New York lefties are howling for Mayor Eric Adams’ blood, insisting he sold his soul to President Donald Trump to avoid federal prosecution; it’s a great way to distract from progressives’ own lack of answers to the city’s problem.
AOC, state Senate No. 2 Mike Gianaris, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and the whole pack of Democratic mayoral wannabes all insist that only an imagined corrupt bargain can explain why the Justice Department ordered charges against Adams dropped, and why the mayor isn’t fighting tooth-and-nail against ICE’s efforts to catch and deport violent criminal “asylum seekers.”
Never mind that Justice honchos are clear that 1) They see the decisions to investigate and prosecute Adams as the product of Team Biden’s politicization of Justice, 2) continued prosecution now can only interfere with the feds’ push to get those worst-of-the-worst illegal migrants off the streets and out of the country.
Yes, a pack of prosecutors resigned in protest over the order, furious that their work (and what they figured would be a career-boosting success) might go for nothing.
But there’s a long list of reasons why Gov. Kathy Hochul has only promised to consider removing Adams.
First, the “devil’s bargain” claims are merely claims, and from Adams’ political opponents; she really shouldn’t sideline a democratically elected mayor who hasn’t actually done anything off-color.
Second, the public advocate would take over — and Williams (while a fine fellow personally) is about as far left as they come.
Third, if Adams is effectively forced out of running for re-election, ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo is all but guaranteed to enter the race and quickly lap the field.
One more time: Adams won the top job in 2021 by promising to restore public safety and protect New Yorkers’ quality of life.
The voters may feel he hasn’t done enough on either vow, but they don’t want a progressive replacement who’ll only set the city back even more on both fronts.
The lefties are in denial about Cuomo’s appeal, because they can’t stop believing their extreme views are wildly popular, no matter what the polls (and common sense) show.
And while some progressives may recall how the gov signed their criminal-justice “reforms” (and other lefty lunacy) into law just a few years ago, they know darn well he’d be running firmly in Adams’ lane now.
And Andrew is a lot less of a nice guy than Eric.
Which should give pause to every other player thinking to knock Adams out, whether it’s Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg (who could try to take up the prosecution as a state case) or the unelected city Campaign Finance Board, which has yet to reverse its denial of more than $4 million in public matching funds for the mayor’s re-election fight.
Add this to the equation: For any non-lefty, warring with the White House has to be the worst waste of a mayor’s time and energy, while friendship with Team Trump can only help the city.
All this, incidentally, will be on the Rev. Al Sharpton’s mind as he pow-wows with advisers and allies over where to stand on Adams — with the added wrinkle that the city’s African-American communities have been among the hardest-hit by the illegal-migrant and crime crises, which the left only wants to prolong.
The progressive establishment can howl all it wants, but in the end the voters will have their way in the June 24 Democratic primary.
