I kind of get a kick out of the hysteria surrounding Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist who last month won the Dem nomination for mayor of New York. Listening to the critics, you’d think he was the second coming of Joseph Stalin, not the second coming of the hapless Bill De Blasio. But what’s even more amusing is the hero worship of Mamdani by groupies who act as if he’s dispensing political wisdom never heard before. … Unfortunately, most of his supporters haven’t a clue he’s merely the newest face on very old ideas. We’re talking ideas that pre-date the octogenarian Bernie Sanders, ideas that stretch all the way back to the 19^th century. Yeah, we’re talking that old. … Anyway, I thought of this while reading Joe Klein’s epic anti-Mamdani rant. It’s a little over the top. But it’s fun – and largely true.

One other thing: centrist Dems can criticize Mamdani all they want, but they’re going to continue to lose young voters as long as they back seriously flawed establishment types like Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams.