By T N Ashok
NEW YORK: Zohran Mamdani’s spectacular success at the democratic primary for the New York mayoral election was symptomatic of the people’s frustration over the establishment, the government, which failed to deliver. This is the lesson Democratic Party has to learn to resurrect itself well before the 2026 November midterms and the 2028 general elections.
Expressing this view is the celebrated labour secretary of the Bill Clinton Presidency Robert Reich, who ushered in the golden era of the middle classes during the former Arkansas governor presidency where wages touched a record 20$ per hour and $40 per hour for health care specialists. Soon after George Bush took over wages fell to $7 per hour as the establishment became pro rich.
Wages have remained static at that level for nearly 24 years. The democrats have not been able to do anything about it.
Often dubbed as a socialist, Reich was in the front to promote diversity, equity and inclusion of the populations which president Joe Biden ardently followed. He represented the aspirations of the middle classes and Clinton’s policies well reflected that.
Andrew Cuomo entered the primary as the easy frontrunner with broad name recognition and the support from the largest super PAC ever in New York City mayoral primary history.
The PAC, called Fix The City, shattered all previous records, raising more than $25 million to back Cuomo’s attempt at a political comeback four years after he resigned over sexual misconduct allegations by at least 11 women who were former staffers. Yet he did not win.
The former Labour Secretary Robert Reich spoke about the victory of Zohran Mamdani in the New York Democratic primary for New York mayor, the rise of Donald Trump, and the role of big money in politics in an interview to Democracy Now.
In a shocking admission, he said. “This is the one thing that I agree with Donald Trump about: The economy is rigged — but it’s rigged against working-class people. And I think Mamdani understood that. He understood that people have got to want a change, but also they want affordability. They want an economy that is working for them.”
The Last Class, a new documentary that follows Reich over his last semester at the University of California, Berkeley, is opening this week The class, and much of Reich’s career, has focused on rising inequality and its impact on society. “Most Americans feel powerless,” says Reich. “This is a crisis right now”.
Mamdani’s victory has shown that it is not necessary to have huge fundraising to win elections. Andrew Cuomo, 4-times mayor, had raised $25 million from big donors and had the backing of former President Bill Clinton, and yet he lost. Because he was not representing the aspirations of the middle classes or the downtrodden, who felt nothing was being done immediately to fix New York’s problems – high rentals for homes, expensive transportation, childcare etc.
He said he would fix it – free city bus rides, rent freeze. From Zero in February his popularity rose to 43% and is still rising to clinch the democratic nomination for the mayoral election of November 04 this year.
The Democratic Party failed to realise this in the 2024 elections and Donald Trump seized the opportunity promising to bring down prices. Did he? He is a con man Well, it’s clear that Trump fooled the majority of Americans, or at least a plurality, into thinking that he would be their saviour, he would be doing something about prices, he would actually be responding to the needs of average working people, Robert Reich said .
Now, he hasn’t, obviously. He didn’t in his first term. Remember, the major thing he did in his first term was a big tax cut, mostly for the rich, Reich said adding, That’s what he’s doing now, again, another big tax cut, mostly for the rich. But he uses the symbols of cultural populism, like immigration, to persuade a lot of people that he’s on their side.
To put in Mamdani’s words: We have won because New Yorkers have stood up for a city they can afford. A city where they can do more than just struggle. One where those who toil in the night can enjoy the fruits of their labour in the day.
Where hard work is repaid with a stable life. Where eight hours on the factory floor or behind the wheel of a cab is enough to pay the mortgage. It is enough to keep the lights on. It is enough to send your kid to school. Where rent-stabilized apartments are actually stabilized. Where buses are fast and free. Where childcare doesn’t cost more than CUNY. And where public safety keeps us truly safe.
Mark his words, this is what resonates with people. The Democratic Party needs to say boldly it cares for the middle classes and down trodden and say to money bags and the rich, we don’t want your money, we need to take care of these people, opined Reich.
Well, we’re the richest country in the world. We’ve never been richer. This is what Democrats have got to say. We pay for it by raising taxes on the wealthy. We pay for it with a wealth tax. We pay for it the way in which Teddy Roosevelt – you don’t even have to go back to Franklin D. Roosevelt.
His fifth cousin, Teddy Roosevelt, in 1901 was contemplating and developing a sort of a wealth tax in terms of an estate tax. There are things that can be done and should be done, and Democrats cannot be afraid of sounding, what, socialist, radical? This is the time for sounding a little bit strong, Reich said.
Robert Reich has held many positions over his career, secretary of labour under President Bill Clinton, best-selling author, prolific creator of viral videos online, and cofounder of Inequality Media. But above all, he considers himself a teacher.
He’s been a professor for over 40 years. In fact, he just taught his last class, at least for now. Yes, there’s a new film out about Robert Reich, which is called just that, The Last Class. And it looks at this last semester teaching at UC Berkeley. The course, Wealth and Poverty, Wealth and Inequality.
He was Hilary Clinton’s classmate in Berkeley and one thing led to another and quickly he became Clinton’s labour secretary, an architect of his economic reforms.
Robert Reich endorsed Zohran Mamdani earlier on in the race, and that’s more than what the democratic leaders of the city have done. Berie Sanders, the senator from Vermont endorsed him as also the firebrand Senator Alexandria Occassio Cortez, a youngster.
Reiche’s name of your class, Wealth and Poverty, very much signifies the significance of Mamdani’s campaign, the very issues he addressed, where right now, Senator Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, leader of the Democrats in the House, they kind of congratulated him, but they didn’t even endorse him at this point. Talk about the shockwaves and what you think this suggests for the future.
Reich said shockwaves are a good way of putting it. The Democratic Party really needs to learn this lesson. It’s a lesson that, over the last 40 years, it could’ve learned over and over again. But the lesson is very simple. There is a huge anti-establishment wave in America, that’s the strongest wave in American politics. And a lot of it has to do with the fact that the bottom 60 to 80% of Americans have not seen a real wage increase in 45 years. (IPA Service)
India-US Trade Talks Reach Crucial Stage As U.S. Seeks Larger Access To Farm Goods Sector 