End of the road for Eric Adams
I’m always one to factually defend the Democratic Party against whatever hyperbolic, misleading, or fictional criticism is being cooked up by opportunistic Twitter pundits at any given time. It’s not that the Democrats are above criticism. It’s that 97% percent of the criticism sent their way is invalid, and generally consists of demands that the Democrats do things that are literally impossible.
That said, there are times when we have no choice but to loudly and publicly push for a Democratic office holder to do a certain thing that they’re hesitant to do. That’s where we find ourselves with New York Governor Kathy Hochul. She has the power to remove dangerously compromised New York City Mayor Eric Adams from office, and she needs to do it.
There are some Twitter pundits who are insisting that Hochul doesn’t have the power to do this. But back in the real world, serious people in serious positions are pointing out that Hochul has this power, and demanding that she use it. Various New York City officials are calling for Hochul to remove Adams, and even Hochul’s own Lieutenant Governor is publicly calling for Adams’ ouster.
There are some arguments out there for why Hochul shouldn’t do it. Some have argued that it would set a dangerous precedent whereby red state Governors could begin ousting Democratic Mayors in major cities. But every state’s laws are different. And this is one of those times when we know the Republicans are going start doing this kind of thing anyway, and certainly for underhanded reasons, so we might as well do it for proper reasons.
There is also the argument that Adams would simply fight his ouster in court. Yes, that would likely happen. But the judge assigned the case would have to make an initial decision about whether Adams can remain on the job while the case is being litigated. If that judge rules up front that Adams remains fired until the case is finished, then we’re pretty much done with Adams for the rest of his term. And with his 12% approval rating, he’s not going to be able to get back into the mayor’s office by running in 2025.
Kathy Hochul has to remove Eric Adams. It’s not just that he’s an inept mayor who isn’t even trying to do the job right. It’s not even that he’s a crook who’s using the office to illegally enrich himself (as evidenced by his indictment). It’s that Adams is now 100% beholden to Donald Trump. Given that Trump has a personal grudge against his hometown and wants to use the federal government to rip it to pieces, Adams cannot be allowed to remain in place as Trump’s puppet. Governor Hochul needs to remove Adams now.
