On the Sidewalks of New York is a weekly feature at Human Events wherein Jacqueline Toboroff, a native New Yorker, will share her observations and candid commentary on the goings-on in our nation’s largest city. Wherever you live, and whatever you feel, there is no escaping the fact that New York City matters. Something interesting […]
On the Sidewalks of New York is a weekly feature at Human Events wherein Jacqueline Toboroff, a native New Yorker, will share her observations and candid commentary on the goings-on in our nation’s largest city. Wherever you live, and whatever you feel, there is no escaping the fact that New York City matters.
Something interesting is going on in New York City; many Democrats have had enough. The Left, unhinged and committed to wrong, has lost its center. But many are still unwilling to register as Republicans because it requires a complete rejection of all they’ve been defined by and vociferously defend.
So there’s a new grift in town; the “Common Sense” Democrats.
This is a calculated move by a current crop of candidates running for public office, to get elected under the premise of making it onto the ballot as a Democrat, espousing some “common sense”; i.e. Republican beliefs, but ultimately bringing us the same failed policies. Common Sense Democrats are like a triple agent; Democrats acting as Republicans but tied to Democrat core beliefs.
These candidates know the numbers; New York City is a Democrat stronghold afflicted by masochists that keep voting the same way and hating the results, and they see the writing on the wall.
Change is afoot. 74% of New York City voters say crime is a very serious issue, according to the Quinnipiac Poll - the highest recorded since the poll first asked the question back in 1999. 68% of registered voters in New York City are Democrat. And just to look at the disenfranchisement; even a so-called “moderate” Democrat, Mayor Adams, barely won his primary and only won with 17.5% of registered voters. Translation, even in a Democrat city, Democrats are turned off.
New York City’s downfall is unequivocally a direct result of one-party rule’s policies.
Our Governor legislated in Albany, gifting us cashless bail. The City Council voted to defund NYPD by $1 billion dollars and further handcuff police with CCRB (Civilian Complaint Review Board), implemented by the mayor. Then we have the deadly combination of deincarceration and flooding residential areas with homeless shelters - now stocked with criminals from closed down jails, championed by our Governor, Mayor, and City Council. Add to the list a DA that won’t prosecute, and a PA known for supporting a bill concealing from landlords whether tenants are rapists, murderers, and pedophiles. And last but not least, an AG seemingly salivating to ensnare police officers.
The Governor, Mayor, City Council (a body of 51 members with only 5 Republicans), DA, PA, and AG are Democrats. This is what 1 party rule looks like.
The reason, and only reason for the downgrade in all matters concerning New York City is due to a social justice platform shaping all aspects of policies the Left introduces.
Common Sense candidates might sound less kooky than their radical counterparts but when you dissect their plans, usually bereft of policy and, well, common sense, it seems as if they reside somewhere between Tooth Fairy Boulevard and Santa Claus Lane. Despite boldly owning up to obvious deficits, they reject the only efficacious mechanisms guaranteed to tamp down on New York City’s problems.
For example, Common Sense candidates daringly admit, risking excommunication, that there’s a rampant crime problem but shy away from promising to refund and support the NYPD. Walking in the middle of the road, they try appealing to both parties by Potemkinizing police reform.
The NYPD can’t get any more reformed and still perform. Because the Left styles itself as social justice reformers (though there’s nothing social or just about it), police, majority minority, are accused of being racists in need of reform for targeting minority communities. New York City has approximately 33,000 NYPD officers and the 24,000 of them on patrol wear body cameras. The remaining 9,000 exempt are administrative police on desk duty. We have the largest body camera program in the United States. Add to this CCRB, ushered in by Progressives’ desiring civilians to punish police in order to participate in this modern-day witch hunt, rather than let the police captain preside. Finally, there’s Attorney General Letitia James who investigates police involved shootings but seemingly is both race and political party obsessed. When terrorist group BLM leveled New York City, James said, “They were basically petitioning their government for change and racial reckoning,” I mean, look at this cast and comprehend why New York City is in a death spiral.
Another illustration of Common Sense candidates' marriage to insidious Democrat platforms is their lack of fiscal responsibility. They haven’t the foggiest notion of what it takes to bring about a financial recovery. Just one highlight is their take on the subway. The MTA estimates the system loses between $250 to $300 million dollars from fare evasion. Recently, a video went viral of a woman verbally abusing and BITING police detaining her from riding for free. Sparked by lunatic Ayanna Pressley’s twitter comment, “Black and Latinx commuters are disproportionately criminalized by fare evasion policies. Congress must pass my #FreedomtoMove Act to grant Black and brown riders the freedom to navigate their community without fear.”, a Common Sense candidate compounded the insanity. She posits that subways should be free for everyone. The language is interesting as the candidate tries to shut down Pressley’s racism by applying the same illogical argument to all. But the point is - NOTHING IS FREE! Someone, somewhere is paying! The Left just cannot wrap their heads around this and continue to offer non-plan plans that are past the point of parody.
The gap is too wide. New York City’s issues are too deep and glaring. We’re past the point of centrist and a “moderate”, as we see, is a radical with a grin and free meal at Zero Bond.
We need a Republican Governor to sort us out and make the easy decisions. Easy because the choice to protect law abiding citizens and punish criminals is easy. Easy because not chasing away the tax base to fund lunatic programs is easy. Easy because even the Democrats are jumping ship, no longer able to defend the indefensible.
