LA City Council Debacle - Not Just About Racism

The Comfortable Corruption that is Destroying the City of Angels and Opening the Door for the DSA

Thanks again to American Thinker for running this piece. You can visit the website at: https://www.americanthinker.com/

It couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of folks.

In large part, that is the first thought that springs to many minds when the oozeapalooza that is the Los Angeles City Council clusterscandal is brought up.

When those who publicly espouse woke identity politics are shown to, privately, be racists of the first order - https://californiaglobe.com/articles/this-time-everything-really-is-racistand-corruptand-head-spinningly-awful/ - one can be forgiven a bit of schadenfreude.

But a number of pundits have argued that – while what was said was awful – isn’t “cancelling” people because of what they said in a private conversation exactly what the woke do?  Since we all know what lying corrupt dirtbags politicians are, why should the public be surprised at this sort of thing and if the people who elected them in the first place want to keep them then what business is it of ours? (Note – of the four involved in the now infamous meeting, two – Council President Nury Martinez and labor leader Ron Herrera have resigned, the other two – Councilmembers Kevin deLeon and Gil Cedillo have not, though Cedillo is already on his way out at the end of the year after losing his seat in the June primary.)

In this case, though, that argument is absolutely wrong because - like the left likes to say or says absolutely it doesn’t depending on who is being attacked or defended - context matters: https://californiaglobe.com/articles/resign-now-la-city-council-members-forget-never/ .

The recording was of a meeting regarding the re-districting of city council seats, one of the most important things electeds do - essentially picking who can vote for whom.  The centrality of this point cannot be disregarded – this was not some random “a few too many cocktails at a fundraiser” gossip or some bad joke told in passing six years ago; this was them doing their job.

However, it cannot be emphasized enough that this situation is about far far more than race as it has pulled back the curtain and shown the public – bluntly and specifically – as to how LA (and sooooo much of government, everywhere) actually operates.  Yes, it’s about race but it really is about much more:

·         Woke Language – Since all four of the participants are Hispanic and are by definition oppressed, the left has been trying to sell the idea that systemic racism goes beyond “white supremacy” and really should be re-classified as “light supremacy.”  Just when you thought the linguistic gymnastics could not get any more absurd…at least it rhymes, so that’s a plus

·         Union Corruption – Herrera was the president of the Los Angeles Federation of Labor which often spouts identity nonsense - see here: https://thelafed.org/ . Of course, anyone without a very specific political axe to grind already knew too many unions cared more about political power and perks than their members, let alone the people they serve.  But, like the appalling actions of teacher’s unions across the country during COVID, this episode truly rips the mask off for everyone except the willfully blind to see.

·         Ethnic Politics – The thrust of the meeting was how the city could be chopped up to increase the number of Latinos on the council and that that increase should/could come about by the reduction of the number of “black” council seats (48 percent of the city is Hispanic and – pre-Nury resignation – there were four Hispanic members while 9 percent of the city is Black and there are three black members so, you know, equity.)  This effort to tweak the districts shows not a concern about properly representing and/or doing good by your community but merely using them as demographic pawns to increase your personal power (again, we knew that already but it’s nice ((not at all nice)) to hear).

·         What Politicians Focus On – So, here were three city elected officials and one of the most important unelected official in the city getting together – on the public’s time and the public’s dime - for a chat and what did they talk about?  Solving homelessness?  Battling crime?  Potholes?  Housing and utility costs?  Reducing traffic?  Improving constituent services?  Nope – it was all about city hall power machinations and how to increase their personal power and make the very very powerful and very very rich union happy. (Note – I was an elected for some time and was never privy to any such similar discussions and actually made sure to schedule an extra 20 minutes every time I went to the grocery store to ensure I had enough time to get complained and/or suggested at while I was trying to figure out what flavor of yogurt to buy.  I was also only offered one bribe, which was either heartening because people knew I wouldn’t take it or sort of depressing because no one thought I was important enough to bother trying to bribe.)

·         Comfortable Corruption -  Los Angeles city government is a cesspool of corruption, to the point that one needs a literal cheat sheet to keep the cases straight - https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/07/16/tearing-the-fabric-of-municipal-trust-a-guide-to-corruption-cases-in-los-angeles-city-hall/ .  Throw in Mayor Garcetti’s ambassadorial derailment - https://californiaglobe.com/articles/time-to-face-reality-its-over-eric/ - and you have a city that is careening into the abyss.  Yet one of the most fascinating aspects of the recording is how utterly comfortable all four were with the language, the topic, the sleaze, the tribal slicing and dicing that was occurring.  Clearly, this was NOT the only time they – and nearly everyone else in city hall - did things like this.  As they had never been caught before and the fact that it would never even occur to the Los Angeles Times or other local media to investigate, criticize, or even remotely portray “people of color” negatively they didn’t have to worry…they thought.

And the final fallout from the farce is not finished, as another group of power-hungry Angelenos -  the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America - is prepared to pounce on the politically putrid remains.  (For a look at what they espouse, as if you couldn’t already guess, see here: https://dsa-la.org/ .)

The DSA already has one of its members on the council, got another one elected (yet-to-be-seated) in the June primary (taking Cedillo’s seat) and saw, overall, five of the nine candidates it endorsed win (for a deeper dive, see:  https://www.city-journal.org/socialists-rising-in-los-angeles .)

And while it is currently – and may be forever – unknown who leaked the recording, it is known that the meeting took place at union headquarters and that a current DSA-backed candidate is a labor organizer - https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/is-hugo-soto-martinez-the-man-who-sprung-the-city-hall-leaks/ .

The leak opens up Nury’s seat for a special election, possibly will open up de Leon’s (at the very least it kneecaps any hope at ever getting elected to anything ever again even if he does not resign immediately,) and hurts the campaign for city Controller of current Councilman Paul Koretz, who is locked in a tight battle with another DSA-backed candidate.  In other words, the DSA could emerge as one of the big political winners of situation.

What that could mean is anyone’s guess, but a shift from the current union/developer/entertainment industry/greasy non-profit/identity hustler cabal that runs the city to a city run by people who truly believe that the United States and capitalism and law enforcement and jails and responsibility and freedom of speech and liberty and borders and single-family homes and cars and personal property and self-governance are inherently evil is a change/choice that boggles the senses and completely de-kilterizes the mind’s gyroscope. It is a question - like whether or not you would prefer to get hit by a bus or a truck - that is impossible to answer.

The city is beyond the frying pan or fire question and swiftly approaching toilet bowl or cesspool territory, but we may get a bit of inkling if the people of Los Angeles are capable of pulling even just a little back from the brink when they vote for a new mayor on November 8.

If it’s Rick Caruso, there is a glimmer of hope yet for the City of Angels.

If it’s Karen Bass - a prime example of Los Angeles’ filthy system - the sewage-soaked slip and slide ride of the past decade will just be the beginning.