“If Mamdani wins by more than 50% of the vote . . . the Republicans are itching to make him the face of the Democratic Party—a stand-in for the “radical left” ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.” This from a KOS staff recent article entitled, Will a Mamdani win tell us anything about Democrats’ future?
Crude but popular red scare poster in the 30s.
The above comments closely resemble the more subtle form of red baiting done by the Democratic Party leadership in the recent past.
How so you ask?
The remarks suggest or infer to many voters that they should not support Zohran Mamdani because he’s “too radical and the Republicans will use this message to help carry the mid-term elections.” It could just as well have been spoken by Chuck Schumer or even Andrew Cuomo.
True enough, this red baiting strategy alluded to is almost guaranteed on the part of the Republicans. But then again they always do things like this. A winning strategy should be not be to allow the Republicans to determine our own campaign focus. Rather we should develop our own counter strategies that are not based on responding directly to their lies and slanders, don’t ya think?
Islamophobia and Mamdani Opposition
Racist 9/11 Islamophobia reigns down on Mamdani.
Other types of attacks, beginning about a week before election day in massive numbers from Republican friendly and right wing sources and opposing candidates, focused on the most extreme Islamophobia. In some of the more outrageous examples, they try to paint Mamdani, eleven at the time, with “cheering on the 9/11 attacks and supporting Osama Bin Laden.”
He also has been accused by Murdoch’s N.Y. Post of being “terror” linked. And by V.P. J.D. Vance for once frivolously complaining about his aunt being harassed because of 9/11 being “the ‘real’ victim.”
Disgraced candidate Andrew Cuomo claimed “If Mamdani was in the seat on 9/11, “What would have happened in this city?”
Red Baiting, by any other Name, is Still Red Baiting
Chuck Schumer’s nightmare.
As said, in recent years Democratic Party leadership sometimes adopts “soft core red baiting.” As opposed to the “hard core, commie scum type red baiting” of the Republicans. The former does so by emphasizing loyalty to “free market” capitalist methods and warning against radical economic measures and reforms. We heard this most often when they themselves are red baited by the Republicans.
Mamdani is political poison to Centrist Democrats like Schumer and represents the possibility of CHANGE. Real change and real reforms, which even though they are relatively modest, they just seem more radical in this national climate of mega-billionaire fascism. He has aroused youth and anti-establishment sentiments, much needed at this time.
And while Party leadership likes to represent being progressive when it suits them around voting time, they are allergic to any advocacy of major, even moderate at times, economic reform — the lack of which has put our country ultimately into the hands of a pocket full of billionaire fascists.
What Democratic Socialism Tries to Address
There already is social control over the means of production in the form of our capitalist elite. Their capital is located in Wall Street, New York City. It is class controlled, run by a mega-wealthy class which desires to maintain that control and the privileges, property and government influence in brings — by any means necessary, including fascism.
When folks like Mamdani say they are are “social democrats”, they are seeking a popular, democratic government that includes formal working class input and more popular democratic control over the wealth produced by the capitalist system. Any way you look at it seeks to resolve these class antagonisms in a historically different fashion than Marxism.
What is not often discussed is the role the elite and working classes would have in such a society and government, and can the two ever reconcile the antagonisms between the two peacefully. In other words, can capitalism ever be modified and governed in a fair, equal and popular democratic fashion?
Will They Sabotage Mamdani?
The Wall Street Bull is on a rampage in the White House.
If elected, Mamdami could have a very hard time because fundamental change is not on either political party’s agenda and those interests are shared by the mega money crowd in opposing him.
Just look at the recent climate during the NYC mayoral race, every establishment/corporate media outlet, newspaper, Trump himself and Vance are 24/7 are talking and acting like it’s the end of the world if Mamdani is elected. To the best of my knowledge even Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer still has not supported him.
Schumer’s true colors come out at times like this, when confronted with the possibility even of modest changes occurring in the status quo. There’s never been a legit reform candidate with a chance of winning in NYC in my lifetime, Frank Barbaro was the last to try and he lost.
Late Stage Monopoly Capitalism
FDR, considered by some a ruling class traitor.
All this has resulted in part because we are in the very late stages of monopoly capitalism, with tens of thousands of small businesses gobbled up each year by mammoth corporations — so much for the “free” market capitalists like to brag about.
They now than have almost unlimited funds to dominate both the market, prices, the media, many elected officials and governmental policy. Red baiting, while it doesn’t have the influence over the masses it once did, is sure to be an ongoing tactic in the fight against economic reform along with Islamaphobia.
FDR Market Reforms
There have been few fundamental Wall Street reforms as strong as the ones FDR got passed in the 1930s, the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933 being one of the first and most important. It was repealed in 1999 and was only partially restored by Obama in 2010. Many other regulations have been repealed since the 30s or are no longer enforced. FDR’s first 100 days were much like Trump’s second term, but in reverse, destined to eventually save America, not destroy her.
The major “reform” we did get manage to get this time around is Trumpian fascism and the Cabinet from Hades, the result of totally inadequate management previously in the face of a monopoly capitalist, mega billionaire-controlled, market system. []
