Free Republic

It wasn’t that long ago that Venezuela, which possesses the world’s largest crude oil reserves, was a relatively stable democracy with one of Latin America’s fastest-rising economies. It was a nation so awash in petroleum revenues that the socialist government of the late former President Hugo Chavez spent huge amounts on social programs and, at one point, even provided free heating oil for impoverished Americans. But starting in 2014, the South American nation began suffering a startling collapse. With Venezuela’s gross domestic product plummeting even more than the United States during the Great Depression, many of its nearly 32 million...

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner in the race for mayor of America's most populous city, on Thursday landed the endorsement of one of New York City's most influential politicians. Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat, arguably the city's most powerful Latino leader, is backing Mamdani, who, if elected in November, would become New York City's first Muslim mayor. "We're past the primary, and the people of New York City have spoken," Epsaillat said Thursday. "If there is a common denominator in every decision that I've made since I began to represent this district, in terms of supporting someone, it’s called the...

Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary and is poised to become the next mayor of the Big Apple. He’s young, personable, has amazing charisma, and is being touted by some as the new face of the party. Others are suggesting that Mamdani, with all his attributes, is offering a path forward for Democrats to win in both the midterms and in 2028. These people are just as stupid as Mamdani himself. Mamdani is an avowed socialist who advocates for socialist policies, which are always going to resonate with people who are idiotic, jealous of other people’s wealth, or too lazy...

As a child of the Cold War with the Soviets as America’s enemy, when the wall came down and the threat of Communism faded, I was under the illusion that the world had inexorably turned a corner and that history was on the march to bring freedom, capitalism, and prosperity to the whole world... The events of September 11 exposed that illusion for what it really was: a delusion. There were actually people out there who wanted to start a war with the United States. With 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Islam went from an almost nonexistent...

Sometimes, the best way to demonstrate the dangers of electing certain candidates to higher office is by letting them speak for themselves. Zohran Mamdani, the presumptive Democrat mayoral nominee for New York City, is one of those people. While the New York Assemblyman has been presented as the “relatable” socialist (as if there is such a thing) despite his racist, antisemitic, and anti-American tendencies – and smooth-talked his way ahead of former NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo in both the polls and the primary, statements he’s made over the years and stances that he’s taken paint quite a different picture. Without...

Last week I invited readers to get a good laugh out of New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s plan to avert impending energy disaster by green-lighting one nuclear power plant that optimistically might solve 5% of the problem when it is ready to operate in the 2050s. Now this week brings an even superior farce: A video clip has emerged of our settler-colonialist Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani calling for “seizing the means of production.” Mamdani’s victory in last week’s Democratic primary has led researchers to dredge up a treasure trove of his old tweets and video clips, each one more...

Sure as the sun rises, Mamdani will turn New York into a third world dump. At the very least, New York City has collapsed. If Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should someday soon be kicked out of Persia, it is possible he could come to New York, where he would likely be elected mayor. The sequence of NYC mayors is astounding. From Guliani to Bloomberg to de Blasio to Adams. And perhaps soon to Zohran Mamdani, an avowed Marxist who has previously indicated his desire to “globalize the intifada.” (Mamdani defeated three-term ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the June 24th mayoral primary.)...

New Yorkers faced the choice of a miscreant former governor and a radical Democrat socialist for the position of mayor in the Democrat primary. Prior to Zohran Mamdani’s election in the primary, his absurd and speculative plans to provide all kinds of freebies to the citizenry were the talk of the town:Mamdani’s platform focused on a number of issues that have animated socialists in the Democratic Party, including raising the minimum wage, hiking taxes on corporations and wealthy Americans, cracking down on delivery apps, as well as investing in affordable housing and creating city-owned grocery stores.His campaign proposes a new...

NEW — Senator Chris Murphy: Zohran Mamdani — A self-described Democratic Socialist — has an "economic message" that "is the future of the [Democratic] Party."

NEW YORK, NY — In response to growing questions about his political leanings, New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani issued a statement to clarify that he is not a communist, but only wants the government ot seize the means of production, abolish private property ownership, and put capitalists in gulags. After becoming the target of heavy criticism following his victory in the Democratic Party primary, Mamdani was forced to defend his philosophy against allegations of communist influences and instead explain that he simply stands in full alignment with communism's platform, values, and agenda. "To label me a communist is...

