New York City is currently going through a contentious primary contest to decide the Democrat candidate for mayor. Because the city is deep blue, that winner will undoubtedly go on to victory in the general election. It doesn’t matter that crime has skyrocketed, the city’s economy is in shambles, or that freedom has been quashed heavily during the pandemic by the current Democrat administration. Partisanship reigns supreme, and the days of someone like Rudy Giuliani winning are over.

Meanwhile, Andrew Yang, while still on the left by every available measure, has tried to separate himself from the pack as a different kind of Democrat. His economic plans are decidedly socialist, which isn’t surprising given this is New York City we are talking about. Yet, his overall demeanor and stance on fighting crime have earned him scorn from many in the race.

In fact, things have gotten so bad that Yang, who is Asian, was cut out of the “people of color” alliance Democrats so often cite. This is Eric Adams, one of Yang’s chief opponents, claiming that Yang is just a racist who is trying to stop a black or Hispanic person from winning.

On the Yang/Garcia coalition, former New York governor David Paterson says RCV “enables candidates to manipulate the process in a way that defies the will of the voters.”
Ashley Sharpton says it “is a cynical attempt by Garcia and Yang to disenfranchise Black voters.” And more 👇🏼

— Juan Manuel Benítez (@JuanMaBenitez) June 20, 2021

The assertion that people voting for who they want to vote for somehow disenfranchises black voters is such a galaxy-brain take that it would make Stacey Abrams blush.

Of course, what Adams is whining about is perfectly normal in ranked-choice elections. Candidates team up to try to make themselves the most likely top two choices. That improves the odds that one of those people will end up garnering a majority.

In a surprise move, Yang dropped the nice guy act and went back at Adams, accusing him of race-baiting.

Today Andrew Yang said of Eric Adams that the "last thing New York City needs is a mayor who uses race-baiting any time he is criticized."

— Ross Barkan (@RossBarkan) June 21, 2021

Yang isn’t wrong. Adams has leveled charges of racism several times throughout the race, including when he was criticized for actually living in New Jersey. As the playbook dictates, anything a Democrat doesn’t like is racist. It’s certainly surprising to see Yang, who is typically never salty, get into the mud a bit. It was obviously necessary for him to respond, though.

What’s funny is that Adams is a former police officer and actually agrees with Yang on New York City’s crime problem. You’d think they wouldn’t directly go after each other because the ultra-woke, “defund the police” crowd is being represented in the race by Maya Wiley, a “civil rights activist” and lawyer.

Regardless, I could sum all this up in one phrase – New York City is screwed. No matter who wins this primary and goes on to be mayor, they aren’t going to do what it takes to get crime under control because that would rely on actually snubbing the social justice movement and doing things that make sense. Yang might be a slight reprieve from that reality, but he’s still a left-winger in most areas. In the end, these blue cities haven’t learned their lesson, and it’s an open question if they ever will.