I haven’t kept up in a few weeks but wasn’t the move to force Hochul’s hand in the matter? They knew the city council wouldn’t approve a property tax hike. Centrists just want more austerity measures. If they’re playing hardball, he’ll take back his endorsement and (at least by current polling measures) she’d be toast. It’s certainly an interesting tactic.

penningtron wrote: I haven’t kept up in a few weeks but wasn’t the move to force Hochul’s hand in the matter? They knew the city council wouldn’t approve a property tax hike. Centrists just want more austerity measures. If they’re playing hardball, he’ll take back his endorsement and (at least by current polling measures) she’d be toast. It’s certainly an interesting tactic.

Sure. But that doesn't change what a profoundly dumb idea it is.

Three reasons:

1. The mere mention of it is already pissing off the working-class homeowners who voted for him, particularly low-information people who aren't gonna bother to read between the lines or call him on his bluff. I mean, there is a small chance it could actually happen, as well. Plus, working-class homeowners end up looking like cheap pawns in his game at very best.

2. It's yet another of these weird things he acts like he can do on his own as mayor, but actually cannot.

3. The progressive left—hell, not even the left, the most middling of Democrats—have a serious image problem in America w/people thinking they're gonna raise taxes on the middle class. And so the optics on this don't really do anything to dispel that myth.

Never mind that Hochul won't likely budge. Per that link in The City:

"Hochul didn’t blink, remaining steadfast in her refusal. And so Mamdani’s chances of forcing the governor to change course depend on the perception that he would, if forced, actually raise property taxes — and that he even could.

Now, as the mayor’s supporters fan out to press his case, they are being met with widespread skepticism on both fronts.

Andrea Scarborough, a homeowner in Addisleigh Park in southeastern Queens, told THE CITY that she flipped out when she heard about Mamdani’s gambit.

“Because you’re not able to raise taxes on the 1%, you’re looking to burden your constituents? I see it as a game of chicken, where you’re poking the governor,” she said. “I can’t imagine that this man would really want to do this, but if he does, he would be a one-term mayor.”

It's just dopey politics all around.

What.. Andrea Obviouslywhitelady, homeowner in (Google image search) suburb like neighborhood FLIPPED OUT over this.. FFS it’s hard to take news seriously anymore.

Fair points otherwise.

penningtron wrote: What.. Andrea Obviouslywhitelady, homeowner in (Google image search) suburb like neighborhood FLIPPED OUT over this.. FFS it’s hard to take news seriously anymore.

Fair points otherwise.

Lousy wordchoice by the journalist, I agree. At first I thought it was part of the damn quote!

To be fair though, her neighborhood, Addisleigh Park, is part of the so-called Black Gold Coast (I did not make this term up to strengthen my point) of Queens. From the real estate company Brown Harris Stevens:

"Celebrating Addisleigh Park: A Hidden Gem in Black History"

In a far lower income bracket, there's also this quote, from the same article. Note last graph.

"Queens Borough President Donovan Richards told Mamdani during his preliminary budget briefing last week that raising property taxes was a “nonstarter” for him.

“I was shocked,” he said. “I thought whoever came up with this strategy, I felt it was misguided.”

Struggling homeowners and renters were being used “as a bargaining chip,” he said, adding that he’d been approached by people begging him to make sure the property tax hikes didn’t happen.

“Once you put that message out there, what do you want me to tell my constituents? They’re looking to me now,” Richards said. “I just think it’s a misguided strategy to put — especially Black and brown communities who are already living in the margins — to put us in the middle of this isn’t fair.”

I don’t know, as long as OE is complaining about Mamdami I’m just going to assume everything is fine. It’s like the kids being noisy past bedtime, at least you know where they are.

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: I don’t know, as long as OE is complaining about Mamdami I’m just going to assume everything is fine. It’s like the kids being noisy past bedtime, at least you know where they are.

Yeah, it's just terrific when you don't actually have to live here and stuff. Please send me your street address b/c I've got a Shepard Fairey-style Zohran t-shirt and toilet brush set w/your name on it.

To be fair, some members of State Legislature actually just made noises about supporting a wealth tax. So that's cool. But it's looking much smaller and fiscally sort of different from what Mamdani has proposed. And him threatening working-class homeowners as political "leverage" is still a really fucked up thing to do.

In other news, it's looking like the two ISIS-loving kids who tried to set off those IEDS the other day turned out to be... a couple of rich kids from Bucks County, PA.

https://medillonthehill.medill.northwes ... ite-house/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... ional-mall

So good.

enframed wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2026 12:31 am https://medillonthehill.medill.northwes ... ite-house/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... ional-mall

So good.

That is some excellent trolling.

Did you guys hear? We won the war... I mean our military operation, and on the first day! Mission Complete!

Since the war is over, it's surprising to know that we pulled our missile defense from S. Korea for the completed war in Iran, leaving N. Korea an opening for a military operation, should they choose to do it. N. Korea had a military exercise coincidentally around this time, too. Oh, and now that Europe is desperate for gas, we're lifting sanctions to allow Europe to buy oil from Russia, which will give them a nice cash injection to keep the Ukrainian war... I mean, military exercise going strong. And for some reason, oil tankers keep getting blown up in the Strait of Hormuz, which now is full of mines.

Thank god for Trump, the world is much safer now.

Also, Jake Paul for congress. I wish I was making it up, but I'm kinda glad I didn't. I'm gonna guess that a youtuber who's fame to claim was debasing himself for clicks, with no background in public service and currently lives in Puerto Rico is totally going to sweep wherever he's going to move to.

You guys are winning so much you must be tired of winning.