What Can We Do About Kathy Hochul?
Despite her anti-Trump posturing, New York governor Kathy Hochul is hardly a paragon of progressivism. But winning her over on at least some key issues is crucial for a socialist mayoralty’s success. Does the Left have any leverage over Hochul?
In a moment fraught with potential and peril for socialist politics, it’s not exactly clear how the Left should reckon with centrists like Kathy Hochul. (John Lamparski / Getty Images for Concordia Summit)
In the struggle against Donald Trump’s barbarism, how do we assess New York governor Kathy Hochul?
The governor has engaged in some acts of opposition that make many New Yorkers proud. Hochul stood up for New York City’s congestion pricing plan when Trump tried to cancel it. She signed legislation to protect abortion providers who may face prosecution in other states. The governor objected to Republicans’ xenophobic and antidemocratic threats to deport Zohran Mamdani, the socialist who won New York City’s Democratic primary in June.
And with loopy Robert F. Kennedy Jr laying waste to our nation’s infrastructure of infectious disease prevention, last Friday she issued an executive order ensuring that New York’s pharmacies can still administer the updated COVID-19 vaccine. Also on Friday, she spoke out strongly against Trump’s attempts to interfere with the New York City mayoral race, saying, “Contrary to what the president thinks, he is not a king. He is not a kingmaker. He should not be anointing the next mayor. . . . We are not fucking selling out our city.”
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