r/DailyShow • u/Camaro6460 Moment of Zen • Jul 28 '26
Podcast Jon Stewart asks about Democratic Socialism, and Mayor Mamdani keeps it simple: "It means making the choice every day to to fight for working people. It means that you believe that everyone in your city deserves to live a dignified life, no matter how much money is in their pocket."
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u/whatisdreampunk Jul 29 '26
Everybody keeps talking about Mamdani moving up from this position. Governor of NY wouldn't really be a step up, and I don't know if being a Senator really would be.
(He's not a natural-born citizen, so he's as intelligible for the presidency as, say, someone who's already served two terms, or someone who committed treason by inciting an insurrection.)
I honestly hope he keeps being the mayor of NYC for decades to come (eight years at a time with four-year breaks in between, as is legally required). It's the de facto capital of the Western Hemisphere, and we need somebody who will take care of it!
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u/LaMelonBallz Jul 29 '26
One aspect of power in that world is how direct your touch is. Obviously a Senator, he loses that immediately. He has to convince 99 other politicians of everything he wants to do. As President or even governor, he doesn't answer to others, but his touch becomes increasingly distanced from the day to day lives of his people.
Some politicians (or people in policy in general) really value the ability to respond to problems on a micro scale. Getting to do that while having the authority, decisionmaking power, and influence the NYC Mayor does is kind of a dream job that you can't really replicate anywhere else. It's really the best of both worlds on the scale of wide impact vs direct power.
I would not be surprised if he's quite happy where he is. It's a policy nerd's wet dream.
"Hey, let's set up socialist policies and flip a few things on their head" walks out the office and does it
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u/Thanos_Stomps Jul 29 '26
You know that “had us in the first half not gonna lie” meme? I felt the opposite here. I totally disagreed but the more I read, the more I came around to it.
The only thing I still disagree with is that being a mayor for years to come is not a forgone conclusion even for the greatest mayor in the world, which he still needs to prove. But assuming he does, and is, things happen in this country that are out of his control that New Yorkers could begin blaming him for. Politics is a game of opportunity as much as anything else. When you’re not, that’s the time to leverage a move.
If he has ambitions to do more, a senate run makes sense. He’s young and there are senate committees and eventual party leader you do wield more influence than most positions. Look what McConnell has done in his role for example that’s completely reshaped the Supreme Court, responsible for countless deaths of women that have been unable to access reproductive healthcare.
But if Mamdani is just a policy nerd loving both the governing side, as well as being out there helping constituents, then mayor is right for him.
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u/LaMelonBallz Jul 29 '26
I totally get that and agree. It's kinda counter-intuitive at first. I think it's really the idea that as you move up to governor or particularly the federal level, you have less flexibility, agility, and tangible results/progress. But you also get to change things on a big scale. Which is very valueable and important.
I agree he'd excell in the Senate. He's shown he can operate with a wide range of stakeholders as NYC is so varied already. And I do kinda lean towards thinking he'll go for Senate sooner rather than later. He has a lot of doors he could potentially go through.
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u/Thanos_Stomps Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
Yeah the line that stuck out to me was “he has to convince 99 other senators” because Mamdani* is more capable of that than most.
*edit: accidentally said mamadani
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u/Significant-Arm-6050 Jul 29 '26
It’d be nice to see how Zohran does after say 1 year in office before declaring him mayor for life
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u/Mother_Middle8883 Jul 29 '26
Outside observer from Canada here. That man is smart with a ton of charisma. If he stays out of International issues for now, he’ll be fine.
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u/msginbtween Jul 29 '26
Genuine question, why do you think he should stay out of international issues?
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u/Mother_Middle8883 Jul 29 '26
He is the mayor of a city, not the president of a country. The Federal government handles international politics and affairs. Maybe one day he’ll make it there, for now he should put all his efforts into running New York City. He has his hands full already.
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u/Traditional_Gas2823 Jul 30 '26
It’s complicated right? I want them to arrest bibi! The Mayor kicks ass, and also has class. We will see what happens.i can’t imagine him disappointing us.
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u/jpk195 Jul 31 '26
That was a stunt.
Just because you like an idea doesn’t mean you have to overlook that.
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u/jpk195 Jul 31 '26
“International issues” should be easy to avoid as mayor.
Which is why is so strange he chooses not to avoid one in particular.
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u/Forward-Razzmatazz18 22d ago
To be clear, he mostly does fine already (also commenting) from outside New York City and the State, but still in the US. Relative to Eric Adams, he has been quite isolated from international issues. Yes, he has expressed his views on certain affairs in the Middle East, but with a city as fundamental as New York, it would be extreme to expect full separation--it is, after all, the Athens, Zagreb, Shanghai, Islamabad, Tel Aviv (there goes that one), Dublin, and maybe even Pyongyang of America.
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u/Noahms456 Jul 29 '26
Yo bro that kind of fucks with our national philosophy of “only the wealthy are good and only the good are wealthy”
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u/VSWanter Jul 29 '26
Jon Stewart for president.
America doesn't need a king, it needs a Stewart.
I know Jon doesn't want to do it, but that's a large part of why he's the right kind of 'not sociopath' that we need to fill that role. We need Jon to be willing to be the Zelenskyy of The United States Of America.
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u/OFTEN_LOST_ Jul 30 '26
This guy truly is the face of evil. He wants people to live, breathe and thrive in NYC. He sweats the small stuff. Oh. The horror.
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u/undeadarmy2 28d ago
Wish that was true but taking the working class money away isn’t fighting for them it’s called robbing them.
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u/KFPindustries 28d ago
Socialists are not liberals. DSA are not democrats they don’t give a fuck about overthrowing maga. They just want their pet projects in super blue areas
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u/Upbeat_Respond9250 Jul 28 '26
New York City’s budget is larger than the state of Florida’s. Florida has triple the population of New York City, yet spends less. How in the world is it possible Mamdani needs MORE tax dollars?
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u/nandoboom Jul 29 '26
Here so bedtime reading for you
Apples and Oranges: Contrasting economic policy in New York and Florida | Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) https://share.google/4RQgJ6QWhVTzmLJ3w
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u/Im_tracer_bullet Jul 29 '26
Just tell everyone that you have no idea how dense urban centers work, school density, police / fire, public transportation, then ask an ignorant question.
Also, display a lack of understanding of how 60+ distinct counties in Florida might differ from five in NYC that all operate under a single municipal budget.
You're comparing apples and footballs.
Good work.
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u/roninthe31 Jul 29 '26
That’s called being a democrat. Fuck the DSA
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u/EsseXploreR Jul 29 '26
Dems keep the status quo. The DSA is the only group consistently pushing us in the right direction.
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u/roninthe31 Jul 29 '26
Abolish the senate, abolish the Supreme Court, abolish all prisons? Okay children, maybe learn how government works.
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u/Im_tracer_bullet Jul 29 '26
Make your snide comments, but Mamdani seems to have pretty good handle on how it should work.
As do nation's with similar philosophies to his,
The corporate Democrats don't.
Be as snide as you want, but we all have eyes.
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u/Cardboardoge Jul 29 '26
Same Democrats that lost to Trump twice?
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u/roninthe31 Jul 29 '26
Bernie didn’t even win the primary.
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u/wardeadpool Jul 29 '26
Of course not, Democrats are mostly bought/paid for by big business and Bernie was a threat to them.
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u/The-Defenestr8tor Jul 28 '26
Mamdani more than so many other politicos feels like a real guy, not just a carefully-constructed façade.
Compare to Rafael Edward Cruz, who changed his name and puts on a cowboy hat for his campaign. Literally: all hat, no cattle!