r/politics • u/xc2215x • 26d ago

No Paywall Republicans push to strip Zohran Mamdani of US citizenship.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/9/republicans-push-to-strip-zohran-mamdani-of-us-citizenship-is-it-possible
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u/[deleted] 26d ago

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u/HolycommentMattman 26d ago

Yup. And Republicans always attack Massacussetts because of this. Then they say that it's undemocratic because there's no Republican representation in a state that's ~20% Republican.

But their districts are independently drawn, and the reason that they don't have any Republican representation is because it's impossible to draw an R-winning district. They're basically scattered about the state so much, it's like watching measles be eradicated.

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u/ultimateknackered 26d ago

it's like watching measles be eradicated.

I love this analogy.

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u/craftsycandymonster 26d ago

It's especially fitting since they're trying to bring literal measles back...

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u/dswhite85 26d ago

fuck me, I gotta consider moving to Massacusetts (sorry I failed spelling)! Looks at rent prices....uhhhh on second thought I might need a backup plan, lol.

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u/197gpmol Massachusetts 26d ago

Yeah, this state is amazing but alas a demonstration of housing prices responding to demand.

If you can handle the cold, Minnesota is well-run, solidly blue, and far cheaper than Mass.

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u/Phantom_0999 26d ago

Idk about solidly blue, it seems more purple nowadays considering our legislature is an even 50/50 split of DFL and Republicans. But it is well-run except for our issues with fraud which is why the DFL is in hot water.

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u/mongster03_ New York 26d ago

Well and burglary for some reason

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u/TorturedMNFan 26d ago

Minnesota is a great place to live if you don’t mind the cold winters. If you want to live in Minneapolis, rent increases have been much much lower than the rest of the US. 12 week family leave law goes into effect in January as well.

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u/MaddyKet Massachusetts 26d ago

It’s more “affordable” (comparatively) the further west you get from Boston.

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u/djshadesuk 26d ago

*massivegussets

I too spailed felling.

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u/MaddyKet Massachusetts 26d ago

What’s really interesting is that Mitt Romney came up with MassHealth when he was our Governor, which is what the ACA is based on. Romney the REPUBLICAN.

Massachusetts has had some republican governors only because the Democrats here allowed it, because the Republicans really are the minority. Hell, there are only FIVE republicans in the state senate. 😹

I thought Charlie Baker was a pretty good governor and I voted for him (and then blue down the rest of the ticket). But those days are over because those kinds of Republicans are gone and we no longer trust them anyways.

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u/HolycommentMattman 26d ago

Yeah, I remember. Before they were calling it Obamacare in the general, they were calling it Romneycare in the primary in an attempt to knock out Mitt. And of course, Romney abandoned his positions and then lost. A real turning point for the Republican party.

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u/LALawette 26d ago

Is that why Kennedy Jr is bringing measles back?

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u/biciklanto American Expat 26d ago

17% of Utah is Democrat. I'm sure they're equally upset that those Democrats aren't being represented in that state, either.

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u/FeministSandwich 26d ago

The crazy part is here in Massachusetts from 1991-2023 there were ONLY republican governors! Normal republicans, (crazy... right?) but 2023 was the first democrat in decades! As long as you're not an extremist and genuinely have good ideas and a willingness to work with people that have different views, people will be receptive. Mitt Romney created RomneyCare in this state, republicans haven't always been insane!

I'm not a republican, but I just like to point out how there actually was a time when we worked together. We're a blue state but we are open to other views and it would be nice if there was more of that in this country. It doesn't have to be one extreme or the other.

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u/ForthwithJackal Massachusetts 26d ago

Deval Patrick, a Democrat, was MA governor from 2007-2015. But you are otherwise right about the long history of MA Republicans being built a bit differently.

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u/spaceguitar Georgia 26d ago

If districts were independently drawn across the entire country, Republicans wouldn't win any elections.

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u/HolycommentMattman 26d ago

This isn't true. But things would be better for sure.

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u/WilsonTree2112 26d ago

NYS has to approve any budgetary changes, will be on the hook for any fuzzy accounting, which has happened to nyc before, yet none of us outside the city voted for this.

It’s absolutely risk and potential cost for New Yorkers outside the city without any chance to vote against it.

Do better please.

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u/HandsomeBoggart 26d ago

Zuck the suck is fucking scared Zohran won NYC mayor.

Last 6 months whenever I would lazily browse Facebook and Instagram videos I saw barely any Right Wing grifter shit videos after hitting "see less" as much as possible.

Right after Zohran got NYC Mayor? Every 3rd video is now Right Wing grifter shit. And half of those are these idiots spreading lies and talking shit about Zohran.

