Normally Podcast: Washington Crime, Virginia Shifts, and the Cuomo Twist

Summary

Episode Summary: Normally Podcast - "Washington Crime, Virginia Shifts, and the Cuomo Twist"

Release Date: August 12, 2025
Hosts: Mary Kathryn and Carol Markowitz
Podcast: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show by iHeartPodcasts

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Introduction and Good News

The episode begins with hosts Mary Kathryn and Carol Markowitz sharing encouraging news that Vinay Prasad has returned to the FDA ([02:54]). They express enthusiasm about his reinstatement, noting, "Once you've been burned like that, it's probably pretty hard to say, sure, I'll go work for the government again" (Mary Kathryn, [03:04]). This return is viewed positively as it strengthens their position against ongoing political campaigns, particularly those spearheaded by far-left elements.

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Decline in Interest Over Jeffrey Epstein

Carol highlights a significant drop in public interest concerning Jeffrey Epstein cases, referencing Harry Enten from CNN: "Google searches for Jeffrey Epstein are down 89% from just three weeks ago. We said we don't want to talk about it. And the country agreed" ([03:27]). This decline is attributed to the public's desire to move past the scandal, aligning with Trump's influence: "It's Trump's world. We just live in it" ([03:55]).

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Raising Children Without Screens

Mary Kathryn commends Carol for successfully raising children accustomed to dining out without the distraction of screens. She shares personal anecdotes, such as taking her toddlers to places like Waffle House and a local Mexican restaurant, where her children behaved admirably: "They even ordered for themselves. It was adorable" (Mary Kathryn, [04:20]). This approach is praised as a model for effective parenting.

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Trump's Proposal to Deploy National Guard in D.C.

A major focus of the discussion centers on former President Donald Trump's proposal to deploy 800 National Guard troops to Washington D.C. to combat rising crime rates. Carol supports the move, stating, "Trump can debunk every false left-wing narrative about proactive policing. I'd like to see him do that" ([05:57]). Mary Kathryn acknowledges the legal and administrative aspects, noting that Trump has the authority to mobilize the National Guard in D.C. independently of local governance: "This is within his powers. The D.C. city government, even though it has power, thanks to a 1973 law, it's a partnership with the federal government" ([06:32]).

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Current Crime Statistics and Media Portrayal

The hosts delve into the current state of crime in Washington D.C., citing specific statistics and media portrayals:

• Statistics: In 2024, there were 22,320 crimes against persons in D.C., predominantly assaults, with a homicide rate of 27.3 per 100,000 people ([10:06]). While this rate is lower than some of the world's most dangerous cities, it still places D.C. just behind Detroit and Baltimore in the U.S.

• Media Critique: Carol criticizes media outlets like Newsweek for downplaying the severity by comparing D.C.'s crime rates to international cities rather than domestic counterparts: "They are comparing themselves to cities in Mexico, Haiti, and South Africa instead of other U.S. capitals" ([06:17]).

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Jeanine Pirro's Stance on Youth Crime

A pivotal point in the episode is the discussion of statements made by Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. She emphasizes the need for stricter laws to curb youth-led violent crimes:

• Quote: "We need to get rid of this concept of, you know, no cash bail. We need to recognize that the people who matter are the law-abiding citizens" (Jeanine Pirro, [11:27]).

Mary Kathryn and Carol commend Pirro for her tough stance, referring to her as a "real petite little badass" (Carol, [12:52]). They highlight issues like carjacking, referencing personal stories and emphasizing the dangerous environment created by lenient laws.

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Federal and Local Partnerships to Combat Crime

The conversation shifts to collaborations between federal law enforcement and Virginia authorities to reduce violent crime. Carol mentions a partnership that successfully removed 400-500 violent felons from Northern Virginia streets: "Navy Federal partnered with Virginia and Governor Glenn Youngkin to get like 400 to 500 violent felons off the streets" ([13:59]).

Mary Kathryn adds that these efforts include addressing lenient penalties, especially for offenses like grand theft auto, which remains a misdemeanor in Virginia: "A friend's car was stolen, and they learned that grand theft auto is a misdemeanor. There's no reason for police to pursue" ([12:52]).

