January 6, 2026 • 37 mins
Who is to blame for the LA Wildfires? In Part Two of The Reckoning series, we continue our search for the answer by telling the story of the epic battle for mayor between billionaire entrepreneur Rick Caruso & community organizer Karen Bass. Powered by The Licorice Guy...the best licorice in America.
The Reckoning Finale airs Wednesday, January 7th, 2026.
And coming this Friday, January 9th, 2026 - What Makes Something Valuable? In our new three-part series, we tell the fascinating story of the rise and fall of the natural diamond industry.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
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Red Pilled America.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
An intense plume of smoke that was rising and moving
very fast.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
He's got a really big NFC.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
Get out of your car if you want to live.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Andre made his way down palace Age Drive.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
It was really apocalyptic. They had abandoned probably three hundred cars.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Rick Caruso took to the airwaves to express his outrage.
Speaker 5 (00:55):
There's no water in the palata.
Speaker 6 (00:57):
There's no water coming out of the fire hid.
Speaker 7 (00:59):
In nineteen fifty nine, experts from the National Fire Protection
Association performed an assessment of the Los Angeles area. They
found a real problem in the mountain ranges bordering the
Pacific Ocean, A decision would be made in Washington, d C.
That would forever change the landscape of Los Angeles County.
(01:21):
I'm Patrick Carelchi and I'm Adriana Cortes.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
And this is Red Pilled America, a storytelling show.
Speaker 7 (01:28):
This is not another talk show covering the day's news.
We're all about telling stories.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Stories. Hollywood doesn't want you to hear stories.
Speaker 7 (01:37):
The media mocks stories about everyday Americans at the globalist ignore.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
You can think of Red Pilled America as audio documentaries,
and we promise only one thing, the truth. Welcome to
Red Pilled America. We're at part two of our series
(02:05):
of episodes entitled The Reckoning. We're looking for the answer
to the question Who's to blame for the twenty twenty
five LA wildfires by telling this story behind the city
where it happened. So to pick up where we left off.
As the Highlands neighborhood of the Pacific Palisades was expanding
in the late nineteen seventies on the other side of
the Santa Monica Mountains, and Angelino was entering one of
(02:26):
the most prestigious universities in America, and he would eventually
go on a mission to make Los Angeles beautiful again.
Speaker 7 (02:33):
In nineteen seventy six, a young man named Rick Caruso
entered USC's Marshall School of Business, and he arrived with
a bit of a pedigree. The grandson of Italian immigrants,
Rick was born in Los Angeles in nineteen fifty nine.
As he traveled through his elementary school years, his father,
Henry Crusoe, founded Dollar renecar. The venture instilled in the
(02:56):
younger Crusoe an entrepreneurial drive early in his life. He'd
go on to graduate from USCA in nineteen eighty with
a Bachelor of Science degree in Business administration, and three
years later he obtained his jd from Pepperdine University School
of Law. Carusoe immediately began making a mark in Los Angeles.
(03:17):
In nineteen eighty five, when he was just twenty six
years old, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley appointed Carusoe as
commissioner for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
He became the youngest commissioner in the city's history. He'd
eventually become the president of the water Board and ended
a twenty five year old lawsuit for the LADWP. The
(03:39):
resolution resulted in a windfall of clean water for the city.
In parallel, Rick started working as a real estate attorney,
but quickly figured out that he wasn't meant for the courtroom.
In nineteen eighty seven, he shifted course by founding Carusoe
Affiliated Holdings, a retail real estate development company. It would
change the landscape of the Los Angeles area. Caruso had
(04:09):
a unique philosophy to development. He prioritized creating experiences, not
just places to shop. He was an early critic of
the enclosed malls of the time. In his view, they
were outdated and lacked a sense of community. He favored
open air shopping environments, and he'd quickly bring this philosophy
(04:29):
to life. He developed the Encino Marketplace, the Village at
moor Park, the Promenade at Westlake, the Commons at Calabasas,
and the Lakes at Thousand Oaks, all beautifully designed upscale
shopping centers that emphasized experience over transactions. He brought an
attention to detail in landscaping, lighting, music, and architecture that
(04:51):
was missing in most shopping centers. It made his retail
developments feel welcoming and high end, and as a result,
he attracted upscale brands and premium tenants. By two thousand,
Rick Caruso had established himself as the premier luxury shopping
developer in Los Angeles, and even with his success in
(05:13):
real estate, Rick continued his service work in the city.
