There's an old saying about birds of a feather sticking together, and it seems New York City's self-proclaimed "democratic socialist" Mayor Zohran Mamdani takes it to heart, even across generations. During the city's annual Italian Heritage Month, Mamdani took to his X account, not to celebrate the rich history of Italian-Americans who built the city, but to drop the name of Vito Marcantonio. This isn't just an obscure figure; Marcantonio was a notorious socialist agitator, frequently accused of being a card-carrying communist.
Is anyone truly surprised by this latest display?
Marcantonio represents perhaps the furthest-left communist sympathizer—if not an outright communist—to ever sit in the House of Representatives. He represented what was then New York's 20th congressional district from 1939 to 1944, and then 18th congressional district from 1945 to 1950 as a member of the American Labor Party. That was after serving in the 20th as a Republican (!) from 1935 to 1936. His political journey, including a stint as a Republican early on, eventually settled him firmly within the American Labor Party, a front for radical leftist ideologies.
Queens Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, a rarity in New York City with her conservative values and Italian-American heritage, delivered a sharp and necessary response.
Ms. Paladino writes in part:
Of course he name drops an obscure Italian-American communist who was against America's participation in World War 2 and was investigated by the FBI for his ties to the international communist party.
Of all the great men and women of Italian descent who've contributed to New York City and the United States, this is the idiot he picks.
He is physically incapable of being anything other than a loathsome propagandist for communism.
As the most prominent Italian-American in city government, please allow me to formally disinvite you from ever mentioning Italian heritage ever again.
Paladino’s outrage is justified. Mayor Mamdani could have celebrated pillars of public service like former Mayors Fiorello La Guardia or Rudy Giuliani. He could have recognized countless entertainment figures like Dom DeLuise or Guy Fieri, journalists like Maria Bartiromo, or the everyday working Americans of Italian descent who built New York. Instead, out of an estimated 800,000 Italian-Americans in the city, the socialist Mamdani unearthed an obscure radical from nearly a century ago. Not even a contemporary leftist Italian-American figure like the screeching leftist and "little man syndrome" sufferer Robert DeNiro seemed to fit his agenda. No, he must reach back to the Depression era to laud arguably the most socialist-leaning member of Congress in American history, a man Mamdani likely views with admiration and envy.
That's how commies roll.
Vickie Paladino concludes:
My mother was a widow who raised five children on her own, working in a button factory. We didn't take a penny of government assistance. We relied on ourselves. It was hard work, but we did it, and we were grateful. And today I sit on the City Council, representing the very neighborhood I grew up in.
That's what being an Italian-American in New York means. Not the communist propaganda Zohran is pushing here.
Mamdani’s pathetic sidestep from genuine recognition of a vital demographic to endorsing a socialist troublemaker is a grave disservice to every American of Italian descent, regardless of their politics. He would have done better to simply utter the first six words of his post, "Happy Italian Heritage Month, New York," and then kept his virtual trap shut. This incident serves as a stark reminder of the radical ideologies permeating New York City leadership and the ongoing fight to preserve American values against those who seek to redefine them with divisive, anti-American narratives.