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Public Perception and Community Concerns

Residents express mixed feelings about security in D.C. While some data suggests improvement, personal narratives reveal persistent fears:

• Resident Quote: "This is a safe city, but overhearing and witnessing gang threats and thuggery is disturbing" ([14:20]).

Mary Kathryn shares her own cautious approach to navigating the city, especially at night, highlighting ongoing safety concerns despite statistical improvements.

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Political Implications and Upcoming Elections

Mary Kathryn and Carol analyze the political landscape, focusing on upcoming elections and the potential impact of crime on voter behavior:

• Virginia's Political Shift: The state is portrayed as a battleground with candidates like Abigail Spanberger facing scrutiny over her stances on issues such as abortion and transgender athletes in sports.

• Spanberger's Position: Carol discusses Spanberger's evasive responses to critical questions, highlighting her campaign's attempt to balance parental rights with controversial policies: "She can't say yes or no on this just like she can't on the boys and women's sports because she will get lambasted by her left flank" ([27:11]).

• Andrew Cuomo's Revival: The hosts express surprise at former Governor Andrew Cuomo's continued political relevance, speculating on his strategy to introduce "Zoran's Law" aimed at preventing the wealthy from monopolizing affordable housing: "He says, 'Zoran lives in a rent-controlled apartment. It's time we address this injustice.'" ([37:14]).

Carol critiques Cuomo's approach, noting the irony of his personal wealth juxtaposed against his political rhetoric: "You are the only one who earned it honestly. So, yeah, I don't know." ([38:39]).

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Conclusion and Final Thoughts

As the episode wraps up, the hosts reiterate the significance of combating crime and maintaining effective governance in urban centers like Washington D.C. They emphasize the necessity of strong legal frameworks and proactive policing to ensure the safety and well-being of residents.

Mary Kathryn concludes with reflections on the broader implications for Democratic strategies in Virginia, advocating for continued support of effective leadership to sustain progress and address pressing social issues.

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Notable Quotes

• Mary Kathryn: "Once you've been burned like that, it's probably pretty hard to say, sure, I'll go work for the government again." ([03:04])

• Carol Markowitz: "Jeanine Pierro is no joke. She is the U.S. attorney for District of Columbia. She is a real petite little badass." ([12:52])

• Jeanine Pirro: "We need to get rid of this concept of, you know, no cash bail. We need to recognize that the people who matter are the law-abiding citizens." ([11:27])

• Mary Kathryn: "You can't just have the kids and you gotta raise these kids." ([05:25])

• Carol Markowitz: "This is a Trump win one way or the other." ([15:57])

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Key Topics Covered

1. Vinay Prasad's Return to the FDA: Strengthening the FDA's mission amidst political challenges.
2. Decline in Public Interest Over Jeffrey Epstein: Shifting focus back to current issues under Trump's influence.
3. Parenting Without Screens: Effective methods for raising well-behaved children in public settings.
4. Trump's National Guard Proposal for D.C.: Potential impact on crime rates and federal-local dynamics.
5. Current Crime Rates in Washington D.C.: Analysis of statistics versus media portrayal.
6. Jeanine Pirro's Crackdown on Youth Crime: Introduction of stricter laws to deter violent offenses.
7. Federal and Local Law Enforcement Partnerships: Strategies to reduce violent crime in Virginia and D.C.
8. Political Dynamics in Virginia: Examination of candidates' stances on controversial social issues.
9. Andrew Cuomo's Political Strategy: Attempted revival through housing legislation targeting affordability and wealth concentration.

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This episode of Normally Podcast provides an in-depth analysis of pressing crime issues in Washington D.C., the political maneuvers in Virginia's evolving landscape, and the unexpected political activities of former Governor Andrew Cuomo. Through candid discussions and insightful commentary, Mary Kathryn and Carol Markowitz offer listeners a comprehensive understanding of the intersection between crime, politics, and community safety.

Transcript

[Mary Kathryn]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Mary Kathryn]

Hey, guys. We are back on normally the show with normalish takes for when the news gets weird. I am Mary Kathryn.

