The extraordinary cluelessness of a New York Times editorial

You’ve probably heard that New York City’s voters delivered a seismic shock a few days ago in making Zohran Mamdani the Democratic nominee for mayor. In a heavily Democratic city, that puts him in a strong position to win the top city job in November.

The state legislator from Queens is only 33, and a proud Democratic Socialist — which is a dirty phrase for the monied classes of New York and the nation.

When the New York Times made its weird non-endorsement for the Democratic primary — in their hometown, mind you — here’s what the board had to say about Mandami and his primary rival, Andrew Cuomo, the former governor who resigned in disgrace a couple of years ago.

The Times (which no longer endorses local candidates in traditional editorials but somehow couldn’t resist doling out some advice anyway) told voters not to even rank Mamdani. (The city uses ranked-choice voting, which you can read about here.)

“We do not believe Mr. Mamdani deserves a spot on New Yorkers’ ballots,” the Times opined. As for Cuomo, well, the suggestion — though expressed obliquely — is to go ahead and rank him, despite “significant shortcomings,” since it would be irresponsible to rank neither of the two front-runners.

“As for Mr. Cuomo, we have serious objections to his ethics and conduct, even if he would be better for New York’s future than Mr. Mamdani.”

Thanks for the guidance, NYT, but the voters went another way altogether, giving Mamdani a decisive victory. In a debate with Cuomo, Mamdani delivered a soundbite for the ages when challenged by Cuomo about his lack of experience. “I have never had to resign in disgrace. I have never cut Medicaid. I have never stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from the MTA.” It went on from there. Watch it here, including Mamdani suggesting the former governor learn now to pronounce his name.

None of this means Mamdani will be elected mayor in November’s general election. (I can’t help but think of another grassroots politician — India Walton — who shocked New York’s second-largest city by winning the 2021 Democratic primary for mayor in Buffalo. Stunned and worried, the powers that be got together and made sure the dismal status quo continued with the reelection of Byron Brown in the general election. Brown has since resigned the mayor’s office for a well-paid sinecure running Off Track Betting. Without getting into the weeds of Western New York too much, I’ll note that, a few days ago, Democratic primary voters in Buffalo elected the more progressive candidate, Sean Ryan, over the appointed acting mayor Chris Scanlon.)

But what Mamdani’s win does mean is that Democrats need to wake up, and realize that their old-school establishment is failing to connect with a lot of voters. Michigan Senator Elissa Slotnik, a Democrat, seemed to get it: “The message that came across loud and clear to me is that people, just like in November, are still focused on the cost of living and they’re looking for a new generation of leadership.

And, I’d add, a lot of them are disgusted with the super-rich showing off their wealth — don’t even get me started on Jeff Bezos’s grossly ostentatious wedding in Venice — while they are trying to buy groceries, find a place to live, and maybe get a meal from an over-regulated food truck. Mamdani has proposed a 2 percent wealth tax on the richest 1 percent of New Yorkers and wants to hike the state’s corporate tax rate.

Robert Reich, the former Labor Secretary, called Mamdani “the corporate Democrat’s biggest nightmare.” And Reich identifies his plan: he is “aiming to fund what average people need by taxing corporations and the rich.” He adds: “Instead of wringing their hands over him, Democrats should follow his lead.”

As for The Times, I find their whole approach to the mayoral guidance unfortunate, to say the least. Maybe they should have followed their initial decision — not to endorse — and stayed out of it instead of silently pointing people toward a proven failure in Cuomo, while maintaining plausible deniability. (“We didn’t endorse.”)

And worse, utterly failing to see what is happening under their noses, though they did allow that Mamdani was charismatic and running a “joyful” campaign. (The kiss of death, post-Kamala?)

Personal note: I have lived in New York City for many years but I don’t vote in primary elections because I am unaffiliated with any party — a move I made while editing The Buffalo News. But I was fascinated to see how the city voted, right down to street level, in this cool Times map. Yes, the Times does a lot that’s admirable and right!

Separately, I was sad to see one of my idols, Bill Moyers of PBS fame, had passed away. He was always very kind and supportive to me, sending me encouraging notes during my stint as Times public editor. Here’s the Washington Post obituary; a gift version.

Readers, what are your thoughts on whether Mamdani’s victory includes a broader message for national politics? What is that message, and who, if anyone, do you see fulfilling it right now?

 

 

My background: I am a Lackawanna, NY native who started my career as a summer intern at the Buffalo News, my hometown daily. After years as a reporter and editor, I was named the paper’s first woman editor in chief in 1999, and ran the 200-person newsroom for almost 13 years. Starting in 2012, I served as the first woman “public editor” of the New York Times — an internal media critic and reader representative — and later was the media columnist for the Washington Post. These days, I write here on Substack, as well as for the Guardian US, and teach an ethics course at Columbia Journalism School. I’ve also written two books and won a few awards, including three for defending First Amendment principles.

The purpose of ‘American Crisis’: My aim is to use this newsletter (it started as a podcast in 2023) to push for the kind of journalism we need for our democracy to function — journalism that is accurate, fair, mission-driven and public-spirited. That means that I point out the media’s flaws and failures when necessary.

What I ask of you: Last November, I removed the paywall so that everyone could read and comment. I thought it was important in this crucial moment and might be helpful. If you are able to subscribe at $50 a year or $8 a month, or upgrade your unpaid subscription, that will help to support this venture — and keep it going for all. Thank you!

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