• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, March 3, 2025

“I want to make crime illegal again.” That sounds like a great marketing line for some politicians.

This comes from a Democratic candidate for New York City mayor -- Whitney Tilson, a businessman who may want to move the needle back on Democrat politicians leaning too far left -- who spoke to CNBC last week.

For one thing, he says, 70% of misdemeanors in Manhattan are not even charged. There are also too many things that gives potential or recurring criminals better bail reform and discovery reform and the like. “It’s created a revolving door," he said. "We have become materially unsafe.”

This comes as Mayor Eric Adams is under pressure and controversy due to his corruption indictment and whether it should be dismissed.

Clearer political messaging on TV needs to be provided. Attack ads don’t offer up much for TV viewers and potential voters -- not in a flooded market of more strident social-media messaging.

Now with lots of public statements by politicians/elected officials -- approving widespread pardons for those charged in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, declaring entire crime-enforcing agencies like the FBI totally "corrupt" -- things may have gone too far for some.

Using political marketing lines and terms like “government waste” and “corruption” offer up quick emotional responses. That doesn’t seem enough in this highly volatile political marketplace.

Did "Make America Great Again" really help get Donald Trump re-elected as President? Probably something else.

Now widespread firings of thousands of federal employees are being factored into some messages: Add the word "pain" somewhere to make America great again.

The bottom line, according to the headline in The American Prospect, is: “The Democratic Brand Has Tanked. Trump Is Doing the Same to the Republican Party.”

The underlying theme here is that polls showed the Biden administration was relatively unconcerned about kitchen table inflation price issues. New polls show that now the Trump administration has the same affliction. The same Washington Post/Ipsos polls show that 57% of the public believes that Trump “has exceeded his presidential authority.”

Still looking deeper, some opponents might take a clue for one NYC mayoral candidate: “Making Illegal Illegal Again.”