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.
The Left, identity obsessed, no longer needs to worry about unique messaging to capture Blacks, Hispanics, women, and suburban women. In perhaps the biggest misdirection play of all time, it has managed to indiscriminately alienate the one group encompassing the aforementioned subsets, moms. Even if a focus group could rescue the Left and forcibly turn things around, wait for it - the Left is doubling down.
Whether it’s taking a wrecking ball to education, masking toddlers, ruining athletics, repudiating gender, and incredulously being pro child rapists and pedophiles, “sea change” might be too mild. There could well be a tsunami.
Recently walking home from school drop off in Tribeca, Democrat stronghold supreme, a mom I’d never met tackled me. “Jane” said, “thanks” for fighting on behalf of our kids. She said she’s a Democrat, has always voted Democrat, but will vote for whichever Republican is on the ballot.
She isn’t alone.
Jane just finished drop off where toddlers in New York City are still mandated to mask. She was worried, furious, and dejected. Nearly all parents of two- to five-year-olds living in the Big Apple are, courtesy of Mayor Adams. She told me that her mom friends at her son’s nursery are a tinderbox of emotions ranging from distrust and melancholy to scorched earth. They blame only one party for harming their kids and it’s the party that used to own moms.
New York City is ground zero of open mindedness and moral superiority; we followed without question the Democrat game plan at the onset of covid. But by every metric, we did the worst! Economically, educationally, and mortality wise. Manhattan suffered the biggest population decline amongst all US counties. But, was this a wake-up call to these radical psychopaths? NO.
Two years of lost school haven't been recovered. This isn’t just a feeling, it’s quantifiable. Nationally, 34% of our nation’s children are below basic reading level in 4th grade. Mask mandates have proven to contribute to myriad learning, social, and physical impairments. Suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, behavioral issues, and abuse spiked. Vaccine mandates have provided lessons on segregation in real time, violation of bodily autonomy, and a rejection of science. Kids are at virtually zero risk of dying from covid but are at risk of dying or suffering from side effects due to the experimental vaccine.
As if this isn’t bad enough, in came CRT (critical race theory) without any parental discussion. It’s the death knell to education. It’s also the straw that broke the Left’s back and moms’ loyalty to Democrats.
The Left prays at the altar of CRT. Tenets are vehemently rejecting America’s Judeo-Christian values, Capitalism, meritocracy, and traditions. Injecting racism and sexuality into all aspects of school life and indoctrinating preschoolers on up, the Left, under the auspice of CRT, seeks to remove the underpinnings of the nuclear family. Wholesomeness, viewed as the whitest of hallmarks, is a racist vestige necessary to undo.
During Mayor Adams’ three months in office, New York City has gotten even worse than under the de Blasio administration. All 22 precincts in Manhattan report a crime spike. Major crimes, year to date, are up 44.68%. Transit crime is up 57.71%. We just had a maniac with an extensive rap sheet go on a shooting spree inside a subway during morning rush hour, wounding twenty-three people evade defunded NYPD for twenty-nine hours. Privy to crime statistics, school enrollment decline, and domestic migration outflow, Adams has other priorities.
Ignoring his constituents and district, he sets his sights on Florida. Adams attacks Governor Ron DeSantis' newly passed Bill to Protect Parental Rights of Education. Adams gaslights the public by misrepresenting on social media that the bill is anti LGBTQ. He casts aspersions on the most popular and successful Governor in America, siding with a fringe movement - sexual predators of children. Adams conflates children sex predators with members of the LGBTQ community.
The Left has co-opted the Bill to Protect Parental Rights of Education as being “anti-gay” to silence critics. This is the hill on which the Left wants to die; opposed to a bill entitled, Bill to Protect Parental Rights of Education.
Education is what parents are most concerned about, but here again, Mayor Adams is obtuse. He begged state lawmakers to pass legislation allowing him to continue managing the public schools in New York City. If he succeeds, the CRT problem currently afflicting our kids will seem subtle. Adams has shown us his colors; he’s not a “moderate”, he’s a radical, race obsessive, and anti-parental rights of education. Those are his good points. He’s tried excusing crime away by lying about there being a “white supremacy” problem or calling people crazy, like when he said it’s our “perception of fear.”
Adams declaration of Juneteenth as a New York City holiday official statement says, “As the second black mayor of New York City…” Adams is ALL of New York City’s mayor - not just blacks. What could be more desperate and insulting than openly pandering to the black vote his party and administration have stunted? Over 70% of blacks refused to vaccinate, thus, were segregated. The Left’s policies have hurt minorities fiercely. In a city ravaged by BLM and plagued by shoplifters immune from prosecution thanks to DA Bragg, criminals are emboldened and encouraged. So, not only is education destroyed, but kids trying to safely get to and from school are under gratuitous threat of limitless crime.
Finally, and this is beyond parody, vaccinated and boosted Adams has covid. As toddlers are mandated to mask, parents are reminded that the vaccines don't prevent covid or the spread.
The result is, Republicans in New York City are no longer unicorns. Voicing derision for Democrats and support for Republicans is no longer anathema. Janes are sprouting up, leading the charge, and voting Republican.