[Carol Markowitz]

And I am Carol Markowitz. We have some good news to kick off this. So normally gets results. Vinay Prasad is back at the fda.

[Mary Kathryn]

It's true. It's true. It's so exciting. That is a big one to come back from. And I'm glad that the powers that be made that decision that they were prevailed upon that he was good. I'm glad that he accepted the position because once you've been burned like that, it's probably pretty hard to say, sure, I'll go work for the government again. Which is why we lose good people.

[Carol Markowitz]

Absolutely.

[Mary Kathryn]

So I love this news.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. So, you know, I really, I credit this show. I mean, I think we did it.

[Mary Kathryn]

So direct line.

[Carol Markowitz]

Direct line at us on the back.

[Mary Kathryn]

Well, and also what it may mean, as we noted in our last episode when we were talking about that is a falling down the depth chart of the Loomer campaign against whomever she wants in the administration. And that would be good as well.

[Carol Markowitz]

Absolutely. I want to take another little credit. Harry Enten at CNN says that Google searches for Jeffrey Epstein are down 89% from just three weeks ago. We said we don't want to talk about it. And the country agreed.

[Mary Kathryn]

The normies win again on this one.

[Carol Markowitz]

It's also, it's Trump's world. We just live in it. He was like, stop talking about it. People are like, all right, done.

[Mary Kathryn]

Yeah, yeah. That didn't go so. I thought you were gonna say, I'm getting results because I'm out here raising my children to sit in restaurants without screens. Because that happened this weekend.

[Carol Markowitz]

I'm super proud of you. I, you know, this is the way to do it. I actually tried to find an article that I wrote a long time ago about how, like, should you take your kids to restaurants? Like, will you control your kids at the restaurant? Are they running around? Are they staring at people? Are they turning around? You know, are they under some sort of supervision? Then go ahead, bring them to restaurants. It doesn't matter how fancy.

[Mary Kathryn]

Yeah. I took a two and a half and a three and a half year old and we've been training them. Gotta go to the Waffle House. Make them sit, make them learn.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Kathryn]

Thank you, Waffle House. To being a place that is open to such things. And then I took them to like a Medium level. You just like a Mexican restaurant. It wasn't anything fancy on Sunday after church, and they were killing it. They were great. They even ordered for themselves. It was adorable.

[Carol Markowitz]

That's the best. That's how you do it. I, you know, again, high praise to you. And I think that really should be the standard. Honestly, I think everyone should learn to do that.

[Mary Kathryn]

Yeah. You can't just have the kids. You got to raise these kids.

[Carol Markowitz]

No, like, it's a whole thing.

[Mary Kathryn]

It's a real thing. Oh, man.

[Carol Markowitz]

The big news today is that Trump wants to fix D.C. which I think is a good idea. I don't know why it's controversial. I think it's just controversial because his name is Donald Trump. Trump. I don't see anything wrong with bringing in National Guard to reduce crime in D.C. i think it's not impossible. I think that's one of the main things to really say here. Trump said he wants to add. He wants to bring in 800 National Guard troops. They'll be assigned to the nation's capitol. Media outlets are largely losing their minds today about this, but I love it.

[Mary Kathryn]

Yeah. I think this is one of those things that's particularly triggering to media. And look, I have, like, I have some.

[Carol Markowitz]

Maybe a hardest hit.

[Mary Kathryn]

Yeah. I have some concerns. Right. About him knowing what his limits are on what his power is. But the D.C. national Guard, unlike other states where you do have to have more in concert work with governors, he is in charge of that.

[Carol Markowitz]

That's right.

[Mary Kathryn]

So this is within his powers. The D.C. city government, even though it has power, thanks to a 1973 law, to govern its own areas of the city, it is a partnership with the federal government. And if you are not doing your part.

[Carol Markowitz]

Exactly.

