James Carville rips Dems as a ‘cracked-out clown car' while warning of a ‘civilized civil war'
'Constipated. Leaderless. Confused. A cracked-out clown car. Divided,' Carville wrote in a Monday guest essay published in The New York Times. 'These are the words I hear my fellow Democrats using to describe our party as of late. The truth is they're not wrong: The Democratic Party is in shambles.'
Carville said that New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's win in the city's primary 'represents an undeniable fissure in our political soul.'
He pointed to Mamdani's economic policies, which include government-run grocery stores and plans to tax the top 1% of New Yorkers, admitting that he is concerned that they will actually be able to be executed.
3 'Constipated. Leaderless. Confused. A cracked-out clown car. Divided,' Carville wrote in a guest essay published in The New York Times.
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'We are divided along generational lines: Candidates like Mr. Mamdani are impatient for an economic future that folks my age are skeptical can actually be delivered,' Carville said.
'We are divided along ideological lines,' he added. 'A party that is historically allegiant to the state of Israel is at odds with a growing faction that will not look past the abuses in Palestine. From Medicare for All purists to Affordable Care Act reformists, the list goes on and on.'
3 Carville said that Zohran Mamdani's win in the city's primary 'represents an undeniable fissure in our political soul.'
Paul Martinka for NY Post
He said that Democrats must 'demand' a repeal of President Donald Trump's cuts to Medicaid in the 47th president's 'big, beautiful bill.'
The legislation requires able-bodied adults without children to work 80 hours a month, amounting to 20 hours each week, in order to receive Medicaid benefits.
3 'We are divided along generational lines: Candidates like Mr. Mamdani are impatient for an economic future that folks my age are skeptical can actually be delivered,' Carville said.
Stephen Yang
He also said that Democrats must 'demand a repeal to end the endless wars, because the bill boosts military spending to $1 trillion for the very first time,' as well as help students who are losing loan protections and may no longer be eligible for Pell Grants.
Democrats must also 'demand a repeal' of the cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Carville said.
'We've never had a simpler, more unifying oppositional message,' Carville said. 'Soon it will no longer be possible to avoid a brawl between the factions ignited back in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary. But for now, whether you're the progressive Mr. Mamdani, the centrist former Rep. Abigail Spanberger running for the Virginia governorship or even Elon Musk, we can all agree on one thing: We demand a repeal. Onward to the midterms.'
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42 minutes ago
Some of Mamdani's platform is surprisingly similar to Bloomberg's, experts say
He proposed free crosstown buses. He pushed for steep tax hikes on the wealthy—including an 18.5% property tax increase— insisting none of his rich friends threatened to leave the city over higher taxes. He championed millions to build supermarkets in long-neglected neighborhoods. And under his plan, city workers could give privately raised cash to New Yorkers booking dental appointments or keeping their children in school. These progressive policies, however, are not from New York City's Democratic nominee for mayor, Zohran Mamdani. Experts said they were from Michael Bloomberg, New York's billionaire former Republican mayor and a prominent supporter of Andrew Cuomo's run for mayor. As Mamdani reshapes the city's political map, some experts told ABC News a striking parallel is emerging. 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An archived screenshot from his campaign website states, "The MTA should eliminate fare collection..." At a campaign event, he called the MTA "bloated" and "inefficient." The New York Times contrasted observers calling the proposal "radical," and a Regional Plan Association official saying it "captured people's imaginations." A Mamdani campaign pillar calls for free fares on all bus lines. After piloting a fare-free program on five lines as an assemblymember, Mamdani compared it to Kansas City and Boston's free programs. Cuomo's bus plan for mayor includes evaluating the "expansion of a fare-free bus pilot program" that Mamdani championed, and expanding a 50% discount on public transportation for low-income residents. Regional Plan Association's Kate Slevin, who served in city government under Bloomberg, said she "can't remember other mayoral candidates" with a similar plan for free buses. Slevin told ABC News, "When it comes to fares, those are the only two I can remember." 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"Taxes were not a peripheral part of his fiscal policy. They were a central part." In a 2007 USC speech, Bloomberg reflected, "As a last resort, we even raised property taxes and income taxes on high-earners," recalling backlash, saying "raising taxes didn't make me the most popular..." In response to concerns New Yorkers may leave, Bloomberg told WNYC: "I can only tell you, among my friends, I've never heard one person say I'm going to move out of the city because of the taxes ... Not one." Former Mayor Bill de Blasio attempted to raise taxes on the wealthy to fix subways, but was not successful. Mamdani proposes permanent additional 2% tax increases for earners making over $1 million and raising corporate taxes. Bloomberg framed his hikes as temporary, specifically tied to emergencies. However, even Bloomberg acknowledged that his tax revenue supported broader ambitions. "Mike Bloomberg raised taxes following 9/11 out of fiscal necessity, not ideology," Ed Skyler, a senior executive at Citigroup and former deputy mayor for Bloomberg, told ABC News. At USC, he said increases, "allowed us to close the huge budget deficits, balance the books and continue investing in the future: building new schools, revitalizing old industrial areas, creating the largest affordable housing program in the nation, supporting our cultural institutions, parks, libraries, and universities, and expanding world-wide advertising to attract businesses and tourists." Food policy for low-income communities Under Bloomberg, starting in 2009, dozens of FRESH grocery stores opened. Many are still operating today. The program offered public subsidies to private grocery operators to boost access to fresh food in underserved neighborhoods. Quinn, then city council speaker and a key player in passing the program, said they always asked: "how do we use the powers of the city of New York to jolt the private sector into action?" Bloomberg frequently sought to merge public and private efforts—through initiatives like his Green Carts program —which supplied permits for vendors selling fresh produce in "food deserts," and Health Bucks, which enabled discounted food to be purchased at farmers markets. Mamdani proposes one municipally owned, nonprofit grocery store in each borough, offering goods at wholesale prices. On " Plain English," Mamdani said his plan would cost less than FRESH. CUNY School of Public Health Professor Nevin Cohen said he believes Mamdani's plan would cost less than Bloomberg's, too. He wrote a piece titled " Guess What? Government Is Already in the Grocery Business," mentioning existing markets in Madison and Atlanta. Mamdani's idea isn't new to the city. Former Mayor Fiorello La Guardia created the first public market network and several still remain today. Under Bloomberg, one such market—Essex Market—was rezoned and relocated to a new, modern space. Cohen said Bloomberg and Mamdani's plans "are not just similar. They actually had the same underlying goal." Cohen said, "Bloomberg very much intervened in the market" and sent an old advertisement of Bloomberg, dressed as a nanny, labeled, "You only thought you lived in the land of the free." Quinn also notes that many of Bloomberg's plans faced resistance, but once implemented, became part of the city's fabric. "What is radical on Monday often becomes widespread by Wednesday," Quinn said.
