Cenk Uygur, founder of The Young Turks, a left-wing media network, came out Wednesday in favor of billionaire businessman Rick Caruso (D) over establishment favorite Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) in the race for mayor of Los Angeles, stunning local observers.
Uygur posted a viral tweet stating that life in L.A. has become intolerable, and that Bass simply offers voters business-as-usual:
LA is a mess. There's trash all over the roads. Cops don't respond to calls. It's close to anarchy here. Is Garcetti already in Mumbai? Is anyone running this city? Karen Bass seems to be saying she's going to maintain the status quo. She knows how to work the system. No thanks!
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) October 26, 2022
Asked by political reporter Elex Michaelson of Fox KTTV-11 whether he backs Caruso’s insurgent campaign, Uygur said yes:
Yes. Karen Bass’ main message seems to be that she is an establishment Democrat (no interest) who thinks things in LA are generally fine (they’re not) and will work the system better. The problem is the system. There is nothing but incompetence & corruption here. We need change. https://t.co/7mnQB5d1C0
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) October 26, 2022
Confronted by critics on the left who accused him of supporting a “billionaire,” Uygur countered that the establishment had failed:
I’ve never said that about billionaires. You could fill a whole social media platform with false assumptions and lies about me. Karen Bass telling us she’s the better establishment Democrat is a horrible campaign strategy. Democratic leadership thinks it’s NEVER time for change. https://t.co/nOrj8TpT7B
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) October 26, 2022
Karen Bass is going to do NOTHING for the poor and working class in LA. That’s why I can’t stand her. It’s wealthy neolibs who don’t have to deal with the deterioration of LA, as they sit in their mansions and wag their finger at us for not kowtowing to the Democratic Party. https://t.co/sP0Z912yDU
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) October 26, 2022
There is this persistent irrationality in American politics that people assume you love the person you're voting for & think they're perfect. No, it just means they're better than your other choice! Why is this so hard for people to understand? It's an incredibly simple concept.
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) October 26, 2022
Uygur’s announcement came a day before Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is due to hold a rally for Bass, who is flagging in the polls.
Bernie and Bass believe in working within the Democratic Party system. And what has that gotten us? Nearly nothing. Just wall to wall corruption. Bernie said his "friend" Joe Biden would get us $15 min wage and much more. His friend screwed us and he didn't say a word about it. https://t.co/37uanDWOUl
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) October 26, 2022
Sanders endorsed Uygur’s campaign for Congresss in a special election in 2019, until Uygur was accused of misogynistic statements.
As Breitbart News noted this week, Caruso has caught up to Bass, and the two are in a statistical tie in the closely-watched race.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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