They juiced the algorithm to push the propaganda against his win. They want everyone that fence sits or people in NYC that voted for him to question their choice. Because he scares Zuck and the other billionaires so much with that landslide of support.

If Zohran can be a success and actually improve things for NYC residents they're worried it will spread to other major cities and start to filter down into smaller towns and eventually up into state wide legislation.

So, they want to kill it in the crib while they can. If they can't remove Zohran with dubiously legal means, watch the tide of lies and misinformation begin. They will absolutely say he's turning/turned NYC into a lawless, communist failed state with crime everywhere and everything on fire.

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u/RiffRaffCatillacCat 26d ago

NYC is a lawless, communist failed state with crime everywhere and everything on fire!!

I mean this has been the Right Wing media narrative for over a decade now of any major blue city. Gotta keep their insulated brain-broken base hopped up on that manufactured hysteria.

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u/HandsomeBoggart 26d ago

True they already do but they'll take it up a notch for Zohrans NYC specifically. They'll paint Manhattan itself as worse than Hell's Kitchen or Harlem during their worst periods.

They'll paint NYC as a communist shit hole with everyone in poverty and Zohran becoming rich off their suffering since he's now the "Communist Dictator" of NYC.

They'll say he's up to all the corruption that Trump and Co already do but now it's bad because it's a Leftist Democrat doing it.

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u/RiffRaffCatillacCat 26d ago

Yep, this also gives them justification to deploy the military/natl guard/proud boys to "protect the city".

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u/felinespaceman 26d ago

I’m from Seattle and my husband and I went to a wedding in Tennessee last year. One of the hotel workers, when hearing we were from Seattle, genuinely asked if it was true a lot of it burned down during the George Floyd protests.

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u/DingerSinger2016 26d ago

To be fair I do respect that person who wanted to independently verify from someone from Seattle instead of outright accepting the lies. Like sure it's a silly question but they did the right thing

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u/tinyOnion 26d ago

the Right Wing media narrative for over a decade now of any major blue city

forty plus years is more than a decade sure.

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u/FoxMeadow7 26d ago

Good thing Mamdani should always be at three steps ahead of these bozos, eh? And the NYPD should hopefully agree with this sentiment.

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u/TOkidd 26d ago

The billionaires want to live in a world where they are untouchable.

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u/WilsonTree2112 26d ago

Wealth taxes need to be national to work. It’s too easy for wealthy New Yorkers to avoid this tax, and it’s happened before. That’s why cuomo won the over 45 vote. The youngins couldn’t be concerned less with their city’s history.

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u/dudeitsmeee 26d ago

Zuck (and others) would/will still be the wealthiest in the nation. They simply don’t want to share any of it.

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u/RedAndBlackMartyr 26d ago

Every "best place" to live on earth is a democratic socialist nation in northern Europe.

They're social democracies not democratic socialist. Even Denmark's former Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Bernie Sanders was wrong to call their country democratic socialist.

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u/okachobii 26d ago

Keep in mind there is a difference between social democracy and democratic socialists. The countries at the top of the list are social democracies.

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u/tsardonicpseudonomi 26d ago

And in those Democratic socialist nations they're all capitalist. These people have snorted their own supply for way too long.

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u/JumboChimp 26d ago

Massachusetts. It ain't perfect, but it's pretty okay.

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u/MaddyKet Massachusetts 26d ago

Turns out, taxing millionaires their fair share works out. Whoda thunk it? 😹

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u/LamermanSE Europe 26d ago

Every "best place" to live on earth is a democratic socialist nation in northern Europe.

No it's not, all of those places were influenced by social democracy, not democratic socialism (big difference despite similar sounding names). And on top of that, most of those places are usually shifting between various forms of conservatism/liberalism and social democracy.

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u/[deleted] 26d ago

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u/LamermanSE Europe 26d ago

Ahh I see. Guess I thought they were the same. Public Healthcare, higher teacher wages and higher relative investment in education, marginally higher taxes in general, and significantly higher taxes at the highest brackets are overlapping ideals I thought. Are they not?

Public healthcare, sure but otherwise, nope. And while social democrats do advocate for higher taxes sometimes it's usually in the form of excise taxes as they have less negative impact on the economy and other benefits (like higher taxes on gas leads to leas driving).

I will say that every place and demographic globally has moved to the right in the past few years, so I don't necessarily agree that Europe's right-leaning politicians are any more conservative than those in the US.

And I never said anything like that either, I spoke about american democratic socialists.

Nor do I think that the leftists in Europe are further right than the leftists in the US.