[Mary Kathryn]

And if, for instance, I don't know, Donald Trump going around the city, sees a bunch of homeless encampments and is like, I don't like this because we're about to host a bunch of people for the 250th celebration, and I want this place to look good. You're gonna run into some issues. If one of Donald Trump's DOGE employees goes out in Adams Morgan and he and his significant other are attempted carjacked, and he sticks up for his significant other and is beat by 10 teenagers.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Kathryn]

You're going to have some issues with this current president. And I think that's where this sort of got this ball rolling.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. My friend John Cardillo, who is ex nypd, posted. If Trump is serious about federalizing dc, takes control of their PD and turns them Loose. It will work. We know it will work because it worked in New York city in the 90s. It worked in other places as well. Trump can debunk every false left wing narrative about proactive policing. I'd like to see him do that.

[Mary Kathryn]

Yeah, that. And that's the thing that, that D.C. definitely lost sight of from 2020 to. Definitely to 2023. And then things went to a super high. They were at like 39 homicides per 100,000 in 2023. And then it was like, ooh. I think partly when Trump looked like he might be coming to office, they were like, we should probably get things under control. They have, like, the crime, the violent crime rates have been coming down. It is safer to be on the metro than it was before because things had gotten so out of control. I think it's interesting that Muriel Bowser was on MSNBC this weekend saying, I've been talking to Trump. We have an issue that we are trying to tackle. There is work to be done. The fact that she's signaling that she's communicating with him and that there's a problem on MSNBC is such a vibe shift from 2020. It is wild. Wild, right?

[Carol Markowitz]

So the media is covering this as like, the worst thing that's ever happened, but they're also saying basically that crime is just not that bad. Like, Newsweek has a headline. Are Trump's claims about dangerous Washington D.C. backed by data? And yeah, they kind of are, because look at this quote from that same article. In Washington, the total number of crimes against persons was 22,320 in 2024, with the majority of those crimes made up of assault offenses. And so, you know, they note that as if, oh, just it was just assault offenses. Like, it was no big deal, but. And then they continue, but the data show that the District appears to have a higher rate of crime against persons compared to the most populated states like California, New York and Texas. And then they go on to say that Washington's homicide rate last year was 27.3 per 100,000 people. This is far lower than the 10 most dangerous cities in the world according to that metric. But then you look at the cities that they're measuring against, and it is a bunch of cities in Mexico. The only one I've heard of is Tijuana. And then like, Port au Print, Haiti, Mandela Bay, South Africa. They're not comparing themselves to, like, other capital cities. They're comparing themselves to, like, who knows where in, you know, Guayaquil, Ecuador. Come on.

[Mary Kathryn]

Also, also, if you're on the depth chart in the United States of America, just behind Detroit and Baltimore. That's also not good. Yes, it's not good. So I think there's like a. Because this is a federal and local partnership and always has been as a result of it being a federal district, the federal government has more power here than it would other places. Now, I do think they've been doing a better job over the last two years than they were before that, but the bar was quite low. The other problem that D.C. has is the same one that many American cities had during the 2020-2023 we all went insane era. Not us, the normies, but the cities did, right? And that's that they weren't prosecuting many of the arrests made so people could be arrested, maybe even prosecuted, but given very little jail time. This is particularly true with youth crime in D.C. where Jeanine Pirro, actually, who is the new attorney for the area, said, hey, all these kids committing crimes who know they won't be punished, they don't come to me. So we got to deal with that. Here she is talking a little bit about what happens to people like the 15 year olds who beat the Doge employee, also known as Big Balls, appropriately named in this case. She's talking about how the city deals with them.

[Jeanine Pirro]

What I can tell you is this. I see too much violent crime being committed by young punks who think that they can get together in gangs and crews and beat the hell out of you or anyone else. They don't care where they are. They can be in Dupont Circle, but they know that we can't touch them. Why? Because the laws are weak. I can't touch you if you're 14, 15, 16, 17 years old and you have a gun. I convict someone of shooting another person with an illegal gun on a public bus in the chest, intent to kill. I convict him. And you know what? The judge gives him probation, says you should go to college. We need to go after the D.C. council and their absurd laws. We need to get rid of this concept of, you know, no cash bail. We need to recognize that the people who matter are the law abiding citizens. And it starts today, but it's not going to end today because the President is going to do everything we need to do to make sure that these emboldened criminals understand. We see you, we're watching you, and we're gonna change the law to catch you.

