New York City: Another Petri Dish For Progressive Polices

"Progressivism isn't about progress. It's about progressive rationalization of increasingly stupid ideas."...W. Heisenberg

• By now, those of you who follow the news have heard New York State's Gov. Cuomo and his rant against conservatives earlier this week ("If they are extreme conservatives, they have no place in the State of New York"). To Cuomo and other progressives, "Extreme conservatives" are Americans who support the Second Amendment, who support traditional marriage and who are pro-life. 
• Yesterday, NYC Mayor de Blasio echoed Cuomo's comments with, "I agree with Gov. Cuomo's remarks." In other words, the primary spokespersons who represent the State of NY and NY City have absolutely no interest in diversity, tolerance and even bi-partisanship. They are telling millions of New York State residents, "We're in charge. We have no interest in what you believe both politically and socially. It's our way or the highway."
• But the infiltration of progressive fanatics into the politics of New York State and the City goes deeper than one can imagine. The new Council Speaker, Melissa Mark-Viverito (who lobbied for parole of terrorists and Cuban spies), appointed several progressive allies to key positions in the City. After the appointments, she had the nerve to proclaim the appointments "are a reflection of our city's diversity and values." Keep in mind, only about 25% of registered voters showed up to vote for the last mayoral election. Mayor de Blasio might have won but he sure does not have a mandate. But that means little to these tyrants. In fact, the new head of transportation for NY City said, "Now we will begin to steer the body in a progressive direction, on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who voted decisively for a break from the past."
• The past? The last time New York City was controlled by progressives, murder rates alone exceeded 2000 per year. After Republicans took over, that rate declined to about 400 a year in a city of about 8 million people.

• And this infiltration of fanatical progressives is not specific to only NYC government. If you recall, Columbia University hired Kathy Boudin, a former domestic terrorist who is recognized as a progressive "scholar."  In 2003, a piece in the NY Post pointed out she was responsible for a dozen bombings across the country. She was convicted of felony murder in 1984 and was released from prison in 2003. The felony murder charge was for participating in an armed robbery that resulted in the murder of two police officers and a security guard. There's also a bit of irony and masochism on the part of Columbia. One of the places she had planned to bomb 4 decades ago was Columbia University's library.
• As the above shows, progressives have long had a love affair with tyrants from their sympathies for Castro (recall how many have praised his failed universal health care system) to Che who had a habit of murdering anyone disagreeing with the "revolucion." Oh yes, he also burned books, jailing gays and was opposing to basic freedoms such as the freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and protest. We've seen this same phenomena play out in many of our major universities over the years with conservative speakers being shouted down or used as target practice on stage.
• But what should be disturbing to any rational person is this progressive ideology also breeds intolerance---intolerance for the opinions of those with whom they do not agree. Again, the comments this week by Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio reinforce this claim. And these tw just happen to be one of many. You don't have to look any further than inside the D.C. Beltway and into many of our nation's newsrooms.
• Anyone who thinks I'm way over the line with these claims, I have three letters for you to consider: IRS. Just yesterday, news broke that the IRS has been targeting "Friends of Abe,' a group of conservatives in the entertainment industry (most members of this group prefer to remain anonymous because of the Hollywood black listing of conservatives. Gary Sinise and Jon Voight have been open about their membership. It is believed about 1500 celebrities are members). 
• I hope I'm wrong about New York City's future. After all, I grew up in that great City. But I believe history is on my side. Detroit, Youngstown, OH, Cleveland, Chicago and countless other great American cities have been left in the wake of years of failed progressive policies.

Postcript

Since this was posted, NYC Council passed two bills giving sanctuary to illegal aliens who are felons. In addition, they said they would not honor ICE warrants. Even more disturbing, the NYPD now has a shadow Commish in the name of Al Sharpton. 
And just this week, New Yorkers are taking De Blasio to task for crime, poverty and rising homelessness.