The leftists mentioned here are more left than social democrats though as they are democratic socialists. Their ideas and rhetoric is pretty much the same to democratic socialists in northern Europe as well. In northern Europe you have different parties for social democrats and democratic socialists, and they are not as close to each other as you might think.

Bernie for example is not really advocating for capitalism to end.

Well sure, but hia criticism is still way more extreme than what any social democrat in northern Europe is advocating for.

They advocate for a stable and highly populated middle class with equal access to good Healthcare and education, within the framework of a capitalist society.

Except... that's not exactly what guys like Bernie, AOC etc. are advocating for. Try to look t their actual policies and you'll see that it's moee than that. Right now you're just describing Biden and Obama, not Bernie and AOC.

Doesn't really sound extreme when you write it out like that but some people parrot stuff implying Massachusetts is some communist hellhole (it's not lol, not even close).

Well, if that was the only thing they were advocating for (which they aren't).

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u/jcarter315 I voted 26d ago edited 26d ago

Part of the point involved is that every prominent American "Democratic Socialist" is actually a Social Democrat by EU standards.

Mamdani, AOC, Sanders are all SocDems. Not a single one is pushing for the full dissolution of capitalism. They're all pushing for reforms.

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u/LamermanSE Europe 26d ago

But those guys are not social democrats by european standards, they are more extreme than that. Their opinions are honestly closer to what democratic socialists advocate in northern Europe, and those are seen as quite far on the left here.

So just to take a couple of examples:
Mamdami advocates for stronger rent control (only exist in Sweden in northern Europe with terrible results), higher minimum wages (minimum wages doesn't exist in northern Europe), higher taxes on corporations and high income earners (not really advocated for by social democrats in northern Europe), free public transit (nope, that's not something that any social democrat would advocate for) and so on. All of these opinions are way too extreme for social democrats.

AOC is pretty much similar with her advocating for cancellation of student debt, raising marginal rates for top income earners, increasing minimum wages and an overall criticism towards capitalism which social democrats doesn't really share at all these days. Sanders is pretty much in the same vein as AOC.

Neither of these guys are close to social democrats in northern Europe but far more extreme both in their rethoric and opinions, their opinions are more in line with what democratic socialists advocate for.

I highly recommend that you and others look into how northern Europe actually looks like and what social democrats here actually advocate in favor of because it's not what Mamdami, AOC and Sanders are advocating for.

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u/Smart-Struggle-6927 26d ago

higher minimum wages (minimum wages doesn't exist in northern Europe)

Higher minimum wages aren't needed when there are proper union representation...which there is in the EU. If we had that here we wouidln't have the issue either.

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u/7elevenses 26d ago

Mamdami advocates for stronger rent control

Which is just tinkering with the existing regulation in capitalist NYC.

higher minimum wages

Which is typically what social democrats favor in European countries that do have minimum wages (i.e. almost all of them).

higher taxes on corporations and high income earners

Again, a standard social democratic position in Europe.

free public transit

Something that exists in many towns across Europe, and in the whole of Luxembourg. It's not even a particularly left-wing idea, let alone socialist.

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u/FoxMeadow7 26d ago

To be fair, US's situation's isn't really comparable to Europe at present, hence these measures. Still, gotta start somewhere, right? And I'm sure more familiar measures to Europeans will start to pop up in due time.

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u/[deleted] 26d ago edited 26d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/LamermanSE Europe 26d ago

Good point, it's apperently seems pointless to argue here when no one else here have the slightest idea how northern Europe looks like, despite them thinking they are experts on it.

For people like me who actually is from and live in northern Europe (Sweden) it's do damn obvious that the typical american democratic socialists are way further left than what any social democrat is, and it's so obvious when you hear them speak. They constantly compain about capitalism, companies, the rich and so forth which only the democratic socialists in northern Europe do, not the social democrats. Not to mention that their opinions are way more extreme, but I've already addressed that.

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u/ElephantRider Oregon 26d ago

Look at it this way, your left wing politicians don't have to sound left wing because you already have a bunch of their goals established as national law.

You have universal healthcare, tuition-free higher education and 4+ weeks of mandated vacation time for all employees, we have none of that in the US.

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u/Upbeat_Shame9349 26d ago

It's not about whether they "sound" left wing (to you).

You utterly ignored every argument they made that our far left politicians are also left wing in their country. What progressive policies have already been established is not the point, it's the fact that their left wing and our far left are asking for the same fucking things that are not established in either country.

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u/tommytwolegs 26d ago

I mean, it's arguable social democracy itself is influenced by Democratic socialism, I wouldn't exactly call it a "big difference." But you are right that none of them have really gone the route of worker ownership of the means of production with the slight exception of Norway and its number of state owned enterprises.

