No thatās not why. Quit giving people an out. By law your employer has to give you time to vote. There is early voting. Anyone who didnāt vote chose not to vote. You are also assuming they would have voted against trump.
I say this as someone who did vote Obama ... then realized he largely abandoned his "Change" paltform when he got into office; to became a fairly standard Neoliberal on most issues. Which demoralized the Dems base, and aided in a massive swing the other direction. Oh, and that a centrist party in a two party state really only exists to give more power to its opposition. Especially when that party is so deeply beholden to the same intensly conservative Private/Capital interest groups. Fascism is at the end of the day the marriage between Capital and the State.
It also proves that Einstein was absolutely right in his short 1949 essay "Why Socialism?" Even if you dont agree with Socialism itself. That under Capitalism, if its allowed to exist at all, Public Education will be rendered little more than tool for manufacturing convenient workers for various parts of the labor market; instead of well rounded individuals ready to participate in civic life. While the accumulation of Capital into a increasingly tiny handful of the population will eventually outstrip a State's ability to control that population. Resulting in ... you guessed it ... Fascism.
Beyond that, it reminds me of this quote:
"And then one fine day the bourgeoisie is awakened by a terrificĀ boomerang effect: theĀ gestaposĀ are busy, the prisons fill up, the torturers standing around the racks invent, refine, discuss. People are surprised, they become indignant. They say: "How strange! But never mindāit's Nazism, it will pass!" And they wait, and they hope; and they hide the truth from themselves, that it is barbarism, the supreme barbarism, the crowning barbarism that sums up all the daily barbarisms; that it is Nazism, yes, but that before they were its victims, they were its accomplices; that they tolerated that Nazism before it was inflicted on them, that they absolved it, shut their eyes to it, legitimized it, because, until then, it had been applied only to non-European peoples; that they have cultivated that Nazism, that they are responsible for it, and that before engulfing the whole edifice of Western, Christian civilization in its reddened waters, it oozes, seeps, and trickles from every crack."
The fact that the commenter didnāt mention that democrats only controlled the House and Senate for 72 days, in which time they passed the ACA, failed to mention the republican dinner before Obamaās inauguration in which they vowed to thwart everything he proposed even though we were in a massive recession and banking crisis says everything about this person.
Not to mention, iirc, the Libertarian party splitting the republican vote heavily until after Obama got re-elected and their base unified under the more extreme maga gop - that and the consolidated conservative media apparatus that grew emboldened under Obama, allowing the cult to be herded.
In regards to your schooling portion of the comment, I donāt think itās a coincidence that all these rich and powerful people have their kids in the Waldorf schools rather than the type of schooling us plebeians get.
I remember reading an article which was a letter that a farmer wrote into his local newspaper in the 1900ās or 1910ās about the American public school system. Iām going to paraphrase but he wrote that āwhat they are doing is going to be creating good citizens, not teaching people how to think or be creativeā, which I thought was amazing foresight.
I only know him from the 80s when crime was out of fucking control in NYC and the Guardian Angels used to ride the subways to protect people. It was legit scary on those subways back then and you really did feel safer when a couple of guys with walkie talkies were in your car. It meant a lot. I havenāt thought about him in 35 years, but I can say he was a good dude back then.
I hate saying this but, Curtis has not even sounded remotely insane the last few years. Like I know he is but like the amount of horrible stuff we hear a day he sounds like a rational scholar in comparison.
And you know, youād be very correct. The difference though, is that someone can love something and still be pretty insane.Ā
Sliwa isnāt even close to being as capable of a leader as Mamdani is, but you know what? Ā I think Sliwa would make a great lieutenant to a great leader that he believes in. Heās passionate, honest, and has displayed an amount of dignity in loss that I honestly wasnāt sure many people in the public eye were capable of anymore.Ā
Whether heād admit it or not, Sliwa is an enforcer looking for a captain to point him in the right direction. I sincerely hope that when he finds that captain, itās a Mamdani and not a Trumpā¦
German here for whom sliwa popped up a few times on his feed (for whatever reason)
He absolutely did not sound insane in his election campaign. Sure, i did not like his proposals, but so did the majority of new yorkers and he accepted that without hesitation or if's and but's.
And i gotta say, I love his NY night time major "IT'S SLIWA TIME" appearences.
there are a few guys like this on the right and i often wonder if they ever think, "why does everyone on my side constantly go against what I think we stand for?"
I love being the head lackey. The major mook. The loyal vizier. It rules being trusted to get stuff done but not having to deal with the responsibility of having to ultimately make ALL the major decisions.
