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Writer's pictureHowie Klein

Just What The Democratic Party Needs-- Another Sam Bankman Fried, Financing Conservative Candidates

Another Right-of-Center Billionaire-- This Time Rick Caruso


Rick Caruso was one of John Kasich's top sugar daddies. Now he's funneling cash to conservative Democrats

When billionaire developer Rick Caruso ran for mayor of L.A. as a "Democrat" last year, he didn’t fool anyone but fools. A "former" Republican, he ran as a conservative Democrap in a city with very few Republicans. He took 36% in the primary and then lost to Karen Bass in the general, 509,944 (54.8%) to 420,030 (45.2%). He spent over $100 million— almost entirely out of his own personal wealth— most of it wasted on extravagant advertising that turned off voters. Bass spent about a tenth as much.


Bass was endorsed by Biden, Obama, Pelosi, Kamala, Bernie, Hillary, Alex Padilla, Elizabeth Warren, virtually all the California Democrats in Congress… Caruso was endorsed by a former Republican mayor, a bunch of police officials, Republican entertainer Snoop Dogg, TV realtor Josh Flagg, Kim Kardashian, Joe Buscaino, the most conservative member of the L.A. City Council, Wolfgang Puck and Elon Musk.



Yesterday, Christopher Cadelago and Melanie Mason reported that Caruso has a "new" plan to "help" swing-seat Democrats retake the House in 2024. California has 7 swing seats current in Republican hands:

  • CA-03- Kevin Kiley

  • CA-13- John Duarte

  • CA-22- David Valadao

  • CA-27- Mike Garcia

  • CA-40- Young Kim

  • CA-41- Ken Calvert

  • CA-45- Michelle Steel

They wrote that “Caruso has spent months quietly laying the groundwork for his comeback in California, including meetings with top House Democrats in Los Angeles and Washington and donations to their committees.” Taking the most conventional and cookie cutter possible approach, the only races he wants to focus on are the DCCC targets: John Duarte, David Valadao, Mike Garcia, Young Kim and Michelle Steel. That leaves out, for example, CA-41, where Trump beat Biden 49.7% to 48.6% even though Calvert is a weak incumbent and the Democrat running against him, Will Rollins, is a strong candidate who could win with a good financial push. On the other hand, the Democrats have really bad candidates— corrupt conservatives Adam Gray and Rudy Salas— running against John Duarte and David Valadao... perfect for a crook like Caruso.


“Caruso, who didn’t rule out spending in primaries, wouldn’t put an exact dollar figure on his anticipated contributions for the next cycle. But he said he was dedicating his money and time to push the most viable Democratic candidates to the front of the field and give them the best chance of beating their GOP opponents. He also anticipates being involved in the presidential and U.S. Senate races and wants to court Latino voters who failed to tip the scales in his favor in his own mayoral race last year.” Oh, just what we need— a billionaire Republican who thinks he’s a Democrat, interfering in Democratic primary races because the DCCC tells him to… recipe for disaster, just like it was when they got their hands on Sam Bankman Fried last cycle. In fact, he admitted to the writers that his goal is to elect conservatives (who he called “moderates”). “I am not out to support extremists or, frankly, ideologues,” said the Republican sugar daddy— meaning candidates from the progressive wing of the party.


The effort, which in the coming weeks will involve sit-downs with House candidates, amounts to a broader rebranding for Caruso, who took considerable heat from Mayor Karen Bass and her allies in the 2022 race for his past registration as a Republican and independent. While both Caruso and Bass are Democrats and the mayoral race was nonpartisan, Bass coalesced the party’s biggest stars, from former President Barack Obama to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, to ensure her victory over Caruso’s largely self-funded $104 million campaign. Bass also leaned into her support for abortion rights following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, exploiting Caruso’s relationships with Republicans who oppose it.
The strategy recalls other billionaire political investors like former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who spent years showering Democrats with donations and funding their causes between his successful runs for City Hall and a disastrous bid for president in 2020.
In the interview, Caruso didn’t rule out a future run when asked about a possible rematch with Bass in three years— or the 2026 race for California governor. But he said his focus right now is on helping Democrats retake the House next year.
“I am open to it, but there’s a lot of time and things will unfold. If there is an opportunity that makes sense, I will look at it,” he said.
…He has been working with House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Pete Aguilar, of California, and already contributed a maximum $26,400 to the congressman’s California House Majority Fund. He wants to sink six figures into federal races.
He’s connected with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and met in recent days with Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene for a Washington briefing on the national landscape.
Asked if he’s supporting Biden, Caruso said the president was his only option to thwart Republicans.
“There’s no other choice,” he said. “I am going to lean in on all of it.”
His public statements and television appearances have also stoked speculation about his future political plans. In one August post on Twitter, he sounded not unlike a candidate running on a law-and-order platform, demanding elected officials “change the laws to hold criminals accountable.”
Caruso stressed that his concerns go beyond the Los Angeles city limits. He warned about problems across the state, including the need to build more housing and promote pro-business policies.
But the city has been a major focus of his. He promised in his mayoral campaign to curb crime and replenish the city’s depleted police department as he tried to capture the attention of Angelenos tired of the status quo and hungry for someone from outside the political ranks. Caruso didn’t dwell on the race, but did suggest that voters were still frustrated.
He contended that conditions on the ground in Los Angeles around homelessness and the housing shortage have grown worse under Bass. “It hasn’t gotten better,” he said. “The homeless count was up 10 percent. There are areas where crime is continuing to grow. I would love to have someone tell me how many new units have been built.”
Yusef Robb, Bass’ political advisor, disputed Caruso’s comments on the city’s condition.
Mayor Bass was overwhelmingly elected to change the status quo on homelessness, public safety and opportunity, and she is doing just that by bringing 17,000 people inside and counting, funding a record number of new police officers and making City Hall more responsive to every Angeleno,” he said.
When asked if Bass’ political operation was tracking Caruso’s future ambitions, he was more succinct: “Nope.”
Mark Gonzalez, the Democratic chairman in Los Angeles County, said he met with Caruso months back after the grueling mayor’s race and they discussed their disagreements. Gonzalez said he’s urged Caruso to reach out to Bass and work with her office on solutions for the city.
Gonzalez said he also told Caruso that as a newer Democrat who did not seek the county party endorsement, “he had some making up to do.”

Tired of buying yachts, he's now buying Democratic candidates for Congress

3 Comments


Guest
Oct 07, 2023

hatewatt, you don't even bitch good. you just hate. you're a perfect nazi.

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hiwatt11
Oct 07, 2023

Guestcrapper, you sure bitch reeaaal good, but what do you DO?

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Guest
Oct 07, 2023

More anecdotal proof of what I've been saying to all you deaf-mutes for decades.


"a billionaire Republican who thinks he’s a Democrat, (buying) Democratic primary races because the DCCC tells him to (!!!)… recipe for disaster, just like ... Sam Bankman Fried last cycle."


And then it goes on to list other names proving that this is nothing different since, again, slick willie first convened the DLC and the democraps went out shopping for billionaire republicans who wanted to pretend to be democraps.


And it isn't just the DCCC. The DSCC is also in on it. And the DNC isn't without fingers in those pies as well.


And this column can write these truths... and then puke up more columns…


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