The Mamdani Tsunami Could Lead Democrats Out of Their 31 Years of Wandering in the Desert
But will the Democratic Party Establishment allow it?
I seldom weigh in on specific political races, but today is exceptional. This race was an Establishment status-quo candidate backed by billionaires versus an immigrant Progressive calling for change. The Progressive won.
Yes, the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City. Zohran Mamdani, a Progressive born in Uganda of Indian parents, defeated Andrew Cuomo, a former governor and son of a former governor. Cuomo, arguably, should be on trial over multiple alleged illegalities, but politics is about power more than it is about ethics, so the Democratic Party Establishment backed Cuomo for mayor.
My question today is what change will come of this. The magnitude of this victory of the Progressive over the Establishment should not be dismissed. During the campaign, as Mamdani overcame Cuomo’s huge lead and surged in popularity among the grassroots level, a number of pundits correctly observed that this was becoming a choice over what the future of the Democratic Party would be. Mamdani is now the odds-on favorite to win the general election and become mayor of New York City. The larger question is whether the Democratic Party Establishment will learn from the Mamdani tsunami or retreat back to business as usual.
What The People Said
They have spoken in nominating Mamdani — grassroots New Yorkers created a tsunami that swept away the walls of Big Money that propped up Cuomo. Granted, it was a primary election in which only just under a million people voted. Granted, it was New York City. But history shows that larger waves of change begin in smaller events.
The Cuomo-Mamdani election was a choice between two views of power — the establishment’s concentration of power at the top of society versus change to a greater circulation of power at the grassroots level. Mamdani called for change, and Cuomo was the establishment’s choice to maintain existing power structures. All nuance aside, that was the simple and direct choice.
What Right-Wingers Will Say
The right-wing talking heads will trot out their usual script. Mamdani’s an immigrant, a Marxist, woke, evil incarnate, blah blah blah. It’s what they do to fight against anyone who seeks a greater circulation of power to people throughout society. They said such dren about Cuomo, too. Calling anyone to the Left of extreme Right a socialist is inane blather, but it’s effective propaganda in many circles. It’s Republican rhetoric that’s been having the Democratic Party running scared for 31 years.
What Will the Center-Right Democratic Party Establishment Say?
Will the party agree more with Republicans? Or with the voters? This isn’t just about New York City but about two visions for the future, or, to be more correct, a vision for the future, or one for the past.
I mentioned the 31 years in the wilderness that the Democratic Party has endured. Back in 1994, Bill Clinton and his Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) pushed the party away from its roots in advocacy for working people toward being more aligned with Third Way corporate interests.
The results for the party were swift and decisive. The 1996 midterms saw a landslide Republican victory, one of the biggest electoral swings in US history. It ended decades of Democratic majorities in Congress and ushered in an era of Republican dominance. Consult any reference source and see from 1994 to now how much the right-wing Republican Party has gained over the center-right Democratic Party at every level of government. Not all of the blame can be placed on the Clintons and the DLC, but they deserve the lion’s share of it. Yes, Barrack Obama won two terms as president, but that has been an aberration.
The harsh reality that the Democratic Party needs to accept is that a right-wing economic agenda paired with lip service to left-wing social issues will not defeat the fully right-wing Republican Party. It’s been 31 years — get a clue! The center-right Democrats have moved the Overton Window to the Right, and the Republicans and their corporate backers have reaped the benefits. Project 2025 and Trump were a right-wing plan conceived in the 1970s, and the Democrats have, willingly or not, helped it manifest.
Habits are difficult to break, and the Democratic Party has been on the Third Way habit for a long time. Corporate money is addictive. The party has been more against Progressives than it has been against Republicans. See the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries. See the 2025 New York City mayoral primary. Bill Clinton endorsed Cuomo over Mamdani for a reason.
Courage is needed to break a habit. Does the Democratic Party have any? For years, all Republicans have needed to do is cry “woke!” or “socialist!” and Democrats have caved. Their levels of resistance to Project 2025 and Trump have been underwhelming. The force is not strong.
The Mamdani tsunami happened. What’s the response? Will it be this?
No, that’s not a Republican group saying that, although you could be forgiven for thinking so. That is a screen grab today from ThirdWay.org, the successor group to the Democratic Leadership Council. It is run by members of the Democratic Party Establishment. It exists, as it says it exists, to protect the Democratic Party from the extremists on the Left. Its plan? Move the party more to the Right, of course.
Or will the Democratic Party start listening to The People? Being GOP-Lite hasn’t worked. It can never work. Who in the party has the courage to accept that reality? Join the wave or try to stop it? Continuing the fruitless wander in the desert is a bad habit. The Progressive path out of the wilderness is there for all to see.