The Democrats in New York City have nominated a candidate who’s an unabashed socialist. A man who wants to raise the minimum wage to $30.00 an hour, offer free bus rides, a rent freeze, free childcare for every New Yorker up to the age of five, and increase the corporate tax to 11.5% to match New Jersey’s. For that, you can thank Newton’s Third Law of Motion, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Allow me to explain.

Zohran Mamdani is a 33-year-old politician from Queens who upset the established New York Democratic Party with his election night victory. Mamdani is more than just a liberal; he’s an extreme liberal. He is the exact opposite of the far-right MAGA wing that is currently running this country.

President Trump and his Republican sycophants in the House and Senate are cutting social safety nets like Medicaid. They want tax cuts for the rich, they’re anti-immigrant, and pro-Israel.

Mamdani is the exact opposite of that. He has vowed to be Donald Trump’s worst nightmare. He’s an immigrant who was born in Uganda and moved to New York when he was seven. He became a naturalized citizen in 2018.

While the MAGA movement has a strong Evangelical Christian base, Mamdani is a Muslim and makes his faith a strong part of his platform. He is pro-Palestinian and has accused Netanyahu of war crimes.

And while it might be easy to dismiss this as a bunch of whacked out liberal New York voters, take a look at the crowds Bernie Sanders and AOC are getting across the country in their “Fight the Oligarchy” tour. The socialist wing of the Democratic Party is getting some attention. Even here in the heartland.

Sanders started his tour to an overflowing crowd here in Omaha. I was at that rally, and the crowd was far from just a bunch of “Rage Against the Machine” fans. The crowd was a combination of young and old, urban and suburban, blue-collar and white-collar citizens. They were mostly a somewhat liberal group with moderate, non-political, and some traditional conservative voters thrown in. They were all reacting to the extreme policies of the Trump administration.

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Traditionally, in American politics, the pendulum swings both ways. But recently it has swung too far to the extremes. Center-right and center-left politicians are being voted out or resigning, and more immoderate candidates have taken their place.

Now the question becomes, is what happened in New York an aberration, or is it the canary in the coal mine?

While it’s still a year and a half away, the party in power normally loses seats during the off-year elections. Will we see a number of far-left socialists running against far-right conservatives? Or will more moderate traditional candidates emerge?

After the results of the 2024 election, Democrats are scrambling to find their voice. Will the future of the Democratic Party be someone like Mamdani? Are the Democrats seeing what the Republicans saw in 2016?

Here in the second district, Congressman Don Bacon says he will soon announce if he’ll run for reelection. There are already four democrats who have stated they want to be our next congressional representative. If Bacon decides to run, he most likely will have to face a MAGA candidate in the primary before he faces a Democratic challenger.

If he decides not to run, it will be interesting to see who fills that void.

The chaos in DC and inside Nebraska’s Republican party has got to be wearing the former Air Force General down a bit. You can’t blame him if he decides he’s had enough and wants to spend more time with his wife and grandkids.

But does the man who has led troops into battle still have the fire in his belly to remain in the game? We shall soon find out.

When Newton came up with the Third Law of Motion, he wasn’t thinking of the state of American politics. But his law works in that environment as well.

Newton’s Third Law of Motion may not be the only one of his discoveries that is relevant in American politics today. It might also behoove the MAGA crowd to pay attention to Newton’s Law of Gravity. The Trump administration may be riding high now, but what goes up must come down.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

Opinions expressed by columnists in The Daily Record are not necessarily those of its management or staff, and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Any errors or omissions should be called to our attention so that they may be corrected. Contact us at news@omahadailyrecord.com.