The socialists are feeling their oats.
Perhaps that metaphor is particularly apt, given that some people think AOC’s teeth make her look rather horse-like, but that was not my intent. I think AOC is actually quite pretty.
Fresh off major victories in New York City and Seattle, socialists feel a wind at their back and are eager to hoist their sails to cruise into power.
Damn, too many metaphors.
The latest example of this is the entry of a New York City Councilman into the primary race against Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who few believe has distinguished himself in his position.
New York City councilman Chi Ossé (D), a democratic socialist from Brooklyn and ally of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D.), launched a primary challenge against House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) on Monday, setting up a fight between the highest-ranking Democrat in the House and a left-wing extremist.
Ossé, who left the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) after taking office in 2022 before rejoining the organization over the summer, hopes to follow Mamdani’s lead. Both DSA members, they have expressed similarly radical views on police, Israel, and other issues.
In June 2020, during the height of Black Lives Matter-led unrest across the country, Ossé wrote, “We’re going to defund the NYPD … I DONT SPEAK [pig]” in an Instagram caption.
He frequently invokes rhetoric like “late-stage capitalism,” has posted slogans like, “Eat the rich!” on X, and once wrote, “I wish [former president Joe] Biden were a socialist.”
Oh, for God’s sake. It is really dispiriting to see that I will wind up rooting for idiots like Hakeem Jeffries in order to avoid having to have even more idiotic people in Congress.
New York seems to be Ground Zero for the rebirth of socialism as a political force, even more than California. Washington and Oregon certainly have their share of ideological zombies as well, but New York started the movement with the election of AOC, who took down an incumbent Democrat. And not just any Democrat, but one who many thought would one day be Speaker of the House.
Representative Joseph Crowley of New York, once seen as a possible successor to Nancy Pelosi as Democratic leader of the House, suffered a shocking primary defeat on Tuesday, the most significant loss for a Democratic incumbent in more than a decade, and one that will reverberate across the party and the country.
Mr. Crowley was defeated by a 28-year-old political newcomer, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a former organizer for Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign, who had declared it was time for generational, racial and ideological change.
The last time Mr. Crowley, 56, even had a primary challenger, in 2004, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez was not old enough to vote.
Taking out Jeffries would be an even bigger shock, and by an even bigger dolt, I would guess. Not in raw intelligence, perhaps, but in this case, Mr. Chi Chi’s actually seems to quote current Marxist literature in public. AOC probably can’t even read that stuff.
Like Mamdani, Ossé grew up a child of privilege. His father, Reggie Ossé—known professionally as Combat Jack—was a music attorney who represented figures like Jay-Z and later served as managing editor of the Source, a hip-hop magazine. His maternal grandfather, Teddy Vann, was a music producer and songwriter who won a Grammy Award for his work with Luther Vandross.
Ossé was educated at Friends Seminary, a selective private school where tuition now tops $60,000.
While Ossé, 27, had told allies he planned to run for Congress in the wake of Mamdani’s victory, the mayor-elect reportedly urged him not to challenge Jeffries, fearing a potential primary fight could derail Mamdani’s agenda. The disagreement over Ossé’s candidacy, the New York Times reported, reached a boiling point, leading Mamdani to disinvite his ideological ally from his victory party on election night.
When an X user pointed out that Ossé had said “it would take a very dire situation” for him to run for Congress, Ossé responded, writing, “Seems like we’re in a dire situation.”
I do have to admit, it’s fun to see the revolutionaries fight amongst themselves and take aim at their fellow travelers. First up against the wall and all that. Let’s just hope the weapons they use remain words, not icepicks.
Mamdani, now that he is set to be Mayor, will have to decide between ideological fealty and access to massive federal dollars. He has already reached out to Trump because he wants those sweet federal dollars, so he may decide to suck up to Jeffries rather than throw in with Chi Chi’s.
Or not. Hard to tell. For all his flaws, Mamdani is much smarter than most of his socialist allies, who are as dumb as rocks. The new Mayor of Seattle sounds like a high-school freshman, and Mamdani just endorsed a moron for the State Assembly from Queens who babbles on like a teenage schoolgirl trying to explain communism.
Meet Aber Kawas.
Zohran Mamdani just endorsed her for a New York State Assembly seat in Queens.
Here is Kawas saying 9-11 was America’s fault because of our “system of capitalism, racism, white supremacy and islamophobia.” pic.twitter.com/hqXxc1Q4S0
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 18, 2025
Taking on a Queens Assemblyman is one thing. Trying to take out Hakeem Jeffries is quite another. AOC has proven it can be done, but does Mamdani want to risk it?
As Ed wrote earlier, AOC is not pleased, despite also being an ideological ally of Chi Chi’s.
Ocasio-Cortez is one of several high-profile progressives distancing from Ossé’s potential run, arguing that it is a distraction from New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s victory. …
Ocasio-Cortez told Axios during a brief interview at the U.S. Capitol that she was “not aware” that Ossé was challenging Jeffries.
- “But,” she added, “I certainly don’t think a primary challenge to the leader is a good idea right now.”
I’ve no doubt Jeffries is not pleased. Even if he wins, which one has to assume is likely, it will take resources away from other races he would want to invest in.
As for why New York is even more fertile territory than California? I have a theory. In California, the state money flows so freely that the politicians are mostly interested in scamming and skimming off the top. Ideological morons like Karen Bass can still win, of course, but most of the attention is on grabbing the bucks.
I’m sure the climate for graft is also good in New York, but the political culture may be somewhat more ideological.
Maybe not. That is my working theory.
