Michael Goodwin: Dont be fooled by Hochuls act shes just as radical as Mamdani
New Yorkers who pay close attention to such things have long understood why Gov.Hochul deserves her reputation for being the Waffler-In-Chief.Time and again, she’s revealed herself to be the consummate weather vane, shifting her stance on important matters depending on which way the wind is blowing.For novices interested in seeing a prime example, I recommend an article about an interview the governor gave last week to The New York Times.
True to the Gray Lady’s political tilt to the left, the resulting article is puffery to the extreme.So, too, is a longer Saturday article where the paper goes to great lengths to separate Hochul from City Hall’s nasty and incompetent roll-out of the pied-à-terre tax.Despite the Times’ obvious efforts to boost her, the lasting image it inadvertently leaves in both articles is that of a shape-shifting governor who pretends to be a moderate but is actually in sync with comrade Mamdani and his socialist radicals taking over the Democratic Party.But when bad press follows, Hochul rushes to wash her hands of any and all responsibility.Her track record rips the artifice to shreds.Recall that she was the only top Dem in New York to endorse Mamdani in both the party primary and the general election last year.
Others, including Sens.Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, were appalled by his anti-Israel bigotry and war on wealth.But Hochul voiced no worries and apparently has no second thoughts.
She has actively encouraged and even helped to fund his explosion of free this and free that by sending him billions in state taxpayer funds.One result is that state spending under Hochul has rocketed upward by about 30% since she took office five years ago.Make no mistake, her motive in helping the mayor is strictly business.Mamdani got 1.1 million votes in the city’s general election, and if she can get most of those people to turn out for her in the fall, Hochul would probably defeat her Republican opponent, Bruce Blakeman, by a sign...