[Carol Markowitz]

I mean, Jeanine Pierro is no joke. She is the U.S. attorney for District of Columbia. She is a real petite little Badass.

[Mary Kathryn]

Yeah. Well, and this is a real thing that particularly young people in D.C. know that there will be few consequences for their actions, whether it's shoplifting or assault. Right. Or stealing cars is a big one. Carjacking is huge around here. Something you have to watch out. A friend, Charmaine Yost, tweeted that her son's car was stolen from out in front of their house in D.C. and at that point, they learned that grand theft auto is a misdemeanor. There's no reason for police to pursue. They're not going to get punished. This also what they're doing. Cash Patel talked about this today. The head of the FBI is like a partnership they made with Virginia, where federal law enforcement went to Northern Virginia, where some of these areas do not want to prosecute, do not want to help people out, do not want to protect them from violent criminals. And they partnered with Virginia and Governor Glenn Youngkin and got like 400 to 500 violent felons off the streets during their partnership. So that's part of what it looks like they're attempting to do here.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right. Matthew Foldy had a post on X that I really liked. He's quoting the Washington Post, and the quote in the Washington Post is, quote, this is a safe city. But over hearing and witnessing gang threats and then watching the camera footage of the thuggery is disturbing, said one resident, speaking on the condition of anonymity over concerns of personal safety.

[Mary Kathryn]

Yeah.

[Carol Markowitz]

You know, if you can't tell the media that you're concerned about crime because you're worried about crime coming at you, that's a real problem.

[Mary Kathryn]

Yeah. And just as somebody who lives in the area, it is. It feels different to go to D.C. than it did 10 years ago. Right. It feels different than it did three years ago. Now I have just gotten to the point where daytime Metro riding might be possible with my kids. I've been, you know, it's. I'm not going to go by myself and be vulnerable. Until recently, when it has gotten quite a bit better. Certainly not at night. When I go to the city at night, I am more careful than I used to be about parking, about using a parking deck when possible, about not walking very far, about watching at stoplights when there might be someone around me, because as I said, carjacking is one of the huge ones. So there are real problems here. And he has some power, Congress has a lot of power that they can overturn the D.C. city Council on some of these more lenient laws. I think there is a risk, as always, where you overplay your hand. Right. Although I think D.C. is a place where people are. There aren't that many people who live here. A lot of people watching from the outside are like, yeah, it'd be nice if you could just walk around the District. By the way, the new hip place to hang out, the Navy Yard had so many gangs of young people coming to rob folks and cause other mayhem that they have a curfew there right now this week to deal with it. I mean, these are real issues.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. I think just taking the side of crime is going to be tough for people trying to oppose Trump. He wants to fight crime. You want to stop that. That makes no sense. So I think this is going to be a Trump win one way or the other.

[Mary Kathryn]

And one more point on that note, I saw somebody post a Reddit, a Washington D.C. reddit where someone just said, hey, it's okay to want lower crime. And he was just lambasted in the comments by people who are this side of the left, this part, this flank of the Democratic Party that animates so much of their stupid policies and the energy in their party, which is like so un. Normie. The opposite of normie.

[Carol Markowitz]

Exactly.

[Mary Kathryn]

Tell a person no wanting to live safely in your city is problematic. It's not problematic. It's normal.

[Carol Markowitz]

It's super normal. We're going to take a quick break and come right back with a story out of Fairfax county that is going to blow your mind.

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[Mary Kathryn]

All right, we are back on normally with a very not normal story out of Fairfax County, Virginia in Northern Virginia, Fairfax County Public Schools. This is ABC 7 News Local News reporting. And by the way, I want to commend the reporter Nick Minock who does these stories. He found out that the local public schools are launching an investigation into claims that school school staff arranged abortions for students and didn't tell their parents. These allegations come from 2021. Someone got leaked a testimony about this from one of these young ladies in 2021 when this allegedly happened. One of the girls involved was 17 years old. It is also alleged that in concert with a guidance counselor and a principal at Centerville High School, taxpayer money may have been used for these abortions that were undertaken without calling parents. Obviously against Fairfax County Public Schools policy on paper. Also against the law in Virginia which requires parental notification for minors.

