The Mudsills of Democracy
Dear Senators Booker, Schumer and and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
Hope you’re well. I recently wrote you a letter regarding Emil Bove. I was disappointed in your legalistic, procedural approach to resisting his appointment. It felt empty. I asked you to begin, instead, with our ideals, so you might awaken the power and responsibility of your constituents, my neighbors, our fellow citizens. I asked you to take a risk, say what you are fighting for.
Today, I’m asking you to tell me whether or not you support Zohran Mamdani and why.
We believe in democracy – a government rooted in the power of the people and their representatives. It requires participants to present and defend positions, establish coalitions and ultimately make decisions. Most important, it is something we do – together.
We should be excited by New York’s enthusiasm for and commitment to Mamdani. He has awakened a broadly pitched political movement by speaking to the concerns of New Yorkers – affordability, healthcare, public safety. New Yorkers see him as fighting for their concerns, on their behalf, as their representative. What we see in Mamdani’s campaign is democracy.
Would you instead endorse Eric Adams? Andrew Cuomo? Adams has mired himself in corruption and incompetence. Andrew Cuomo’s campaign seems only to fight for itself while assiduously concealing his many abuses of power. Their sputtering campaigns for mayor draw their urgency not from the public trust but from a public sense entitlement.
When today’s Democratic Party leadership cries for democracy but refuses to recognize it in action, what exactly are they fighting for?
In his 1858 “Mud Sill” Speech, South Carolina Senator James Hammond framed democracy as a privilege, not a right. He cast no difference between the slaves of the south and the “whole hireling class of manual laborers” in the North. These were the mudsills of society – the base of the wall. There was only a mistake. In the North, they had been given the power to vote: “Our slaves do not vote. We give them no political power. Yours do vote, and, being the majority, they are the depositories of all your political power.” To Hammond, the mudsills of society had no place in the political process.
Lincoln’s supporters would hold Hammond’s insults with pride. When Lincoln debated Douglas at Galesburg, they carried the banner, Small Fisted Farmers, Mudsills of Society, Greasy Mechanics for A. Lincoln. They understood that democracy belongs to everyone—from its “mudsills” to its leaders.
How far are we from Hammond’s disdain when the DNC disregards the commitments Mamdani has drawn from the people of New York?
If our Democratic Party claims to be the protector of democracy, then it must understand that democracy includes everyone – from its mudsills to its leaders. If not, is it any better than the antebellum Southern Democratic Party?
So tell me. Will you support Mamdani and why?
I hope to hear from you soon.
Respectfully
