Barack Obama at his last press briefing with reporters, 2017:
"I have enjoyed working with all of you. That does not, of course, mean that I've enjoyed every story that you have filed, but that's the point of this relationship. You're not supposed to be sycophants. You're supposed to be skeptics. You're supposed to ask me tough questions. You're not supposed to be complimentary, but you're supposed to cast a critical eye on folks who hold enormous power."
🚨 At the U20 Mayors Summit, Mamdani Says the Left Has Ceded “Quality of Life,” “Efficiency,” and “Fraud and Waste” to the Right
This was one of the more interesting arguments Zohran Mamdani made today at the U20 Mayors Summit, and a reminder that he can be genuinely sharp when he drops the “central casting” routine.
“In New York City, there are certain words that have taken on ideological associations.”
“Quality of life has come to be seen as somehow a right-wing concern. Efficiency… has been taken on as a right-wing concern, rooting out fraud and waste, a right-wing concern.”
Mamdani’s argument is that refusing to engage those issues actually helps the Right.
“If you are staring at an example of social disorder or social inefficiency, and the left refuses to explain either why it has happened or how they will fix it, then the right gets to point at someone in the immediate area and say, ‘That’s who did it.’”
The harder question is how much of the broader Left is actually prepared to follow the advice.
@NextRoundLive Yes it's fair. Being a fan should be just as much about supporting the team and doing things that help. Booing the team - or the coaches - helps nothing. All before considering that the average fan doesn't know if issues are play calling or execution. Saban has said the same!!
Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill that will nullify local laws mandating water breaks for construction workers — despite Texas being first in work-related heat exposure deaths. Unions expect the number of deaths to go up if mandated water breaks go away. https://t.co/oM0meXiw3a