Like I completely disagree with him on almost everything. But you CANNOT say Curtis doesn't care about New York. He doesnt fake it like most republicans.
Truly. He wants the best for the city. He disagrees with Zohran totally, but he clearly respects him because he sees that they are both sincerely in it. Thatās why he was so happy to debate Zohran reasonably but hammer Cuomo. He is the republican I respect.
Nobody can say that he's not principled. A bunch of Cuomo backers tried to buy him out of the race for $10 million and a six figure no-show job but he told them to kick rocks. He's happier in his one bedroom apartment full of cats.
IMO there are few things more inspiring in the year of our lord 2026 than somebody who is willing to be a problem that money can't solve.
The best part of the debate was the Mayor, and him being cordial, and respectful to each other, then being completely disgusted with Cuomo anytime they had to hear him speak.
Oh Sliwa LOVES this city and is an actual lunatic but in a perfectly good and likeable way. He's not mayor material, especially not compared to a dude like Mamdani, but I would happily share my city with crazy man Sliwa over fake ass Cuomo or the MAGAt losers or the billionaire crybabies any day.
There are many reasons not to vote for Sliwa, but he's a guy who is a genuine New Yorker who cares and that's more than you can say for a lot of candidates, somehow.
I mean him and his guardian angels did assault a brown guy just for speaking spanish while live on Sean Hannity's show back in 2024. He apologized later saying that they "mistook him for a migrant."
So while I agree, I do want to put in the caveat that while he's a charming nut job who clearly loves the city he's not completely harmless either.
Oh yeah, like I said, he's an absolute lunatic who definitely should not be mayor. If he actually was a real threat to ever win an election I'd be more concerned, but he's just not. He can do this thing and pretend to be Bay Ridge Batman and let actual real people get elected.
He seems like a Dennis Rodman kind of insane, which is the fun kind where you get to marry yourself and become an unofficial ambassador to North Korea.
Iāve met him before and he was actually super chill. He was at a very small pride event in NYC when I was visiting and I was super surprised to see him there. He didnāt bring a camera crew with him, you could tell he knew several of the people there and was genuine friends with them.
What are you talking about? The man is a vigilante who has been arrested 70+ times, married five time, is big supporter of oppressive police tactics, a world champion sour pickle eater, was target for assassination by John Gotti, and he wants to solve the rat problem in NYC by releasing a ton of feral cats. He sounds completely normal...
Curtis is a NYC crank. That comes with good and bad. But I think thereās a healthy dose of recognition for other New Yorkers who by all accounts seem to genuinely love New York City. He might have looked at Mamdani as an adversary, but he looks at Cuomo as an enemy.
Curtis Sliwa is maybe my favourite human. If I were an Alien I would put him in a glass box, give him eternal life, and ship him off to the homeworld. I highly recommend his interview with Adam Friendland if you want to be entertained for an hour or two.
Well, technically heās never been elected so not really a politician. Heās more of a weirdo activist that keeps running for mayor every time. The fact that he even got the Republican nom this year was quite entertaining!
They're islamophobic sore losers. Racists. The GOP is more responsible for that tragedy (see decades of interference in Middle East and destabilizing countries for oil), and Zohran has literally no culpability.
Sliwa is a fuckin nut but he is a real person who actually believes things. I think that's why they kinda got along at least when they could both berate Cuomo.
Yeah you had two guys who both care about the city but just have different ideas...then this disgraced pervert who obviously just wanted to use it as a springboard to get back into national politics.
Funniest part of the election by far was how much they both fucking despised Cuomo lol
They made a joke video together as well, he believes things and he actually loves New York. Not a malicious dude, just a bit cooky. (He's one of my comfort characters)
I'll admit, Curtis Sliwa grew on me during the election.
During the debates, he was literally the only candidate that wasn't taking racist potshots at Zoran.
And I must admit, it was extremely amusing to see him and Zoran both dunk on Cuomo like fucking tag team wrestlers.
From everything I've seen of the guy, he actually seems genuine. Like, he actually cares about people and New York and human life by extension, which is more than can be said of MAGA.
If all Republicans were like Curtis, I think America would be a better place.
I just looked up that incident and it's incredibly disappointing. Hearing a random dude walking by who's speaking spanish and tackling him because he assumed he was a migrant was incredibly shitty. New York is one of the most diverse places on Earth. Someone whose lived their all their live should know that there's tons of American New Yorkers that speak Spanish primarily.
