The last time a Democrat Politician held the office of New York Mayor was more than 20 years ago.   Mayor Ed Koch (1978-1989 ) was a lifelong Democrat who described himself as a “liberal with sanity“.  Koch later endorsed Rudi Giuliani, Michael Bloomberg, and George W. Bush – so you can tell he was not what modern politico’s would define as liberal, and by most current definitions he would not be considered a Democrat.  Koch was socially liberal, but fiscally conservative – heck he ran as an independent in 85′.
Removing the one term David Dinkins (89′-93′)  who was the city’s first black mayor, elected solely on the basis of his race,  it is intellectually honest to say the last time a left-wing liberal held the New York office was, before Ed Koch, almost 40 years ago.
The last time left-wing liberalism was used in New York policy and governance was also almost 40 years ago.   There’s a reason for that:
New York City was a nightmare under liberal policies.  It was a petri dish of crime and decay brought upon by decades of Democrat/Liberal governance.   You could not even think about walking through Central Park unless you were trying to get mugged, raped or killed.

Crime, drugs and criminal life had driven the city almost into total ruin.   No-one was safe on the subway;  hence a subway rider named Bernard Goetz famously said “enough”, and began to shoot the criminals in the subway cars.


The city was so bad in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s that Hollywood, along with the rest of the nation, fully expected New York would soon be walled off and allowed to rot away from the infection caused by the disease of liberalism.   The city was bankrupt.
Even the police were just trying to survive the onslaught of decay which surrounded them. Apathy was the sentiment, survival until reasonable exit could be achieved – was the common theme.

It was only the “had enough” approach of Ed Koch which brought the city from fiscal insolvency and spiraling blight to a position of recovery and growth.  His approach was cutting taxes, cracking down on crime, and creating the potential for economic investment.
However, as with all things – those days seem long ago.
Fortunately for modern day Democrats, long enough ago such that the exact same pre-Koch policies can be reinstituted again.   An entire generation has no idea just how bad it was to live in New York under liberal policy.

Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.


EXTREME LIBERAL De Blasio served in Bill Clinton’s administration in 1997 as the highest-ranking New York and New Jersey official in the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
EXTREME LIBERAL De Blasio  held the high-profile role of manager of Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign.
Both Clintons endorsed him in September, shortly after he cinched the Democratic nomination.  And Hillary Clinton held a lucrative fundraiser on his behalf.  The relationship is mutually beneficial.
[…]  Though de Blasio is eager to move the city past the reign of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, he has used Clinton, whom most people view as a moderate Democratic president, to defend his focus on economic inequality from the suggestion often made by Bloomberg’s supporters that he’s encouraging class warfare.
[…]  For the Clintons, de Blasio’s progressive bona fides (aka. EXTREME LIBERAL) could be a boon for Hillary Clinton if she seeks the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, when she might face a primary challenge from a candidate seeking to tap into populist sentiments within the Democratic Party.   (link)