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To compare our mayor to some of the other mayors you write about. Gayle McLaughlin, from Richmond County, California, she has a program to give ex-felons $1,000 a month stipend. I think de Blasio would have a tough time supporting that. Chokwe Antar Lumumba, the son of the most radical mayor you wrote about who succeeded his father as the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, recently spoke at the Democratic Socialists of America conference. I don’t see Mayor de Blasio doing that anytime soon. He didn’t endorse Sanders, or Zephyr Teachout. The mayor doesn’t even support the legalization of marijuana when 60% of Americans do. He’s to the right on some issues these other mayors are taking up. Is de Blasio the leader of this nationwide progressive movement because of his ideas, or just the fact that he’s the mayor of New York City?
And Gayle McLaughlin is running for Lieutenant Governor now. She’s trying to move a step higher. I’m not saying de Blasio is the most radical of the bunch. But I’m saying that because he is at the head of America’s most powerful and influential city, he certainly is the most representative of the movement. And he has the most influence, because he employs 300,000 people. You know, he could hire 30 people and hide them away some place, and it would take the reporters, like, a year or two to find them!
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