I say that the NY results are making Rahm nervous and people say I’m crazy.

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It’s not the first time I’ve been told I don’t know what I’m talking about.

Yesterday I posted a report about the New York mayoral primary in which a progressive Democrat soundly beat the Bloomberg mini-me, Council Speaker Christine Quinn. Quinn, we were told 18 months ago, had a lock on the election.

I took encouragement from the results. Not just for my friends and family who have chosen to live and work in New York City. But I am encouraged for the future of Chicago, my home town.

I am encouraged because, as brother Mike points out on his blog this morning, Rahm’s approval numbers have tanked and the media seems to have turned on him.

As I wrote yesterday, there are great similarities between New York and Chicago’s political situations. Enough similarities to make Rahm nervous.

“Overstating it,” I was told by a friend.

“Some tiny fraction of NYC voted 40% for someone in a Dem primary with the incumbent mayor leaving, and that has major implications for ousting an incumbent in a totally other city? I mean, maybe in writing-things-on-the-internet land,” I was told by another.

Whoa. “Writing-things-on-the-internet land”? 

Hey, man. I’m retired. Writing-things-on-the-internet land is where I live now.

Hasn’t he noticed?

I post up more than than Kevin Garnett on a good night.

A totally different city?

Let’s see:

Bloomberg was a Democrat turned Republican turned independent who is the 7th richest man in the universe and ran an increasingly unpopular pro-business administration.

Rahm is a Republican-acting Democrat who comes from a wealthy north shore  family, former Wall Street investor between political jobs and runs an increasingly unpopular pro-business administration.

Central to Bloomberg’s administration was the implementation of the corporate school reform agenda. Which turned into a huge fail.

Central to Rahm’s administration is the implementation of the corporate school reform agenda. Which is turning into a huge fail.

Bloomberg argued for a business model for government.

Rahm is privatizing everything that isn’t nailed to the floor.

Bloomberg’s approval numbers were tanking in his third term and Quinn suffered the collateral damage.

Rahm’s numbers are tanking halfway through his first term.

Bill de Blasio ran his campaign on a slogan of ending Bloomberg’s creation of two cities – one for the rich and one for the poor.

What better slogan to describe the policies of Rahm Emanuel?

A huge problem for Bloomberg was a stop-and-frisk police strategy which totally angered the minority communities.

A huge problem for Rahm is his failure to control the city’s exploding violence, resulting in record murder rates in Black and poor communities that are 15 times higher than on the north side.

I could go on.

“Rahm might have something to worry about, but what it has to do with 300 thousand New Yorkers voting 40 percent for a mayoral candidate in a different city where the incumbent has bowed out, I haven’t the slightest idea. As analogy, if Rahm Emanuel transformed into Strom Thurmound, he would have a pretty big fucking problem, but it would have little to do with NYC’s mayoral primary,” responds my interrogator.

I would argue that given Rahm’s attitude towards the west and south side, he might as well be Strom Thurmond.

Let me remind my readers that Rahm was elected by less than 25% of the registered voters in a primary that required 50% of the vote to avoid a run-off. Against a rather pitiful field.

Due to his connection to the Obama administration, Rahm had the overwhelming support of the Black community.

That support is evaporating.

Challengers are lurking.

But I hope that Rahm is listening to people like my interrogator.

Maybe he is right.

Don’t worry about a thing.

New York means nothing.

Nothing at all.