[Carol Markowitz]

That is quite a story. How is that not the biggest story in the country? You know what I mean? Like, I'm just trying to picture a reverse kind of story, whatever it is. A public school that decided to take kids to church every week. A public school that helped two people get married because we believe that marriage is a good thing. Any kind of political thing on the right would be. This would just be wall to wall news everywhere. And I learned about it through a thread on X by Walter Kurt, WC Dispatch. And I just read this thread with my jaw on the floor.

[Mary Kathryn]

Yes. And this is, by the way, as he points out, this is two young women. But the fact that this happened and they're investigating it, and they, by the way, did put out a statement saying this is by no means acceptable under our policies. Okay. But I'd really like to know how many people this happened with.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Mary Kathryn]

Because both young ladies named the same guidance counselor. I believe the same principal was involved both times. So if it was two, how many was it really?

[Carol Markowitz]

Exactly. Yeah, it is. Again, I think it should be a giant story. I kind of am looking forward to hearing what the parents have to say about this if they do come out. You know, like you said, the superintendent note is like, I want to say that at no time the situation as described in these allegations be acceptable in Fairfax county public schools. I mean, I should hope not.

[Mary Kathryn]

Well, unfortunately, you do have to say that in Northern Virginia schools.

[Carol Markowitz]

You're like, we didn't mean for this to happen.

[Mary Kathryn]

I mean, I will say Northern Virginia schools. And this is one of the reasons that Governor Youngkin is governor. They're so bad. And they do such insane things. This is Loudoun county and Fairfax county in particular. They do such insane things that you have to like triple check your story to believe that the thing is actually happening. And so this keeps happening over and over again. And it caused a lot of, I'm just gonna use the term Northern Virginia wine moms to cross to vote for Youngkin in 2021. Now, this year looks very different. There is the lieutenant governor, Winsome Sears, running against alleged normie Dem Abigail Spanberger.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Mary Kathryn]

Spanberger is good at sounding sort of normie. And Winsome Sears is not quite the candidate that Youngkin was. Youngkin was a very special candidate in a very special time, which is why he won in this pretty purple state. But I want you to hear, Carol, a little bit of the normie dim and how she responds to some of the gender issues and the trans students play or boys playing in girls sports and see what you think about how this might come off in Northern Virginia. Here's Abigail Spanberger as reported by that great local reporter.

[Unknown Author]

I asked Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spamberger's campaign if she would weigh in on the bathroom locker room issue. And does she support biological males competing in women's sports. They didn't answer those questions, but sent a statement saying that as a mom with three kids in Virginia public schools, quote, the safety of Virginia's kids is Abigail's top priority and she believes that parents have the right to make decisions about what is best for their children, end quote. Since former Representative Spamberger didn't answer our questions about bathroom policy or biological males competing in girls school sports, we went back to her record in 2022 when Governor Glenn Youngkin announced his model policy to block student access to locker rooms and bathrooms that don't match their biological sex. Spamberger wrote that mandate, quote, rolls back the rights of kids to be themselves in schools, end quote. In 2023, Spamberger also voted in favor of allowing biological males to compete in women's sports.

[Carol Markowitz]

Nick Minox, 7News doesn't sound that normie.

[Mary Kathryn]

I mean that's imagine how bad off the party is that the principal model for the normie Dem right cannot muster a mere yeah, boys shouldn't compete in.

[Carol Markowitz]

Women'S sports, which is an easy call at this point. Easy, you know, if Gavin Newsom could at least pay lip service to it. Of course, he hasn't done anything in the state to actually do that, but he at least says it's unfair, which is a giant step in the right direction.

[Mary Kathryn]

Glenn Youngkin, by the way, notes on this other the crime issue that in 2023, Abigail Spanberger voted in support of reducing penalties for murderers and giving carjackers a slap on the wrist in D.C. because she's part of the Congress at that point that could vote on that. So, yeah, that's their attempt at Normie. And like you said, when you're on the side of crime is probably not going to go well for you in that area.

[Carol Markowitz]

We have one more clip of Spanberger talking about how she feels about parental consent and actually basically refusing to say one way or the other, you believe.

