Mamdani and the DSA bask in NY midterm wins but theres a catch

Here’s a contrary opinion: Tuesday’s elections were good for New Yorkers, Republicans and Democrats alike — maybe even great.No, really.Surveying the results, many of us feel nothing but doom and gloom.We now have a congresswoman, Darializa Avila Chevalier, who believes we should abolish not only the police but also all prisons and, for that matter, borders.We have a congressman, Brad Lander, who campaigned not on the Lower East Side but on the upper West Bank, standing with Palestinians rather than with his American constituents.We have a returning governor, Kathy Hochul, who did little but grin as prices got higher and the streets less safe.What reason is there to feel cheerful?We can answer the question by listening to none other than Mayor Zohran Mamdani.Reacting to Hochul’s win Tuesday night, he cheered her for having “embraced new ideas,” including opposing ICE and taxing the rich.In other words, the story triumphant leftists are telling themselves right now goes as follows: Americans voted blue because they’re passionate about socialism, support open borders, and are ready to entrust the country to a new cadre of politicos trained almost exclusively on college campuses.The reality, hallelujah, is radically different: The top issue voters actually cared about, according to CNBC’s exit poll, was government corruption.And Americans held two ideas in their minds as they cast their ballots.They rejected a presidential administration they saw as being riddled with incompetence and graft.And they also rejected the left’s radical vision of high taxes, unfettered immigration and other progressive staples.Don’t take my word for it — just look at the way voters approached 146 ballot measures in 39 states.As one social-media wag quipped Thursday, Americans “passed more GOP legislation through ballot measures” on Election Day “than the entirety of the GOP passed” themselves over two solid years.In North Carolina, voters enthusiastically suppo...