Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Andrew Sanford | News | February 21, 2025
Democrats have been scrambling to deal with Donald Trump’s new Presidential term. By scrambling, I mean they’ve done little besides voicing their strong displeasure. Some Dems, like New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are taking the fight to Trump and his Boss, Elon Musk, by calling out their destructive behavior and attempting to help those affected while being threatened with jail time. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has also been making the right kind of noise, rightfully comparing Trump and Musk to the Nazis. For a brief moment, it seemed like New York Governor Kathy Hochul had joined the ranks of “Democrats Who Give A S***.”
This year saw the beginning of Congestion Pricing in NYC. The program established a new toll for driving into Midtown Manhattan to lower traffic, get people into the city more easily, and provide much-needed funds for the MTA. Despite heavy opposition from rich people who don’t live in the city, the program has been working as intended! Traffic is down, visitation is up, and Broadway Theaters have seen an increase in revenue in the millions. I can confirm the latter as someone who bartended a very busy Valentine’s Day weekend in a theater. The program has been a success, so of course, Trump wants to kill it.
The President declared that he was killing congestion pricing and declared himself a king in the process. It would be laughable if he didn’t behave as though he was actual royalty. He is making no bones about what he wants and it caught the attention of New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Hochul eventually supported the program despite fighting tooth and nail to block it. With Trump at the door, she grew a spine and decided to fight back against his monarchal ways to the surprise of many. She said the state would be suing the administration and that they would bow to no king. Hell yeah, Kathy! You’re going to keep that goodwill going, right? … Right?
Nope! If you’ve visited this site, perused my social media, or wondered what that strange screaming is just West of Manhattan, you know I am no fan of the disgraceful NYC Mayor Eric Adams. You’ll also know that I started doing backflips when it looked like Adams would finally suffer consequences for his rampant, sloppy, laughably corrupt behavior. That all changed when Trump was elected and his DOJ sought (poorly) to see with charges against Adams dropped. It hasn’t happened yet, because several people resigned instead of signing their names to such a nonsense dismissal.
Not only will the charges be dropped without prejudice, meaning the DOJ can bring them back when they see fit (like, for instance, if their good little boy doesn’t stay in line), but they are dropping them specifically so Adams can help carry out Trump’s attempts at mass deportation. Adams will assist the President with his dirty work to avoid the prison sentence he deserves. It is a quid pro quo even my tiny children would understand. New Yorkers are rightfully furious and scared that the Mayor is essentially in the President’s pocket, but wait! There may be hope in the form of our newly spined Governor! … Right?!
Wrong again!!! Despite numerous calls from citizens and officials to remove Adams from office, Hochul has announced that she will not remove Adams from office even though she can. “My strong belief is that the will of the voters and the supremacy and sanctity of democratic elections preclude me from any other action,” Hochul explained. “I cannot deny the people of this great city the power to make this decision for themselves.” Here’s the thing, I don’t disagree that voters should have their say, but it’s impossible to deny that we are in an unprecedented situation.
Adams certainly ran his campaign on fear-mongering and appeals to Upper West/East Siders who spend seven months out of the year in Florida, and those aspects of his Mayoralship have not changed. But his corruption while in office is new information. The indictment brought against him isn’t even six months old. He was just on Fox News with Trump’s Border Czar like some sycophantic bootlicker within the last two weeks. This is all new and needs to be dealt with appropriately. Yes, there is a Mayoral election in NYC this year, but the longer Adams is allowed to stay in office, the more harm he will cause.
Hochul’s lack of action here is disappointing but not surprising. It is the kind of thing I’ve come to expect from Hochul since she was sworn in in 2021 and tried to end remote work within her first few months, then had to turn on her heels and reinstate a mask mandate because COVID-19 was still very much a problem. If anything, I thought Hochul had grown a spine and actually begun making a stand for the working people of New York City. Maybe she would be a Democrat who stands loudly and forcefully against the current President. But, she isn’t standing against him if she’s leaving his puppet in charge.
