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Speaker 1: This is a podcast from WOR.

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Speaker 2: Back now to the wr Saturday Morning Show with Larry MINTI.

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Speaker 2: Now let's talk to Jay C. Polanco, political analyst and

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Speaker 2: University of Mount Saint Vincent assistant professor and attorney. Jac

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Speaker 2: I was looking forward to this. I got so much

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Speaker 2: to talk to you about. Let's good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Let's start with what happened in New Jersey with that

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Speaker 2: special election. Anni and Alilia Mahea is now the Democratic

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Speaker 2: nominee to run in the eleventh district for Congress. She

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Speaker 2: is another Democratic socialist and this is something that's spreading

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Speaker 2: across the country. I don't I don't think it started

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Speaker 2: with ZORINMM Donnie, but he certainly got the most attention.

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Speaker 2: Does she have a chance in this race? I mean,

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Speaker 2: she only got twenty eight percent of the vote. I

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Speaker 2: know it's a democratic district, but it's also a moderate district.

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Speaker 2: How do you see this race?

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Speaker 1: Well, look, you know it's not surprising. The decisions by

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Speaker 1: the political strategists in that district is one that's going

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Speaker 1: to be studied forever. You know, you had someone that

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Speaker 1: was a moderate, You had about two centrists or moderates

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Speaker 1: in that race, and you know the special interests decided

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Speaker 1: that they were going to go split their support, and

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Speaker 1: that really was a problem because then it allowed for

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Speaker 1: the two centrists to fight each other to the death,

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Speaker 1: allowing for the most progressive liberal Socialists to be able

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Speaker 1: to win. So that's actually what happened in that district.

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Speaker 1: So it's not a bell weather But what I want

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Speaker 1: to make sure is that your listeners understand that the

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Speaker 1: Democratic Socialists of America are very very powerful. These are

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Speaker 1: people that understand the landscape. A lot of these primaries

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Speaker 1: are very low turnout districts, and these special elections as

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Speaker 1: well are very low turnout districts. And you have people

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Speaker 1: that understand the districts, that understand marketing, that know about

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Speaker 1: get out the vote efforts, and they're loud, they're vocal,

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Speaker 1: they know how to organize, and they're winning seats across

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Speaker 1: the country by people falling asleep at the wheel and

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Speaker 1: not participating in these non general election events, and they're

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Speaker 1: bringing out their votes and they're allowed on social media.

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Speaker 1: They can raise a lot of money. Many of them

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Speaker 1: are transplants, maney of them are new. A lot of

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Speaker 1: the money's coming outside of the district, and that's happening

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Speaker 1: around the country's happening in New York City, and it's

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Speaker 1: happening in congressional districts like the ones you're referring to.

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Speaker 1: And quite frankly, I could see a situation where she wins.

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Speaker 1: She wins in November because people are falling asleep at

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Speaker 1: the wheel. And as they're winning these smaller elections, they're

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Speaker 1: becoming more popular, they're becoming moderates when it comes to

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Speaker 1: general elections, they're becoming likable, the press likes them, and

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Speaker 1: before you know, they're winning elections in November. So that's

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Speaker 1: what we're seeing across the country.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you just frightened me about New Jersey eleven because

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Speaker 2: I think you're right. You know, in a midterm election,

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Speaker 2: especially in a special election, it's who can motivate their

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Speaker 2: voters to get out and they're motivated. You know, Harry

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Speaker 2: Enton did a show to poll just last night. Worries

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Speaker 2: showed that thirty three percent of Democratic voters under the

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Speaker 2: age of thirty five across the country consider themselves democratic socialists.

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Speaker 2: This is growing, Oh.

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Speaker 1: It's growing. Look let me tell you something. The star

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Speaker 1: behind this, you know, the first person that really got

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Speaker 1: everything going was AOC, But the superstar of the moment

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Speaker 1: is mayor, Mam Donnie. Mayor Mum Donnie walks into a

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Speaker 1: concert and the whole place loses their mind. He's a

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Speaker 1: rock star. So he's a young man who is liked

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Speaker 1: by a lot of young people and they see him

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Speaker 1: as cool, energetic, and they want to be like him,

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Speaker 1: and a lot of them here democratic socialists. They don't

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Speaker 1: have the connection that you and I and a lot

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Speaker 1: of your listeners have to socialism. What does it really mean? How?

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Speaker 1: You know, we think of Cuba, we think of what's

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Speaker 1: happened throughout civilizations when socialism takes over. They're thinking socialism, cool, socialism,

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Speaker 1: ma'm donnie, socialism, AOC, and a lot of them are

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Speaker 1: subscribing to a lot of these things, especially when they

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Speaker 1: make a connection somehow that being socialist means being virtuous.

