Standing in line for the “New York Is Not for Sale” rally at Forest Hills Stadium Sunday evening meant dealing with a gauntlet of Revolutionary Communists of America reps hawking their newspaper. The headline? “Sick of Capitalism: Gen Z Wants Revolution — Time to Organize.”
It felt like Elaine Benes’ communist boyfriend Ned Isakoff had planned the festivities.
And while the rhetoric on stage wasn’t as explicitly commie, the event headlined by Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Zohran Mamdani was a verbal bonfire of the rich. An admonishment of capitalism.
Never mind that two of the featured speakers criss-cross the nation in private jets. Nor that Mamdani himself is rich.
The biggest bogeymen for this crowd were two of the borough’s most prominent sons: President Donald Trump and Mamdani’s mayoral rival Andrew Cuomo.
Any mention of them, or the word “billionaire,” and the place went wild — booing, hissing and chanting, “Tax the rich.“
“Saturday Night Live” comedian Sarah Sherman served as MC, and she cracked jokes in between introducing union leaders, including a Starbucks barista who railed against that company’s CEO, Brian Niccol: “His wealth comes at the expense of workers like me.”
Democratic Socialists of America members, including State Senator Julia Salazar and Rep. Claire Valdez, urged audience members to join their ranks.
“Zohran didn’t come from nowhere — he came from our movement,” said Valdez, giving us a chilling reminder that Mamdani is a Trojan horse ushering in all kinds of far, far left DSA policies.
Then the “Resistance Revival Chorus” took the stage to sing their banger “Which Side Are You On?” They were joined by City Comptroller Brad Lander who, unfortunately, danced alongside them like no one was watching.
I instantly knew which side I was on — the one that doesn’t allow that goofy boob to join the chorus.
AOC drew massive applause when she said the city was built by Irish people fleeing famine, Italians escaping fascism, Jews seeking shelter after the Holocaust, and blacks escaping Jim Crow laws.
But there was no talk of the great things those people accomplished in New York City. Nothing about the Big Apple being a place where ingenuity and grit are rewarded and nurtured.
In fact, there was nothing about progress. Only hitting the rich in their bank accounts.
Fresh off revealing that his hijab-wearing aunt was the real victim of 9/11 because she allegedly got some dirty looks on the subway (though it’s not clear if he actually had a hijab-wearing aunt in the city), Mamdani took the stage to the type of applause a rock star receives.
He regularly invoked the money that others are spending against his campaign.
Luckily, the crowd was far more interesting. I met a father-daughter duo from Queens who were attending their first rally. John, a retired federal agent, is a Republican fed up with MAGA and starting to move in the direction of his lefty daughter Rebecca, an actuary. I found their family outing charming, even if I disagree with their politics.
Social worker Grace Downs came out because of concerns about affordability and healthcare. She told me that “Zohran is charismatic and represents millennials.”
Lobbyist Andrea Benites showed up in a DIY version of AOC’s 2021 Met Gala dress, with “Tax the Rich” scrawled across the back.
I share many of their concerns about affordability. But neither socialism nor letting a novice nepo baby run the city is the solution.
Sanders essentially admitted as much in his speech, saying his young acolyte “won’t have all the answers” — adding that Mamdani would “need your help every single day” if elected.
“Please do everything you can to work with Zohran to make him and his administration the best in the history of New York,” Bernie said.
But isn’t that why we should elect someone who has experience and understands how to make the machine of city government hum? New Yorkers don’t need to wake up and think about helping a hapless socialist mayor. We have enough to worry about.
We must elect someone who is actually ready on Day One. Not a theater kid who has been playing one during his campaign.
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