'The city has swagger'

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'The city has swagger'

January 5, 2022

Stephen Collinson and Shelby Rose

'The city has swagger'

You get nothing in New York for being a shrinking violet.

But even compared with the city's bombastic political titans like Ed Koch, Rudy Giuliani and Donald Trump, its new mayor, Eric Adams, is getting stuck in. He's been in office for only four days, but Adams (above) has already knocked back a powerful teachers' union that wants to go back to virtual learning as Omicron spikes. And "Hizzoner," as the Big Apple's tabloids delight in dubbing its mayors, also called 911 on two men having a fight while he waited for a subway train.

Adams is seen by many Democrats as a model of centrist liberalism at odds with ultra-progressives like predecessor Bill de Blasio and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents parts of the Bronx and Queens. And he clearly plans to be "king of the hill, top of the heap," to quote New York's unofficial anthem.

"When a mayor has swagger, the city has swagger," Adams said on Monday. "We've allowed people to beat us down so much that all we did was wallow in Covid -- it's all we did -- and we no longer believe this is a city of swagger, this is a city of resiliency. ... We're going to survive."

Maybe, after months of misery, Adams is on to something, especially on the devastating impact of online schooling. "It's a luxury to say 'stay at home' when you have all the tools that you needed, but for black, brown children that … don't have access to some of the basic things, school is the best place for you," Adams said Tuesday on CNN.

The mayor has already become a strident voice in a building national argument that Omicron's ubiquity means society will grind to a halt if people don't resolve to live with it while doubling down on vaccinations and boosters. "We have to be open," Adams said, warning that poorer people can't pay rent or afford to live if workplaces close.

Still, he's laying a huge bet, effectively picking a fight with Covid-19 itself, one that few other leaders have won. One thing is for sure: Adams won't commit the ultimate sin in New York politics -- be boring.

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Hundreds of drivers had to bed down in their cars and trucks overnight on Interstate 95 in Virginia after a heavier-than-expected snowstorm. Virginia's Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, who was among those stranded, quipped when he finally made it back to Washington: "It wasn't boring, because, you know, it was kind of a survival challenge."

'It's an uphill fight'

Republicans jumped on ex-President Donald Trump's stolen-election lies to enact the most sweeping state voter suppression laws in decades. In many of the battlegrounds that will decide the 2024 election, it's now harder to vote and easier to steal power.

And as CNN's Kate Sullivan writes for Meanwhile, time is running out for Democrats to do something about it.

Midterm elections in November could flip control of Congress to Republicans, and the chance for electoral reform will die. Which is why Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, launched the year with a fresh push to pass two bills: the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. Both are opposed by virtually every Republican and aim to fight voter suppression by making it easier to register to vote, designating Election Day a public holiday, ensuring states have early voting for federal elections and allowing all voters to request mail-in ballots.

You've heard this story before: Schumer can't pass the bills unless the Senate alters the rule requiring a 60-vote supermajority to block a filibuster for most major legislation. And to push a rewrite through the 50-50 chamber with a deciding vote by Vice President Kamala Harris, he must get two key Democratic senators on board -- Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who have both expressed strong opposition to changing the rules along party lines.

Can he do it? It's still unclear. But Schumer told CNN on Tuesday that he and many of his Democratic colleagues have been in "constant" discussions with Manchin and Sinema. "It's an uphill fight, as you know, but we're going to keep at it because it's too important to abandon," Schumer said. His push, of course, coincides with the anniversary of the January 6 riot by Trump's mob, and Schumer says Republican voter suppression and the insurrection are a one-two punch.

"Make no mistake about it: this week Senate Democrats will make clear that what happened on January 6th and the one-sided, partisan actions being taken by Republican-led state legislatures across the country are directly linked, and we can and must take strong action to stop this anti-democratic march," the Democratic leader wrote in a letter to colleagues on Monday:

A giant panda cub rolls down the snow-covered hills at the National Zoo on Monday. (National Zoo)

Thanks for reading.

On Wednesday, a US Senate Rules and Administration Committee hearing takes place on oversight of the US Capitol Police following the January 6 insurrection.