Take heed, New Yorkers, and learn from San Francisco’s mistakes: The City by the Bay has discovered to its sorrow that charismatic leaders like Zohran Mamdani can dazzle — but their decisions can be disastrous. Just a few years ago San Franciscans, too, supported magnetic populists, then watched as their neighborhoods fell off a livability cliff. Regrets, we have more than a few — and many we want to mention. In 2017 London Breed, a brash and captivating city supervisor from the projects, became acting mayor when the mild-mannered Mayor Ed Lee died. With big promises of housing creation, downtown...

Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani wants to hike property taxes for “richer and whiter neighborhoods” in an eyebrow-raising proposal The soak-the-rich proposal is buried in Mamdani’s campaign platform that calls to fix the city’s notoriously skewed property tax system, in which ritzy brownstones are hit at lower rates than homes and rentals in lower-income neighborhoods. “Shift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer boroughs to more expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods,” the proposal reads. Democrats and many Republicans have long pushed to fix the out-of-whack system that ends up hitting poorer, often largely...

Eric Adams was once a rising star in the Democratic Party. His reelection will hinge on taking down the newest one. Hours after Zohran Mamdani’s performance in New York City’s Democratic primary electrified national politics, Adams painted the 33-year-old democratic socialist as an entitled and inexperienced lawmaker trying to hoodwink New Yorkers with unrealistic campaign proposals. “This is a city not of socialism,” Adams said. Speaking Thursday on the steps of City Hall, Adams pitched himself as a tested, working-class leader focused on public safety and economic recovery who wants to complete the job he set out to do nearly...

Too many Democratic party leaders would rather be the captains on a sinking Titanic than change course The Democratic party is at a crossroads. It can continue to push policies that maintain a broken and rigged economic and political system and ignore the pain of the 60% of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck. It can turn its back on the dreams of a younger generation which, if we don’t change that system, will likely be worse off than their parents. It can continue to depend upon billionaire donors and out-of-touch campaign consultants and spend huge amounts of money on...

PSAKI: You’re going to be dealing with tremendous attacks from MAGA Republicans. We’ve already seen that over the last 24 hours, including from Stephen Miller, Elise Stefanik, the NRCC. They’re already trying to run an Islamophobic campaign against you, which I will just note, and you’ve lived this, but for people who are just tuning in, is a continuation of some of the tactics that we saw during the primary. But it’s going to come tenfold. I know you know that, but how are you going to handle that personally? MAMDANI: You know, it’s sad in that in one sense...

New York City's Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has said he wants to "shift the tax burden" to "richer and whiter neighborhoods" if he secures election in November. A housing policy document on Mamdani's official website includes a pledge to "shift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer boroughs to more expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods." Newsweek contacted the Mamdani campaign for comment via email on Friday outside of regular office hours. Why It Matters Mamdani's proposal has already sparked a backlash with one conservative commentator branding him racist and urging New Yorkers to support incumbent...

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand from New York has strongly challenged Mayor Zoran Mamdani’s controversial remarks regarding the Intifada, asserting that if democratic socialists are serious about leading New York City, they must openly denounce it. Gillibrand, known for her pro-Israel stance, criticized Mamdani for not rejecting the “globalization of Intifadas,” particularly as he requested a sit-down to further explain his position. “As the leader of a city as diverse as New York, home to the largest Jewish population in the country, he should take a clear stand,” Gillibrand remarked during a conversation on WNYC. The senator pointed out that it’s insufficient...

OK, I know that all you smug people out there in the hinterlands are now snickering at me behind my back because I’m about to get stuck with one Zohran Mamdani as the Mayor of my city. Probably, you have already read enough about this guy to know just how crazy and ignorant he is. If you haven’t yet studied up, here is a small sample of his stated positions: free transit buses for all, free childcare for all children 6 weeks to 5 years old, city-owned grocery stores, a rent freeze on all regulated apartments, vast expansion of city-owned...

Zohran Mamdani says burglary isn’t violence, but prosecuting burglars is.

Actor Debra Messing wrote an Islamophobic comment on her Instagram in reference to New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, claiming that he “celebrated” 9/11. “I have nothing against Socialism, don’t know where you got that,” Messing, who is known for her role in the sitcom “Will & Grace,” wrote in an Instagram comment replying to a user who called her out for sharing a reel denouncing socialism. “I voted against M because he celebrated 9/11. Let that sink in. I love my country. My reasoning is not Islamophobia. I’ve chosen to live in the most beautifully diverse city...