In two thousand and one, LA Mayor James Hahn appointed
Rick to the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners. He
was quickly elected as the president of the board and
played a crucial role in reforming the force. He led
the process of bringing one of the most sought after
law enforcement experts to Los Angeles. By the late nineteen nineties,
(05:37):
New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton was a shining
model of what law enforcement could be in the Big Apple.
He introduced CompStat, a data driven system that analyzed crime
trends and held precinct commanders accountable for crime reduction. He
advocated for broken windows policing, which targeted minor offenses to
(05:58):
prevent more serious crimes. As a result of his efforts,
crime rates in New York City plummeted, but in nineteen
ninety six, Bratton resigned due to tensions with New York
City Mayor Giuliani, overtaking credit for the success. Rick Caruso
saw that the star law enforcement expert was free and
moved to snatch him up for Los Angeles. The retail
(06:21):
mogul led the effort of recruiting Braughton to serve as
a chief of the LAPD. Caruso's profile in Los Angeles
was rising, but it was the launch of a real
estate development in two thousand and two that would make
him a legend in the city of angels.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
We were finishing up a project in Calabasas and I
heard of the opportunity next to the Farmers Market.
Speaker 7 (06:42):
That's Rick Caruso speaking to Jake Millar of Unfiltered in
nineteen ninety eight. While wrapping up the Commons at Calabasas, California,
Rick got word that a parking lot adjacent to the
famous Los Angeles Farmers Market became available.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
I've always been a fan of the Farmers Market because
I love history and I love the city, as I said,
and the market is one of the few historic landmarks
in the city of Los Angeles with a great history
to it.
Speaker 7 (07:08):
Rick imagined an outdoor shopping center that matched the old
time beauty of the Farmer's Market.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
What I knew was I had an iconic neighbor in
the Farmer's Market that I could build off of, and
if we followed the rule to reinvent something and do
something different, I wanted to build something that felt like
it was an extension of the market from a few
decades after. The story was that this was a town
and a great street that was built after World War
(07:35):
Two had fallen into disrepair, and we were bringing it back.
But it was all about being outdoors because I loved
the outdoors, right, So I had to build a street
to hold this new development together. And that's how it
just started rolling along. And then I went around the country,
walking different streets to get inspiration.
Speaker 7 (07:55):
He eventually stumbled upon King Street, a walking in retail
shoppers paradise in Charleston, South Carolina. Street has a colonial
era vibe with Victorian storefronts and Art Deco influences. Rick
loved the simple, refined Americana beauty of King Street and
felt it was perfectly in sync with the design of
the famed La Farmer's Market. He believed that if he
(08:18):
could build a beautiful location and experience, people would of
course flock to it. In nineteen ninety nine, he began development.
He crafted a winding street that traveled the length of
the development. He built a movie theater that was a
throwback to Hollywood's heyday. He installed an extravagant fountain, a
family friendly lawn with manicured, vibrant green grass that doubled
(08:40):
as a central gathering spot in the winter. He envisioned
a lighting ceremony with a large Rockefeller Center sized Christmas tree,
and he outfitted the street with tracks for a nineteen
fifty style double decker trolley to transport visitors from one
end of the property to the neighboring farmers Market. He
called it the Grove, and by the time he unveiled
(09:02):
it to Angelas in two thousand and two, it was
a thing of beauty.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
The curve of the gutters, the crown in the street.
Your eye picks up all of that to make it
look like it really did connect into the old market.
Speaker 7 (09:16):
It was an instant success, attracting both locals and tourists
from all over the world. The Grove would eventually become
one of the biggest destinations in Los Angeles, attracting forty
nine thousand plus visitors a day, more than even Disneyland.
Six years later, Rick would replicate the success by developing
The Americana at the Brand, a luxury mixed use development
(09:40):
in Glendale that fused high end retail with residential living. Then,
in twenty eighteen, he traversed to the Santa Monica Hills
to build Palisades Village in Pacific Palisades, a main street
experience that blended seamlessly into one of LA's most affluent enclaves.