[Unknown Author]

Minors in Virginia should get parental consent.

Before having an abortion.

I think it is important that we have a constitutional guarantee of access to abortion. And, and notably the constitutional amendment that is going through the process here in Virginia is similar, almost identical to what has passed in states like Michigan and Ohio and other states, very mixed political states where the issue of and the question of abortion is a politically charged one. You know, certainly I'm a mother of three daughters and I recognize that as a mother, I want to be involved in all of the decisions that my daughters make, including, you know, what they wear to prom or the eighth grade graduation. But what this constitutional amendment does is guarantees that in Virginia the right to reproductive Health care would be guaranteed. And I think that unfortunately some of the members of the of the General assembly were looking for excuses to not codify that.

[Glenn Washington]

Right?

[Mary Kathryn]

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You could just say yes or no, but she can't say yes or no just like she can't on the boys and women's sports because she will get lambasted by her left flank and she can't be normie on this.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right. If we had a functional media who covered it like that, that would be good, but we basically don't.

[Mary Kathryn]

So it is interesting because I do think Virginia is primed to be very friendly for Democrats this year because there are so many federal workers who are at odds with the Trump administration's plans. They make up a huge part of Northern Virginia and a huge part of the population in general. So I think it's primed for Spanberger. But the fact that she can't moderate a little bit when she's got a pretty good table set for her I think is telling about the future of the Democratic Party.

[Carol Markowitz]

Absolutely. And you know, you guys could pull off another Youngkin maybe. Who knows? It's not impossible. I think Virginia was always traditionally a red state. Obviously with people Moving from the D.C. area into Virginia, it became bluer and bluer. I've got hope.

[Mary Kathryn]

Yeah, I will be out there making the case. And I think that continuing the work that Youngkin has done would be very beneficial to this state as opposed to turning hard left which she's going to pretend she's not doing, but she's often going to do. So. We will be back in a minute. Normally with a second look at Andrew Cuomo.

[Glenn Washington]

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[Unknown Author]

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[Glenn Washington]

I'm Glenn Washington, the host of Snap Judgment from kqed. Every week we don't just tell stories, we drop you inside them. Real people, real voices, real moments that split a life in two. What do you believe? What do you risk? What do you want? Snap Judgment. New episodes every Thursday. Wherever you get your podcast.

[Carol Markowitz]

We are back on normally. And I don't know about you, Mary Katherine, but I feel weird having to root for Andrew Cuomo. It really, it does not feel good to me. But, and you know, the thing is, I thought I was free and clear of this after he lost the primary, the Democratic primary. And he lost it because he didn't work at it. He thought it was owed to him. We talked about it on this, on this show. It wasn't so much he was ahead in the polls the whole time until like the last two days and then it all fell apart. But he did not try. He didn't show up to mayoral forums, et cetera. Now that he is running as an independent. I really thought that was going to be the end of Andrew Cuomo. But he's somehow still polling better than the Republican Curtis Lewa and the current mayor, Eric Adams. So here we go with, you know, Andrew Cuomo. Take 47. He's having, he's having a little bit of a moment. He's doing some interesting stuff that I think is actually beneficial and could lead to maybe a little spike in his popularity, which potentially can maybe lead to a win against the communists. I don't know. I think I would resign myself to Zoramdani being the next mayor of New York City. And I'd be surprised if anything doesn't go that way. But let's. Maybe Andrew Cuomo. Maybe.

[Mary Kathryn]

