone,
The debate last night in New York ahead of the upcoming mayoral election was hard to watch. The moderators were terrible, routinely cutting off Curtis Sliwa before he finished answering questions and showing a clear deference to both Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani. Sliwa pointed out that both men are architects of failure.
Sliwa made good points about the quality of life concerns that are of primary importance to New Yorkers while Cuomo and Mamdani brought lofty proposals that wouldn't do much for the day-to-day existence of the 8.5 million people who live there. Mamdani's "free bus" and "free child care" plans will actually cost taxpayers $9 BILLION in NEW taxes.
And what was Mamdani focused on in his debate with Cuomo? Cuomo's tolerance and embrace of Islam. Mamdani alleged that Cuomo isn't qualified to govern the city because until recently he hadn't been to a mosque. (Cuomo governed the state until he was run out on a rail by Letitia James.) Since when is going to an Islamic place of worship a mandatory campaign stop for a New York City mayoral candidate?
Apparently, since last night. Muslims make up about 9% of the city's total population, but in the realm of oppressor politics, they are getting the top spot. Many from this group took to the streets after the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre to celebrate it. Others have ripped down American flags and replaced them with Palestinian ones. This is a population that has come to the United States, like Mamdani, arrived in New York City, and said "we will not assimilate to your culture, you will assimilate to ours."
Not cool, and not the way immigration should go. The US, and New York City, should never bow to foreign influence, should never give up our culture for an infiltrating one, and should never hold our candidates for office to the standard of whether or not they have bowed their heads to worship in foreign traditions.
Which brings us back to Sliwa, the one guy running who is not a cult of personality, who has served the city basically his entire life, who rides the subways daily, and has nothing but respect for his fellow citizens. The moderators, and the other candidates, counted him out before the debate even began, and the rules of the debate make this evident.
There was apparently this rule in place where if one candidate invoked the name of another, the other was permitted to respond to that. The only problem with that, of course, is that Mamdani and Cuomo view each other as their primary opponent and discount Sliwa's chances to win the race. They kept insulting each other, leaving one another a chance to respond and leaving Sliwa out of it.
The people are likely to elect Mamdani, with a few choosing Cuomo because of Mamdani's apparent antisemitism. The hardcore GOP in Staten Island, Bay Ridge, and a couple of other neighborhoods in the outer boroughs will likely cast their ballots for Sliwa instead of either of the two far-left Dems. Meaning the city is in for a rough four years.