He and Mamdani were passing Cuomo back and forth during the debate like a 1on1 driveway basketball game. No Krispy Kreme, just Dunkin. I think Sliwa is genuine when he speaks. Genuinely insane, but genuine. And we don't have to give him credit btw, that's just how far our expectations have fallen.
I will credit Silwa with not doing a damn thing to help out Cuomo. Not dropping out, not endorsing, not lifting a finger even while being asked/pressured to.
But Dear Leader little bitch trump is the king of sore losers. They're just following his lead...sort of hard to blame them. What a pathetic political party the elephant has become.
The people saying Mamdani shouldn't be at the memorial aren't saying that because they're upset that their political team lost, they're sort because they're racist pieces of garbage that think Mamdani is best buds with the terrorists who perpetrated 9/11 just because he's brown.
If the people complaining about Mamdani being at the Ground Zero ceremony actually had values they would be furious over trump trying to steal the valor of 9/11 first responders. They are not. The only thing that can associate Mamdani to the 9/11 attacks is them being bigots.
You mean to tell me that 47 WASN'TĀ at ground zero surfing down the rubble on the backs of two sweathog firemen?!Ā Surely, you jest, this was straight from the pigs mouth!Ā 25 years later, after years of hearing his original story, What's to doub!?Ā
The Incident: When reporters in Midtown asked Sliwa about campaigns trying to keep Mayor Mamdani away from the Ground Zero remembrance ceremony, Sliwa dismissed the push.
The Statement: He stated, āRidiculous. He's the mayor. Stop being sore losersā.
The Rationale: Sliwaāwho ran against Mamdani in the previous mayoral electionāargued that people should respect the office of the mayor even if they disagree with the person who holds it. He noted that while critics have the right to protest or turn their backs, trying to formally bar the sitting mayor from attending the official ceremony goes too far.
Bigotry is the right. The right is bigotry. It is baffling how anyone would be a Republican and disagree with bigots. Sliwa is a character that's for sure.
Iāve been stumped as to why Curtis Sliwa has been so conciliatory to Mandani given how divergent their politics genuinely are, so I looked deeper into Sliwaās history, and I think I can say with confidence itās that Mandani is the first NYC mayor in living memory who isnāt obviously corrupt and/or in bed with organized crime as many others were, which is saying something. Also the Cuomo family was apparently longtime enemies of Sliwa, going back to Mario Cuomo literally denying the mafiaās existence back in the day, which is of course insulting given Sliwa was almost killed by gangsters more than once, I can see where his personal hatred for them comes from.
Do any of these people saying that Mamdani (who was 4 years old when 9/11 happened) is not welcome at the memorial realize how many 9/11 first responders were Muslim? Muslim firefighters, police, medics, doctors, etc. Do they also not realize that many of the 2,000+ people who died in the towers were Muslim American citizens?
He was living in the city when 9/11 happened. He was older than 4 and likely remembers much of that day. Iām a year older than him and was living in Queens at the time. I was in 6th grade and vividly remember that day. He likely remembers that day well.
It just blows my fucking mind that so many people hate on Mamdani. Like, I understand people are racist, I get that. But this man is young, energized, and heās actually doing stuff to make life better for his constituents. I canāt understand why that is so controversial for so many people.
I know that Curtis would respect me for disagreeing with most of his politics. I have always been a fan from the Guardian Angel days, to Curtis and Kirby, to today. A true New Yorker and he shows it in his support of the Mayor.
It goes to show that there still are normal, reasonable Republicans out there. Sometimes it feels like the last one died with John McCain and the party has been taken over by Nazi ghosts
Real. Iām a conservative and naturally in major disagreement with Mr. Mamdani on certain issues yet there is no fiber of my being that thinks he should be barred from the ceremony.
If he didnāt show up to the ceremony as the mayor of NYC, can you IMAGINE the headlines Fox would run? And what Agent Orange would say about it?
The principle of holding office is lost on many. Iām not even a NY resident yet I respect that he is the mayor of that jurisdiction. When Biden was president, which I was NOT happy with, he was still my president. And the fact that his race/religion is a factor in his legitimacy being challenged isā¦ against everything I stand for, and against everything those who claim to be conservatives are supposed to stand for.
How? Guys heart is clearly in the right place, he's just a bit mad and misguided. He's kind of what happens when you have an amazing community organiser who genuinely cares about his community but doesn't have socialist politics to put that into practice in a productive way, so you end up leading something like the guardian angels as opposed to a trade union.