Yeah. I mean, it's interesting because he's just watching from the outside. I do. George Will said on Bill Maher's show that we need a good confined dose of socialism every couple of decades to show everybody that this doesn't work. And I actually, I understand what he's saying. And also, I don't want New York to end up there, so I'm rooting for something else. Andrew Cuomo is a really hard pull to swallow, but he has said some stuff and made some lines of attack that are interesting and seem to be kind of hurting Mamdani a little bit, at least spiritually in his New York Times coverage and whatnot, which is he's saying he's going to be proposing Zoran's Law, a law that will keep the rich out of New York's affordable housing. New York, of course, dealing with a housing shortage because they won't let people build stuff and they won't let people price stuff where it should be priced. He says, Zoran Mandami, you say freeze the rent, but for who? Rich people like you, Hardworking, working class New Yorkers are being pushed from their neighborhoods. He notes that Zoran lives in a rent controlled apartment that does not cost him very much money. And he says, you are a rich person stealing affordable housing from the poor. And you're not the only one. It's time we address this injustice. Let's build a new New York City that works for the people who need it. And I enjoy the, I enjoy the shot at this champagne socialist. I do.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. He, he had a previous tweet where he said to mom, Dani, you grew up rich and married an even wealthier woman. You've had weddings on three continents. You own property in LG, LG T, B, QIA plus murderous Uganda. You make $142,000 a year, plus stipends, and your wife works, meaning you together likely make well over 200,000, no matter which way you cut it. Zoram Hamdani is a rich person. You're actually very rich. The question is, are his voters going to care about this? Because there's plenty of rich communists. That's actually part of the thing. The higher you get in the communist order, the richer you are. It's just, you know, Bernie Sanders having three homes, nobody even questions that. And every time it gets brought up to him, he shrugs, it off like, oh, I have three little homes.

[Mary Kathryn]

So, you know, or he says, my favorite is like, when, well, I earned those homes with royalties. Really? How did the book royalties work? Because I didn't get my cut according to my need of your book earnings.

[Carol Markowitz]

Exactly. Right, right. And it's like, what do you think the other people did? The other people who have multiple homes all stole their money. Just, you are the only one who earned it honestly. So, yeah, I don't know. I think it's clever of Cuomo to say, you know, today I'm calling on you to move out immediately and give your affordable housing back to an unhoused family who needs it. Not entirely sure flanking him to the left is going to work, but pointing out that he's a hypocrite and this is how socialism always goes would be an interesting tactic. He's also clearly somebody good is on his X account and there's like so many little, you know, kind of comments. Like somebody wrote, unbelievable that rent control department was freely available for the elite to snatch away. Pass this law. And Andrew Cuomo's account writes back, make it make sense. That's a cool 22 year old who is responding, you know, crazy if true. Somebody writes, doing great, bro. He responds, thanks, bro. Like, just.

[Mary Kathryn]

Also, I love calling it Zoran's Law. Yeah, that is, that's such a great, It's a quality troll. And I think the thing that's interesting about this particular attack, you're right that all socialists, if they are up at the top of the chain, end up getting all the money that none of us get by design. But what's interesting is he's talking about affordability, which is the thing that people are turning to Zoran for, and he's hitting him on that. And it's a class critique, which Zoran Mamdani has been making. Now, he's a hypocrite in his class critique, but Andrew Cuomo, probably not the best guy to make the other argument, but it is on something people care about in this election.

[Carol Markowitz]

Absolutely. All right, I'm going to have to root for Mayor Cuomo. What are we going to do?

[Mary Kathryn]

I wrote a piece like four years ago that was like, no one's asking for a Cuomo comeback. And here we are having been presented with something so much worse. Why does this keep happening?

[Carol Markowitz]

You know, I, I, I still hope Mayor Adams pulls it out, but he pulls out like 8%, so maybe not.

[Mary Kathryn]

I know. I, I do actually find it a little mystifying why people find him in particular so off putting. I yeah, I don't. And it does seem like New York has made progress over the past two much sort of like D.C. where it's like, okay, well things are improving off of a low bar, but there is progress being made. I don't know, I guess he was indicted. That probably didn't help.

[Carol Markowitz]

Probably. Thanks for joining us on Normally Normally airs Tuesdays and Thursdays and you can subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts. Get in touch with us@ normallythepodmail.com thanks for listening. And when things get weird, act normally.

[Unknown Author]

Foreign.

[Glenn Washington]

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[Glenn Washington]

I'm Gwen Washington, the host of Snap Judgment from KQED. Every week we don't just tell stories, we drop you inside them. Real people, real voices, real moments that split a life in two. What do you believe? What do you risk? What do you want? Snap Judgment New episodes every Thursday, wherever you get your podcast.

[Unknown Author]

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[Mary Kathryn]

This is an I Heart podcast.