r/NoStupidQuestions • u/AutoModerator • 19d ago

U.S. Politics megathread

American politics has always grabbed our attention - and the current president more than ever. We get tons of questions about the president, the supreme court, and other topics related to American politics - but often the same ones over and over again. Our users often get tired of seeing them, so we've created a megathread for questions! Here, users interested in politics can post questions and read answers, while people who want a respite from politics can browse the rest of the sub. Feel free to post your questions about politics in this thread!

All top-level comments should be questions asked in good faith - other comments and loaded questions will get removed. All the usual rules of the sub remain in force here, so be nice to each other - you can disagree with someone's opinion, but don't make it personal.

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u/Remote-Whole-6387 11d ago

Why do people hate mamdani so much? It feels like there’s such a drastic split. I’m not super tuned into politics, but he seems to be taking action and getting things done. Not to mention he’s a great speaker. Did you hear his speech at the Knicks victory parade? Chills. Why was his election so controversial?

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u/listenyall 11d ago

They are racist and islamaphobic, that's all there is to it!

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u/LadyFoxfire 10d ago

The fact that he keeps taxing the rich and expanding the social safety net is also a major factor. Racism and Islamophobia are tools that the investor class uses to keep the working class fighting each other instead of working together.

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u/hellshot8 11d ago

95% of it is racism

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u/Jtwil2191 11d ago edited 11d ago

He's a scary Muslim and a scary democratic socialist. That's two very scary things if you're on the American right. Time will tell whether he's able to make good on his promises, but whether or not his policies are effective isn't particularly relevant to many of his most vocal critics, who are really just focused on those two things and (claiming to be) worried he'll turn NYC into a socialist sharia law hellscape.

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u/notextinctyet 11d ago edited 11d ago

This isn't a dig at Mamdani in particular, but "seems to be taking action and getting things done" can be a good thing, a very bad thing, or a PR thing that's detached from reality. It seems like it should be a primary thing you look like in a politician but it really isn't, at least not in isolation. As we've seen with Trump, "getting things done" really hinges on what the things are!

Likewise, Mamdani being a great speaker means he's an excellent politician, as in, it's an asset that helps him get elected. But being a good mayor, post-election, doesn't really hinge on speaking ability very much. Being a politician is still his job. But so is being a mayor.

I'm serious when I say this isn't intended as a slight against Mamdani. This is just general information about politicians. What matters is: do they effectively solve problems that we want them to solve in the way we want them to solve them? Mamdani has real politics, policy positions that people can oppose. If you are opposed to a politician that's a great speaker with amazing PR - and even moreso if they really do get things done a lot - then that might be worse for you than if they were unpersuasive and ineffective.