Mamdani and the Rise and Fall of Great Cities

American Refugees ^ | 12 July 2025 | Roger Simon

[Rummyfan]

What is to happen to New York—and for that matter to Los Angeles and a host of lesser but still important American cities? I have been thinking about that for some time—particularly after the recent LA fires that have barely been repaired— but have started to obsess about it with the rise of Zohran Mamdani in the NY mayoralty race.

Mamdani seems a prototype of what we used to call online a “useful idiot,” a phrase ascribed to Lenin, although, like so many similar, no one seems to be able to locate evidence of his having used that precise language. No matter. In this instance it’s pretty accurate anyway.

Mamdani, the well-heeled (aren’t they always) son of a filmmaker and and a Columbia professor, is 33 and claims to be a socialist, 33 being about ten years too senior for such a belief that is somewhat excusable in one’s early twenties. Thereafter, one wonders about the ability to recognize reality. No one I have ever met has ever been able to point to a truly successful economy that is socialistic or communistic. Even Communist China essentially abandoned that several decades ago in all but rhetoric in favor of totalitarian oligarchy..

But Mr. Mandani thinks it will work in New York All you have to do is employ the word “democratic” in front (as if), give out the usual freebees in rent, transportation and a new one in government grocery stores (don’t ask), add more than a soupçon of antisemitism and voila.

Which brings us back to an actual, verifiable quote from Lenin, “What Is to Be Done” —in case this charismatic (to some) smiling doofus actually wins.

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TOPICS: Miscellaneous; Politics; Society
KEYWORDS:

[maddog55]

When you have cities full of useless not useful idiots then selecting a useless idiot to govern you makes perfect sense.

Cities are shxtholes full of crime, corruption and liberals so expecting anything useful coming out of them are morons. They wreak of what a society in decline represents.

[DeplorablePaul]

Let Zoltar be the mayor of the first walled off city in America. Time to turn NYC into a prison camp.

[dpetty121263]

The Good Lord gives them over to their follies...

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Combine borderline retarded low IQ, a lazy shiftless disposition, racial malignancy and grievances, illegal aliens from all over the world, plenty of free stuff and trinkets, then voilà—you have modern American cities.

[alloysteel]

Snake Plissken, now that we will be needing you, where are you?

[ClearCase_guy]

bfl

[FlingWingFlyer]

Escape from New Yawk 2! Get your tickets now.

[Dr. Sivana]

Let Zoltar be the mayor of the first walled off city in America.

That doesn't work too well. NYC doesn't have a true beltway. It is on multiple landmasses connected by bridges and tunnels, and is a necessary exit point for all of eastern Long Island, unless they take the ferry or aeroplane.

[RoosterRedux]

I don't think Mamdani is a useful idiot. I think he's a closet Islamist who is using socialism/Marxism only to get elected.

The useful idiots here are the New Yorkers who are falling for it.

[butlerweave]

Hopefully someone is investigating Mamdani

[Brian Griffin]

He’s not stupid. He is selling stupidity.

The useful idiots are the voters who vote for him and the taxpayers that stick around the metro NYC to get fleeced.

[dfwgator]

The thing is, Mamdani probably won’t do the things he claims he’ll do. He might actually turn out to be more pragmatic and win over a lot of his critics. And therein lies the real danger. He doesn’t come across to me as a dumb guy, he might actually be pretty shrewd.

[Brian Griffin]

Our systems are highly defective.

We now take in immigrants that are generally inferior to the existing population, which has been led astray and allowed to get physically, mentally and morally flabby.

[joshua c]

i think you hit the nail on the head

why do islamists love marxism

it makes the state primary

which aligns with their muslim supremacist theology

[sauropod]

.

[jonrick46]

The Marxist system promoted by our ivy league colleges is swallowed without critical thought by the spoiled kids of wealthy parents. Many of these kids graduated without having to take a test, leaving that to paid test takers who know the answers and are paid to give them for a price. If they joined a fraternity, the upper class men passed the test answers down to the younger fraternity brothers. All never learned the process of information analysis and took in the Marxist teachings of the professors without question. These spoiled kids fall through the cracks and become the top candidate for positions like New York’s mayor.

New York will reap what it has sown.