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Speaker 1: So it's very complicated. But they're winning seats and they're

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Speaker 1: going to become even popular unless unless centrists and moderates

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Speaker 1: become attractive again to voters, and unless voters take these

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Speaker 1: elections seriously and come out and support the moderates and centrists,

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Speaker 1: or if not, it's over. Remember that what sells in

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Speaker 1: Washington right now is how extreme can you get? What

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Speaker 1: is the most extreme thing you can say on Twitter

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Speaker 1: and on your emails and newsletters so that you can

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Speaker 1: get fundraising numbers up. And that's really what's winning the day.

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Speaker 1: It's not sexy to be a centrist or a moderate

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Speaker 1: these days, but if your loud mouth on both sides

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Speaker 1: of the aisle, you're going to raise a lot of money.

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Speaker 1: And what we're seeing with socialist is the more you

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Speaker 1: beat up on wealthy people without explaining how they provide

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Speaker 1: most of the money in that we collect here in

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Speaker 1: New York City. If you beat up on capitalism like

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Speaker 1: you're doing, and you say loud enough, you know you're

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Speaker 1: going to raise the most money. And that's what we're

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Speaker 1: seeing with the socialists across the city and in New Jersey.

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Speaker 2: Yes, you're exactly right, and it really concerns me JC

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Speaker 2: that it's becoming more of a religion than a political

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Speaker 2: movement that no matter what they do or what they

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Speaker 2: fail at, like Zori mom Donnie, they still have this

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Speaker 2: support because they like him and they liked the idea

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Speaker 2: of democratic socialism. For instance, nineteen people died during a snowstorm,

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Speaker 2: his support still strong. He goes to Albany and we

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Speaker 2: all knew he was going to fail in getting the money.

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Speaker 2: They basically called him a liar and said, you're not

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Speaker 2: going to get the money, and yet he still seems

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Speaker 2: to have support. Meaning it's the movement that's important, not

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Speaker 2: the success rate.

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Speaker 1: And that's what we talked about Larry last year Unite.

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Speaker 1: It's what people want to see that he tried, so

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Speaker 1: that he'd come back and say, well, they stopped me, right,

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Speaker 1: So now he still looks like a superstar with his people.

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Speaker 1: But keep your eye on the press. I have a

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Speaker 1: lot of friends in the press, But keep your eyes

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Speaker 1: on the press. If this were any other mayor and

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Speaker 1: we had people die in the streets because he refused

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Speaker 1: to force them to come inside, it would be hell

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Speaker 1: on earth here in New York City. But it's not

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Speaker 1: because a lot of folks, not all, but a lot

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Speaker 1: of folks in the press have become fans and they're

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Speaker 1: not being objective. They're not reporting the news as he should.

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Speaker 1: And I think things would be a little different if

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Speaker 1: the press started being more referees and umpires as opposed

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Speaker 1: to fans. We would be able to read objective stories

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Speaker 1: about how he's failed with funding. How he lied about

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Speaker 1: us being twelve billion dollars in the hole. How he

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Speaker 1: said that we never knew that we were going to

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Speaker 1: be twelve billion dollars or the whole. And Mayor Adams

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Speaker 1: made it very clear that the migrant crisis was gonna

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Speaker 1: be a twelve billion dollar hole in the budget many

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Speaker 1: times over. I mean, these are things that no other

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Speaker 1: mayor would benefit from, and it would be hell on

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Speaker 1: Earth here. It would be coursed Earth if another mayor

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Speaker 1: pulled some of these things. And then you know, when

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Speaker 1: you take a look at some of the kiosks in

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Speaker 1: New York City, we have a link system where they

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Speaker 1: had an agreement with New York City, and that's why

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Speaker 1: we see these Wi Fi doll boards throughout the city.

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Speaker 1: You have the mayor in campaign ads in these same kiosks.

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Speaker 1: If this were Mayor Adams, or imagine a Republican mayor

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Speaker 1: or Mayor Bloomberg, it'll be hell on Earth. But he

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Speaker 1: gets away with it. And a lot of it has

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Speaker 1: to do with the press. So I want to see

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Speaker 1: what happens with the press. Are they going to become objective?

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Speaker 1: Are they going to become reps umpires keep him honest

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Speaker 1: or are they gonna still wear that, you know, there's

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Speaker 1: zoron hats and become fans.

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Speaker 2: I blest depressed because I remember when the New York

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Speaker 2: media was all over politicians, and you're right, it's completely different.

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Speaker 2: He gave gobblygoup to an answer yesterday and nobody asked

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Speaker 2: to follow up when they said, did you over promise?

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Speaker 2: So JC, let's talk about this more.

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Speaker 1: J C.

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Speaker 2: Polanco, political analyst and University of Mount Saint Vincent Assistant

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Speaker 2: professor attorney. Thanks a lot, JC, have a great weekend.

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Speaker 1: You to my friend, Thanks so much. This has been

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Speaker 1: a podcast from wor