In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, New York City became a symbol of American resilience, unity, and patriotism. Over the past two decades, however, the city has undergone significant demographic and ideological changes. Leftist activism, illegal immigration, and a generational turnover have taken a hard bite out of the Big Apple’s core political landscape especially among younger voters.
In less than a month, voters across New York City’s five boroughs will cast their ballot for a new mayor. Incumbent Democrat Eric Adams was defeated in the June primary by Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assembly member. Mamdani, a Ugandan-born Muslim, is also a raucous member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
Many will shrug and carry on, including countless New Yorkers who rarely, if ever, vote.
Does it matter?
Absolutely.
There are only 12 states that have populations larger than the Big Apple.
A Mamdani victory wouldn’t just flip City Hall, it would intensify the ideological fault lines already in overdrive in places like Portland, Oregon. The recent spree of violence is not coincidental as the Left has abandoned reason for rage, choosing violence over debate, or even discussion. The Left’s meltdown is less a protest than a confession: the intellectual vault is empty, and the alarms refuse to stop ringing.
It is striking that in just one generation since 9/11, New York is expected to elect a Ugandan-born Muslim mayor whose political identity is steeped in democratic socialism that is firmly rooted in old-school communism.
Mamdani wants higher taxes, a rent freeze, and government grocery stores. He favors soft-on-crime policies and is against private, cyber, and charter schools. His anti-Israel views include support for Hamas.
Every poll underscores how blacks and Hispanics want more police, not fewer. Mamdani disagrees saying, “the NYPD is racist, anti-queer and a threat to public safety.”
Socialists, like communists, value equity more than prosperity. They believe it is better for everyone to be poor than for some to have more than others. The issue runs deeper than economics to include Gaza, BLM, LGBTQ+, the environment, and illegal immigration—and all are about expanding the Left’s coalition to gain and sustain power.
At one time, Venezuela was the fourth highest per capita income nation in the world, but the folly of socialism ended that. Leftist leaders view power as their path to the privileged class ruling over a cowed citizenry.
Readers here know what happens once power is consolidated.
Believers in such a utopia do not.
Those who feel aggrieved and marginalized are attracted to such things.
Why?
For decades they have been indoctrinated with Leftist propaganda through the media, unions, government bureaucrats, and a public educational system from kindergarten through college that paints a Disneyland worldview of socialism and communism, while making a Frankenstein of capitalism.
Read the DSA’s manifesto, then read Castro’s “History will Absolve Me” speech. Both are strikingly similar. How did that work out for Cubans?
Socialism has failed everywhere it has been bought and sold.
Mamdami is the Muslim version of David Duke. Duke, a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, won the Republican nomination for governor of Louisiana in 1991. However, unlike with Duke, there is no concerted effort to defeat Mamdami based on his radical beliefs.
Minus the powdered wigs, our second American revolution faces a critical crossroads. The time for compromise has passed. The Left has abandoned reality and common sense by taking a swan dive off the cliffs of reason, clutching a manifesto written in crayon and grievance. Their willingness to use and celebrate violence towards their political ends marks a dangerous escalation.
Nothing could be more insulting to the memory of those who perished on 9/11 than having a Hamas sympathizer calling Gracie Mansion home.
We must remain vigilant about whom we vote into leadership because anything less than an unwavering commitment to law and order, justice, and peace is a betrayal to the common good.
If Mamdani lands in City Hall, the Big Apple will harvest a bumper crop of poisoned apples unfit for consumption. His administration will be the paradigm for next year’s midterm election.
With Mamdani clashing with Charlie Kirk’s legacy, the 2026 midterms are poised to be profoundly unconventional and potentially transformative.
Image from Grok.