This right here. I keep saying, Sliwa is an enforcer waiting for a great captain to find him. A natural lieutenant, one who can drive the ship and get the crew in line, but just isnāt the one to pick the destination or route himself.Ā
Now letās hope the captain who one day realizes this and takes Sliwa in is more of a Mamdani and less of a Trumpā¦
Man I love Curtis Sliwa. Not as a candidate for mayor who I actually want to vote for, but as a guy who exists. He is so genuine and such an actual New Yorker. He is part of what makes this city great with his stupid hat and his love of cats and his in your face tendencies. He shouldn't be mayor, but I am so glad he's a real guy.
Why is everyone praising this response? Sore losers implies a competition. Implies winners in this situation (being The WTC attacks i guess?)
This is like McCain saying "Obama is not a muslim, hes a good man" in that viral video.
This just feeds into their delusion that everything is binary, good or bad, win or lose, right or wrong. But i guess nuance doesnt make good sound bites.
The video he did with Mamdani playing āDoctor Slurtis Cliwaā and giving Zohran his shots so he could get a cat while being allergic to them was good stuff. Easy to forget that politicians on opposite sides used to be able to find things to agree on.
They need to ban every single one of these people from attending the ceremony. Maybe for life. This is about America, listen you people got your money, you bartered your way into piles of cash, donāt sully a sacred day by making it a political football. This is not about you! It is about America! Ban them!
"Stop being sore losers. If I can get over being shot in a taxi cab in 1985, then you'se guys can get over this. And I'm not even remotely glazing Zohran."
Can someone steel man the argument for banning him from attending the 9/11 ceremony? Is it only because heās Muslim? He obviously had nothing to do with the tragedy and has never said anything even remotely close to condoning or praising it.
Do people really consider him somehow partially associated with 9/11 just because heās a Muslim?
As a preface, its pretty obvious that the "pro ban" crowd rationale, at best, is influenced by islamophobia. That said, their reasoning is a bit all over the place but two of the bigger sticking points is that Mamdani met with Siraj Wahaj (and was photographed with him), and his chief counsel repped Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in/at his guantanamo tribunal. In terms of the latter, its total BS to imply that a criminal defendant somehow holds the same views as his client or is sympathetic to his beliefs. Every defendant is entitled to a defense.
The former is also pretty shaky. People like to say Wahaj is an "unindicated co-conspirator" of the 93 WTC bombings but this is inaccurate. Yes, he appeared on a list of "known/possible associates" with the main suspects, but one of the prosecutors later came out and said that this list was not a list of suspects, and included anybody associated, whether they were innocent witnesses or possible conspirators. To be fair, Wahaj did testify at the trial of the Blind Sheik Abdel-Rahman in his defense, and Rahman was convicted of terrorism after the 93 WTC investigation led investigators to him, but he is not directly associated with WTC attacks. Finally, other mayors have met with Wahaj, so, at best, the criticism is a double standard.
Yall remember when john McCain said that Obama wasnt a Muslim and was a natural born citizen? I do. I also remember McCains political campaign ads leading upnto this response. Nice of silwa to step up but hes just trying to save face and preserve his career.
There is only one person who should be barred and he pouted and isn't showing up anyways. I could see it now. He'd blame it on democrats and say Obama single handedly blew up both towers. How he was the very first person on scene and carried out thousands of injured people by himself.
Sliwa gets along fairly well with Mamdani all things considered. He has recorded skits with Mamdani post election and they seem to get along. He absolutely abhors Cuomo and Trump though. Sliwa refused to drop out of the race to help Cuomo.Ā
Overall Sliwa is a solid dude in my book. I definitely disagree with his politics but he has actual values that he believes in and he clearly loves our city. That's more than many nowadays.Ā
Iām glad to see heās got some common sense, but heās only half right in naming the problem. Them being sore losers is only part of the problem, and the much less problematic part. The bigger issue is that theyāre being racist as hell.
Iām old enough to remember when this blatant level of racist bullshit would be limited to the emails your crazy aunt would forward to you. Now itās mainstream GOP policy and has been for a while. Itās depressing as hell.
While I donāt agree with Sliwaās policies or beliefs, I will say he does a great job at portraying the average New Yorkerā¦ and ya know in 1992, the Gambinoās shot him multiple times in an unsuccessful mob hit.
Everything I see about Curtis Sliwa says he is a very interesting person and that is my feeling as well the dude just defies expectations in the strangest ways.
This is basically how the Republicans get back in again.
After Trump, there will be a bunch of Republicans who are just less awful than they could be and people will be like "oooh, they're so polite and respectful (about starving poor people)".
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