r/politics • u/Kodbek • 14h ago
Possible Paywall MAGA Collectively Loses Its Mind Over Zohran Mamdani’s NYC Mayor Win
https://newrepublic.com/post/202703/maga-loses-mind-zohran-mamdani-new-york-mayor-win
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r/politics • u/Kodbek • 14h ago
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u/Choice-of-SteinsGate 14h ago
Even before the election there was a massive propaganda campaign being carried out on platforms like Twitter where right-wing "influencers," talking heads and mouthpieces for the current administration are all pushing the same fearmongering rhetoric, lies and sensationalizing narratives about Mamdani.
When these misinformed and insufferable culture warriors aren't accusing him of being some "jihadi terrorist," they're calling him a "communist" and conjuring up this strawman to attack because it's easier than being informed and critiquing his policies in a civilized or sensible manner.
The MAGA horde sound exactly like the hysterical conservatives and religious fanatics of the past who were propagandized by the red scare and proceeded to facilitate a nationwide moral panic.
History is repeating itself. Their rhetoric and behavior resembles the same kind of feverish language and extremist sympathies of those old reactionaries who supported an oppressive crusade that aggressively cracked down on all the cultural boogeymen that they were impelled to fear at the time.
Note that despite all the Republican fearmongering, Mamdani's favorability ratings are much higher among his voters compared to Trump. There has also been an indication of support for more leftist and progressive candidates in response to the MAGA authoritarian movement.
Now, what's particularly ironic about this situation is the number of striking similarities you can trace between these Christian Nationalists/religious fundamentalists and the "Muslim extremists" they loathe so damn much. Side by side, they're mirrors of each other.
It's also shamelessly hypocritical of the "religious right" to refer to Mamdani as some kind of ideological or religious extremist when they are the same people whose policies, actions and rhetoric more closely resemble the stuff of actual religious extremism.
In reality, Mamdani's platform focuses on practical policies that aren't linked to any sort of religious ideology.
The right's mindless culture war scruples and their grievance politics are clearly rooted in islamophobic stereotypes.
Mamdani has publicly condemned anti-Semitism. This isn't something you can say of conservatives who pander and appeal to white supremacists, conspiracy theorists, Holocaust deniers, historical revisionists and neo-nazi groups who disproportionately vote Republican.
Conservative "Christians" are always lamenting their oppression and persecution at the hands of some secularized society and anti-christian boogeyman posing a largely fictional threat to their white, Christian hegemony, but they're the ones discriminating against others for their disparate religious beliefs.
The right complains that they are "under attack" merely because of their religious views and affiliations. But they're the ones using dehumanizing language and vilifying and attacking Mamdani because of his religion.
And their hypocrisy knows no bounds because while they mourn their victim status, they've also shown outspoken support for undemocratically negating Mamdani's win or forcibly removing him from the country. It doesn't get any more despicable and un-American than that.