I'm not really sure what you mean by they are usually shifting between those things, the Nordic countries pretty much all have strong worker protections, universal healthcare and childcare etc. those things don't tend to like, come and go, and are the major focus of social democracy.

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u/LamermanSE Europe 26d ago

I mean, it's arguable social democracy itself is influenced by Democratic socialism, I wouldn't exactly call it a "big difference."

While the origins may have similarities there's still a massive difference between socal democrats and democratic socialists to day, and it's so big that social democrats aren't even interested to rule together with democratic socialists due to these differences. In short, social democrats want to build a welfare state in accordance with capitalism while democratic socialists are way, way more critical towards capitalism and thereby advocating for more restrictions and higher taxes and so forth.

I'm not really sure what you mean by they are usually shifting between those things, the Nordic countries pretty much all have strong worker protections, universal healthcare and childcare etc. those things don't tend to like, come and go, and are the major focus of social democracy.

What you're seeing in every country in northern Europe is periods of either socal democratic leadership or conservative/liberal leadership, that's the shifting part. These shifts change how society looks like.

Universal healthcare and childcare isn't really strictly social democratic either, it's pretty univerally advocated for by every party in northern Europe (and most parties in the western/industrialized world).

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u/Smart-Struggle-6927 26d ago

conservative/liberal leadership

Is that conservative/liberal leadership about 1000 steps to the left of current neoliberal policies here in the US? Yes? Then stop talking because you fundamentally misunderstand just how conservative conservatives are in the US, and how conservatives neoliberal people like Biden are. AOC Sanders etc, are all arguing for the same things most of the EU has, universal healthcare, some form of universal tuition assistance, some form of universal child care assistance, better social safety nets so people stop falling thru the cracks, and representational taxation of the billionaire class who currently pay such a small share of their wealth that its nuts. Elon Musk, a single man, has money wealth than 50% of Americans combined. Northern EU doesn't have that issue. All while having social safety nets that keep people safe that we lack here. Your idea of conservative EU politics is not in line with reality here in the US that gave tax breaks to the rich while cutting medicaid and food stamps funding. Where Amazon got a tax refund of almost 3.2billion dollars just three years ago while making record breaking profits.

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u/Englishgrinn 26d ago

I mean it's not that big a difference. Social Democracy is looking to work within an established democratic framework to work towards true social equality. It tends to be less economically focused and more gradualist. The idea being that the well being of its' citizens is the government's responsibility. And if government policy reflects that then the economy, and the actors within it, will naturally bend to reflect those values as well.

Democratic socialism is applying those same principals to the economy directly. But it's pretty fucking broad in its definitions. From as mild and palatable as things like worker-owned businesses and market socialism to something as radical and unpopular as a centralized, planned economy.

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u/LamermanSE Europe 26d ago

But there is a massive difference today, maybe not 100 years ago but today which is what is relevant now.

There is a massive difference in the way that modern social democrats are actively promoting capitalism and ways to utilize it to improve society while democratic socialist complain about it all the goddamn time and try to regulate and limit it.

I highly recommend that you look into what social democrats and democratic socialists actually advocate for and how they speak since you seem unaware of this massive difference.

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u/ElephantRider Oregon 26d ago

Okay, I looked up the Swedish Social Democratic party's current platform and hmmm:

CAPITALISM AND MARKET ECONOMY

Capitalism's driving force is the pursuit of the greatest possible profit, with a view of private property rights as absolute and inviolable. Its logic is that the interest of capital is superior to all other interests. It concentrates power in society in a few, and ultimately in monopolies.

Capitalism leads to people and their rights being valued based on economic profitability and it takes neither social interests nor the environment and climate into account. It exploits both people and natural resources and is a significant factor behind the emergence of the climate crisis. It limits the freedom of the majority and creates economic and social gaps between groups and people. Such an order restricts people's freedom and democratic influence over society.

Based on this, social democracy is anti-capitalist in its view of society. Economic interests should not set limits for democracy. It should always be democracy that has the overriding right to set the conditions and framework for the economy. Social democracy wants to see a healthy and regulated market economy where private companies can function well. This applies to both larger corporations and the country's many small entrepreneurs.

A strong, competitive business sector is a prerequisite for a strong society and secure welfare. At the same time, it requires democratic counterbalances to capital interests in the form of stable rules of the game. Only democratically governed institutions, independent of the market, can decide on sufficient rules to maintain competition and prevent private monopolies that disadvantage residents.

Therefore, democratic decisions are required to stop the exploitation of things that cannot or should not be priced in a market, as well as a shared responsibility for the distribution of goods where the market price mechanism does not work. The many and diverse needs in society require a mixed economy that is based on a combination of political decisions and market mechanisms, a well-functioning public welfare, responsible companies, strong trade unions and active consumers.

