I agree with queermunist and her comment, and I also agree with Carl’s reply to her. I’d much rather talk about it in real time on a faster medium than hb comments since this is a lot, but I’ll do my best responding:
Getting in bed with AIPAC and being an open zionist leads to a loss in popularity given how many people understandably hate pissrael and open zionism now. Especially among what I am going to assume are his voting base (younger people).
Fair point, I don’t get the impression that that’s necessarily what happened but that’s my own read.
If someone is willing to have genocidal fascist ethnonationalists in his administration, who are currently aiding and abetting a genocide, they are basically signalling to everyone that they don’t give a damn about the marginalized, the oppressed, the working class, or just human life in general really lets be honest.
It’s a big mistep imo but I doubt that he thinks allowing Zionists to work in sanitation per this example will put the oppressed or human life in danger. His campaign is really focused on local issues and local politics and pretty much just that, so while this is a big blind spot, it would be a false equivalence to assume he doesn’t care about the marginalized when the marginalized are the people his campaign is most focused on protecting. Just locally. Which again, I don’t agree with.
My point is, that if this person can’t for whatever insufficient reason take a hardline stance against a genocide that their country is basically committing and its supporters, then what makes you think they can take a principled stand for anything else?
Similar to my point before, I think he can take a principled stance on other issues and particularly those where he has power because that seems to be he’s been doing. The big exception to this is softening his stance on the NYPD which I think is a tactical one but also disappoints me to see.
I think AOC cares a lot about the working class too
Her numerous betrayals say otherwise.
Again similar, which I think it kinda hinting at the source of our misunderstanding. I said I think she cares, I also said that caring isn’t enough. You can care about someone and still not do right by them. Humans are flawed. We fuck up, we we betray those we care for, we lose hope and revolutionary optimism, and in many cases just have a flawed understanding.
If you as a leftist candidate can’t take a firm stand against genocide then you are not going to “make things a bit less desperate for the working class” anywhere. Its bare minimum stuff. Its like saying a computer that can’t even turn on for more than 5 seconds is capable of running Cyberpunk 2077.
Keeping Libraries well funded, increasing healthcare availability and affordability, protecting gender affirming care, expanding childcare, funding education, etc. All of these would help a lot. If you want an actual revolution, you’re gonna need literate and reasonably healthy comrades.
The role of people like him, social democrats, is to weaken left-populist movements so they won’t be as much of a danger to the bourgeois. History has shown this time and time again. Watch how any left-populist momentum just fades into liberalism and fascism when he either fails to gain office or gains office but fails to deliver on his promises.
I agree with Carl in the comment above here, this is just accelerationism. I do believe the US left would be in a much better place today if Bernie had been elected despite all his flaws. And I’ll happily drop every vote for a socdem the second that PSL has alternatives in these races. Until them, I know what I need to do, and 99.99% of the year that involves organizing, and the other 0.01% I’d vote for Mamdani if I had the option.
Well he’s basically just given a big middle finger to any Pro-Palestine organization in NYC because now he will have violent genocidal ethnonationalists in his administration who are going to be hellbent at using whatever means necessary to suppress any and all dissent against the zionist entity. A few bad apples spoil the bunch. They will also probably try their best to use their positions of power to make life hell for Muslims and Palestinians too.
And this is especially bad because america, as the imperialist world superpower, is the number 1 blood vessel to its cancerous zionist military base. Therefore, any action to disrupt and prevent this in america will be even more effective than anywhere else. And now mamdani has gone ahead and said he will put exactly the type of fascist crooks who don’t want the genocide to end into positions of power.
This one hurts because it’s true. But the alternatives are far from better and if anything worse as they will probably have zionists in much higher positions of power than Mamdani and are actually zionists themselves.
Also don’t you think its a bit fucked up to say you’d vote for a guy who said he will have genocidal maniacs in his administration, in a country currently committing the genocide they support, just because he promises to support the working class? Wasn’t that kinda like the nazi party’s whole thing?
Yes this whole situation and country is fucked up. But that wasn’t the Nazi party’s whole thing. Their whole thing was being the genocidal maniacs. This would be more like voting for the SPD IF the KPD didn’t exist at all, though it’s far from a perfect analogy.
“oh you know I’m fine with genocide but vote for me because i will help the german worker”
I don’t believe he is fine with genocide, the Nazis didn’t actually care about the German worker (actually reading this again wtf??? I’m actually mad at this characterization), and there is no candidate who will keep all Zionists out of public positions but I do hope Mamdani will keep them out of positions where they have a chance to act on their deranged ideology.
Tbh we don’t even need to go back to the nazis because for fucks sake there is a genocide against the Palestinian people at the moment that needs to desperately be stopped. Lives are being cruelly destroyed en masse by the zionist entity and its western backers (primarily america) as you are reading this. Why would you ever want to vote for someone who says that he will have fascist scum in his administration who are currently aiding and abetting this fucking demonic act of genocide, just because he pinky promises to help the working class of NYC? I mean come the fuck on, really? Is this where we are at?
Sadly yes, this is where we’re at. Hopefully you understand why I said what I said better now.
I agree with queermunist and her comment, and I also agree with Carl’s reply to her. I’d much rather talk about it in real time on a faster medium than hb comments since this is a lot, but I’ll do my best responding:
Fair point, I don’t get the impression that that’s necessarily what happened but that’s my own read.
It’s a big mistep imo but I doubt that he thinks allowing Zionists to work in sanitation per this example will put the oppressed or human life in danger. His campaign is really focused on local issues and local politics and pretty much just that, so while this is a big blind spot, it would be a false equivalence to assume he doesn’t care about the marginalized when the marginalized are the people his campaign is most focused on protecting. Just locally. Which again, I don’t agree with.
Similar to my point before, I think he can take a principled stance on other issues and particularly those where he has power because that seems to be he’s been doing. The big exception to this is softening his stance on the NYPD which I think is a tactical one but also disappoints me to see.
Again similar, which I think it kinda hinting at the source of our misunderstanding. I said I think she cares, I also said that caring isn’t enough. You can care about someone and still not do right by them. Humans are flawed. We fuck up, we we betray those we care for, we lose hope and revolutionary optimism, and in many cases just have a flawed understanding.
Keeping Libraries well funded, increasing healthcare availability and affordability, protecting gender affirming care, expanding childcare, funding education, etc. All of these would help a lot. If you want an actual revolution, you’re gonna need literate and reasonably healthy comrades.
I agree with Carl in the comment above here, this is just accelerationism. I do believe the US left would be in a much better place today if Bernie had been elected despite all his flaws. And I’ll happily drop every vote for a socdem the second that PSL has alternatives in these races. Until them, I know what I need to do, and 99.99% of the year that involves organizing, and the other 0.01% I’d vote for Mamdani if I had the option.
This one hurts because it’s true. But the alternatives are far from better and if anything worse as they will probably have zionists in much higher positions of power than Mamdani and are actually zionists themselves.
Yes this whole situation and country is fucked up. But that wasn’t the Nazi party’s whole thing. Their whole thing was being the genocidal maniacs. This would be more like voting for the SPD IF the KPD didn’t exist at all, though it’s far from a perfect analogy.
I don’t believe he is fine with genocide, the Nazis didn’t actually care about the German worker (actually reading this again wtf??? I’m actually mad at this characterization), and there is no candidate who will keep all Zionists out of public positions but I do hope Mamdani will keep them out of positions where they have a chance to act on their deranged ideology.
Sadly yes, this is where we’re at. Hopefully you understand why I said what I said better now.