Copyright New York Post
As awful as the mayoral election outcome was for sensible New Yorkers, misguided Washington Republicans plan to use the results as a club to further punish the city. If they succeed in hitting Gotham with enormous financial penalties for electing socialist radical Zohran Mamdani, the GOP wackos will end up penalizing all 8 million New Yorkers, including the 1 million who rejected Mamdani to vote for other candidates. The efforts also could turn Mamdani into a martyr, which would boost his popularity and inspire far-leftist copycat candidates across America. Another unintended consequence of the daffy congressional effort could be the death of the election chances of one of their own. Upstate Republican firebrand Rep. Elise Stefanik announced Friday that she will run against Gov. Hochul next year. Stefanik, the star of GOP efforts to hold college presidents responsible for the antisemitism on their campuses, is widely seen as a credible candidate. A recent poll showed her holding a slight edge against the incumbent, and she burst out of the starting gate by calling Hochul “the worst governor in America.” But Stefanik’s bid could be damaged by an attack onby her party against New York. It would give Hochul a rallying issue that would likely resonate with Mamdani’s legions of hard-core radicals, many of whom came to view Hochul more favorably after she endorsed Mamdani in September. Friendly fire for GOP Historic imbalances also are in play, with Republicans failing to win a statewide race since 2022, when former governor George Pataki captured his third term. GOP candidate Lee Zeldin gave Hochul a stiff challenge in 2022, but a large turnout of city Dems tipped the scales in her favor and she won by 5 points. Moreover, the congressional bill as written is so broad and harsh that the vast majority of New Yorkers would almost certainly reject it and hold all Republicans accountable. Introduced by Georgia Representative Buddy Carter, it says that, “during any period in which Zohran Mamdani is mayor of New York, New York . . . any unobligated Federal funds available” for the city “are hereby rescinded.” It adds that “no Federal funds may be obligated or expended for any purpose to New York, New York.” He calls the measure the “Moving American Money Distant from Anti-National Interests Act,” or the “MAMDANI Act.” Carter added an aside to reporters that “If New Yorkers want communism, we should let them have their wish and not artificially prop them up with our successful capitalist system.” It’s all too clever by half. Besides Stefanik, another New Yorker not laughing is Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the only GOP House member from the five boroughs. She told Fox that “These attempts by those within my party to score cheap political points by going after New York City are not going to be met lightly. We’re going to fight back.” She added that, “my constituents did not vote for Zohran Mamdani,” but yet “you have people in Washington wanting to punish the whole city.” Even if the bill were to make it through the House, it has zero chances of Senate approval, where the filibuster rule requires 60 votes for passage. Still, the mere introduction of the measure and debate about it gives Dems an early talking point against President Trump and Stefanik even before Mamdani takes office. The national mood also matters, and it is being roiled by lopsided Dem wins in governors’ races in Virginia and New Jersey. The results are fueling analyses that Trump’s populist base is shrinking amid growing discontent over rising prices. A new Harris poll finds that many Americans are becoming pessimistic about the economy. When asked how much their regular monthly household costs have increased since last year, 74% of respondents said the spike was at least $100. The numbers are a worrying sign for the midterms because the GOP House margin is so tiny. Voters’ approval of California’s outlandishly gerrymandered district maps could end up flipping five red seats to blue. A House controlled by Dems would, even without Nancy Pelosi, almost certainly return to its impeachment obsession, and Trump could find himself seriously hobbled for the final two years of his term. Although I favor the president’s plan to seal the border and deport as many as possible of the 10 million or so illegal immigrants Joe Biden let into America, the friction of the round ups, amplified by left-leaning media, has the potential to become a negative for the president and his party next year. Indeed, Hochul believes she can boost her campaign by running against Trump as much as her actual opponent. To that end, she is crafting an extensive plan to stop him from sending the National Guard or active duty troops to the five boroughs, as he has done elsewhere. The governor has set up “a virtual war room and convened a series of conversations with law enforcement, business officials and activist groups to stop or at least mitigate any federal incursion,” Politico reported Friday. The report followed a recent incident on Canal Street in lower Manhattan, where ICE agents, along with law enforcement officers wearing vests identifying them as being from the DEA and FBI, took at least nine people into custody on suspicions of being in the nation illegally and selling counterfeit merchandise. Officials said all nine are from Africa and at least some have long criminal histories, including charges of robbery, burglary and assaulting law enforcement. CBS reported that five protesters were also arrested on charges that include assaulting law enforcement and obstruction. Proxy war The fact that the NYPD was given a heads-up adds to the intrigue about the future role of the police in the sanctuary city. A mayor Mamdani, who effectively supports open borders and is sickeningly prejudiced against the NYPD, would almost certainly forbid any police role in federal deportation actions. The net result is that immigration raids in the city and state could politically damage Trump and now, by extension, Stefanik, too. Because she is closely aligned with the president and has voted with him 100 percent of the time, any move he makes that is unpopular in New York can backfire on her. Naturally, Hochul blames Trump for the government shutdown. And an early exchange of accusations between Hochul and her challenger signals other key arguments each side is planning. An aide to the governor declared that “Sellout Stefanik is Donald Trump’s number one cheerleader in Congress” and “his right-hand woman in his war on New York: gutting health care, jacking up costs with expensive tariffs.” In response, Stefanik gave as good as she got, saying on Fox News that “When New Yorkers were looking for strong leadership from a governor not to bend the knee to Zohran Mamdani, Kathy Hochul bent the knee.” There you have it. The election is a year away, but already the battle lines have been drawn.