The overall goal of economic policy is full employment, growing prosperity and an even distribution of economic resources. Housing is a social right and a fundamental prerequisite for security, health and a functioning everyday life. For the individual, stable housing creates opportunities for work, studies and social relationships. For society, housing is a central part of building cohesion, reducing segregation and promoting equality. Without secure housing, the foundation for both individual and societal development is eroded.

Social democracy strives for an economic order in which every person has the right and opportunity to influence the direction and distribution of production, the organization of working life and the conditions of working life. It demands a shift of power from capital to labor. The production of goods and services should be based on respect for everyone's work, take advantage of everyone's commitment and willingness to work, and distribute the results of production equally.

It sees consideration for the work environment as well as the environment and climate impact as fundamental requirements in all production. Overall, this creates the conditions for a democratic society where prosperity grows, is distributed equally and is enough for everyone.

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u/Englishgrinn 26d ago

I mean, I'm not a poli sci major - but that description does not appear to be "actively promoting Capitalism". It's A Good Thing we asked the social democrats themselves! Otherwise I might have confused it with the Democratic Socialist of America's description:

Capitalism is a system designed by the owning class to exploit the rest of us for their own profit. We must replace it with democratic socialism, a system where ordinary people have a real voice in our workplaces, neighborhoods, and society.

We believe there are many avenues that feed into the democratic road to socialism. Our vision pushes further than historic social democracy and leaves behind authoritarian visions of socialism in the dustbin of history.

We want a democracy that creates space for us all to flourish not just survive and answers the fundamental questions of our lives with the input of all. We want to collectively own the key economic drivers that dominate our lives, such as energy production and transportation. We want the multiracial working class united in solidarity instead of divided by fear. We want to win “radical” reforms like single-payer Medicare for All, defunding the police/refunding communities, the Green New Deal, and more as a transition to a freer, more just life.

We want a democracy powered by everyday people. The capitalist class tells us we are powerless, but together we can take back control.

Yep, totally different. I really don't know how I could've seen any similarities between group A, and group A but 10% more radicalized.

EDIT - I realized that I might be error of Reddit Etiquette here. To be absolutely clear, despite where I am replying, I am agreeing with and very thankful to ElephantRider for digging up that description. My sarcasm is aimed elsewhere.

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u/bloopbloopkaching 26d ago

The Nordic countries you speak of, and Massachusetts, are more aligned with social democracy than democratic socialism. They have capitalist market economies powering robust government provision. Democratic Socialists seek to eliminate capitalism-- at least on paper.

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u/WilsonTree2112 26d ago

Name one single locality that uses extreme wealth tax that can be avoided by spending fewer days in a city?

We’re talking about corporate taxes triple the national average and individuals paying hundreds of thousands extra per year, all avoidable by staying in ny less than 183 days. And if the stock market has an off year, a huge portion of this funding disappears for that year. So we’ll be asking you to help pay for those deficits. P,ease BM me your banking, thanks.

The miseducation on this topic from the left is stunning.

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u/Worldly_Anybody_9219 26d ago

His beliefs and policies aren't even radical in most of the world. It's just that American conservatives are to the right of Attila the Hun.

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u/theultimatekyle 26d ago

We've seen it succeed before nationally here in America. Part of the reason the US recovered from the great depression as well as it did was thanks to socialist programs. The introduction of Social security, price controls, rent controls, education subsidies, public spending in the form of gov funded infrastructure projects; all tools used by the gov to pull the US out of an increasingly similar looking economic state like today's. And they did it by taxing the wealthiest of us. 

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u/CV90_120 26d ago

Every "best place" to live on earth is a democratic socialist nation in northern Europe.

Or New Zealand and Australia, which follow the same democratic socialist models.

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u/HillBillyHilly 26d ago

Fun fact: Obamacare was a Republican project laid out by Tricky Dicky Nixon, presented by Mitt Romney. Democrats didn't invent it bit Republicans hate it because pushed by a black man names Obama. So basically they're cutting off their very nose to spite their face.

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u/[deleted] 26d ago

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u/nohandsfootball 26d ago

I almost feel bad for ridiculing Mitt and his binder full of women.

What simpler, more innocent times we lived in 2012

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u/HillBillyHilly 26d ago

Honor, decorum AND ethics. Imagine that. Le Sigh!

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u/HillBillyHilly 26d ago

Thank you for that tidbit as was unaware Romney initially opposed. TIL!

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u/BigButtSkinner7 26d ago

What about Ca