You'd never know it from how I write, but I actually am a sensitive soul (my wife jokes that I am not the "strong, silent" type but rather the "weak and effusive" type), so my heart really does bleed when I see ordinary people harmed by the policies that they admittedly voted for. 

I don't look at voters in Blue cities and states and just say, "Well, you voted for it," when I see Portland and San Francisco citizens suffer under the policies imposed on them from above. 

Admittedly, part of the reason I don't think that is that I know that a good chunk of the residents DIDN'T actually vote for it. Cities in particular are basically run by political machines made up of public employees, leftist unions, and activist groups, and voter turnout in local elections tends to be much lower than in national ones. It's more of a cabal than an electorate that installs politicians, although admittedly, there are an awful lot of people outside those groups who just automatically vote Democrat. 

With rent controls, new massive spending programs, and proposed new taxes, Mamdani could be on the brink of causing the greatest exodus since the Red Sea Crossing. https://t.co/1MifBxmmsv

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 19, 2026

Still, even cities have middle classes, Independents, and even some Republicans, and they are pure victims, as are the children who live in crime-ridden neighborhoods and go to poor schools. There are millions of people who are being victimized simply because they grew up in and live in cities that are run by lefty political machines. 

? BREAKING: Ugandan Mayor Zohran Mamdani is now receiving widespread backlash after his "solution" of raising property taxes would harm HUGE SWATHS of New Yorkers directly — not just the "ultra-wealthy"

You got DUPED by a 3rd world COMMUNIST SCAMMER.pic.twitter.com/FW0xa1ABsL

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 18, 2026

Ironically, Zohran Mamdani may have a stronger mandate than most mayors of Democratic cities. New York City can and has elected centrist mayors, perhaps because it is a huge city with a larger-than-normal middle and working class. But I still feel bad for the people who Mamdani is going to screw, and boy is he going to screw them good and hard. 

He ran as a "Democratic Socialist," so it should come as no surprise to anybody who doesn't automatically assume that PolitiFact actually tells the truth, that he is a communist, but apparently, even some of his supporters are shocked that he is planning to seize their money, not just other people's. 

Mamdani said “We are forced to raid the rainy day fund, retiree health benefits reserve, AND increase property taxes”.

Force is a word communist hate while campaigning but love after they win elections.

This is just the beginning for NYC.

pic.twitter.com/eIm3kr9mk3

— Patrick Bet-David (@patrickbetdavid) February 18, 2026

Mamdani is complaining that his budget, which is larger than the State of Florida's, isn't fully funded, so he has to raid pension funds (Chicago!) and raise taxes. 

FL = 23+ million people

NYC = 8 million people https://t.co/ifGFXVgzCk

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) February 18, 2026

It's not because he wants to improve city services. He seems uninterested in ensuring garbage is picked up or snow removed; his goal is income redistribution, and the best way to do that is take from those who have and give it to those who don't. And if his voters are among the ones who have, they must give it up.

First @ZohranKMamdani hired Cea Weaver, who believes homeownership is a “tool of white supremacy”, INSULTING thousands of NYC’s black homeowners. Now he wants a property TAX hike, which may end up disproportionately targeting black homeowners. See where this is going?… https://t.co/sG7ARH3Z6q

— Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (@InnaVernikov) February 18, 2026

You'd never know it if you didn't get outside Manhattan, but the city actually has a lot of homeowners, and most of them are not wealthy. Real estate is, of course, expensive, but still over 30% of people own, and often those homes have been in families for years. Hiking property taxes will hit a slice of the working class pretty hard. 

Hey, New York government workers, Mamdani is also going to raid your pension fund.

And if you think he'll ever pay it back, you don't know a lot about Communists. https://t.co/iESmw69DZC

— john jackson (@pvtjokerus) February 18, 2026

I'm also pretty sure the Mamdani approach to criminal justice will have a strong impact. We tend to think of New York as crime-ridden, but compared to other big Blue cities, it really isn't. Soon it will be. 

I doubt that people will like what is coming. 

These kids now understand that there are zero consequences and behave like animals because of it.

Progressives did this. And it will get worse. https://t.co/IRJ462m41E

— Councilwoman Vickie Paladino (@VickieforNYC) February 17, 2026

Mamdani's "man of the people" shtick is, as it always is with communists, a complete lie. Communism always creates a nomenklatura, fixates on oppressing "enemies of the people," and in the end destroys whatever it touches. 

Ask the Cubans or Venezuelans about that, or any of those Russian emigres who live in Brighton Beach. At least the ones who aren't in organized crime. 

"What Mamdani is proposing is insane and probably sometime next year within 12 to 18 months, I will meet him in Miami and give him a 'Real Estate Agent of the Year Award.'"

Mr. Wonderful and [checks notes] Ana Navarro school Abby Phillip on wealthy people exiting New York. pic.twitter.com/nJG0jRGJYg

— Thomas Hern (@ThomasMHern) February 18, 2026

Ordinary New Yorkers are going to get a lesson in just how badly things are run by communists, and what it means to drive out capital. In the end, it is the middle and working classes who suffer the most. A lot of them knew that even before Mamdani was elected. He didn't exactly kill it in the working-class vote. 

Democrats appeal to the consciences of the upper, non-entrepreneurial class and to the lower classes who want more stuff. People who do work for a living or who create wealth through investment know better. Unfortunately, it's only the latter who can vote with their feet. 

That's why my heart bleeds for the former. They are going to get screwed. 

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