Rick Caruso was becoming known as the Walt Disney of
(10:00):
real estate. His projects were made making Los Angeles beautiful again,
But it was a scandal at his alma mater that
proved Caruso could not only make a city a work
of art, but could also clean it up as well.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
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(11:28):
Welcome back to Red Pilled America. In May twenty eighteen,
Los Angeles Times broke a major scandal at the city's
most prestigious institution.
Speaker 8 (11:37):
It made me feel extremely uncomfortable and violated. For the
first time, USA student Daniellemohazib is speaking publicly allegend University
gydecologist doctor George Tindall sexually abused her under the guise
of medical care.
Speaker 9 (11:52):
I was in the hands of a predator.
Speaker 8 (11:54):
She joins a group of six current and former students
filing lawsuits alleging a pattern of sexual abuse. Tyndall was
the only full time gynecologist at the school's student health
center for nearly three decades.
Speaker 10 (12:06):
I am looking for justice, not just for me.
Speaker 5 (12:09):
But for all victims.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Within a couple of weeks, the potential victim count swelled.
Speaker 11 (12:14):
The university says they've received as many as three hundred
calls on a hotline set up for patients of doctor Tyndall.
Tyndall has denied any wrongdoing to the La Times and
left the university in twenty seventeen.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
USC faculty spoke out and began applying pressure on the
school as president.
Speaker 6 (12:32):
The president of USC under fire this evening after several
former students sued the university, accusing a campus gynecologist of
sexual misconduct and assault.
Speaker 11 (12:40):
Two hundred faculty members at USC demanding that USC president
Max Nikiya's stepped down, writing that he's quote lost the
moral authority to lead a.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
Group of us.
Speaker 12 (12:51):
You know a week ago just said, you know, this
can't go on, and this something is broken.
Speaker 11 (12:57):
Here Nikias, who has the full support of the Board
of Trustees, has said Tyndall's allegedmist conduct is unacceptable and
he has a plan to change the culture of the
university when it comes to handling allegations of sexual misconduct.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
To add to US's problems, both the LAPD and the
US Department of Education announced they were initiating investigations. The
university was in trouble at its lowest point in the
school's long and storied history. The school turned to an
alumnus for help. The university's president reportedly summoned Rick Caruso
to the campus, an alumnus and Board of Trustees member,
(13:32):
Caruso met with Nikias and learned that the next in
line to be the head of the board was not
equipped to lead the university through the crisis. The school
needed Caruso to provide stability to the situation. He decided
to take on the task pro bono. He effectively became
the CEO of not only the most prestigious institution in
(13:54):
Los Angeles, but also the largest private employer in the city.
His impact was immediate.
Speaker 13 (14:00):
President Max Nikias had said he would step down Jack
in May. Now about two months later, he finally has
this happening. After a meeting of US's board. Board chair,
Ricruso hopes to get a new president officially in place
between four and six months from now.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
He pushed the school to settle the lawsuit, which would
eventually cost the university roughly one point one billion dollars.
He played a key role in appointing the university's first
female president, Carol Foust, and took on the arrows to
reform the governing board that was chock full of some
of the biggest power players in America.
Speaker 13 (14:33):
Board President Ricruso said in a letter to students, faculty,
and alumni that a broad cultural change is needed here
at USC. He says those changes would also affect the board,
which has been criticized recently for being too large and
for handing over too many decisions to Max Nikias.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
By the time he was done four years later, the
consensus was that each successfully navigated the storm, helping to
recover the university's former stature. A USC trustee was impressed
with Carusoe's turnaround job, telling the La Times quote.
Speaker 7 (15:07):
He was willing to take the bullets and the darts
to do the right thing. I know very few people
in public and private life who are as truly courageous.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Rick Crusoe had cleaned up LA's most prestigious institution through
his work with the Board of Water and Power Commissioners,
He'd brought more water to the city. As president of
the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, he helped reform
the LAPD, and all while becoming the Walt Disney of
real estate, beautifying his hometown with stunning retail attractions. Rick
(15:35):
Caruso had proven to be a force for good in
Los Angeles, and now he wanted to take on the
job of cleaning up the city at large. But what
he didn't know at the time was that to clean
Los Angeles of corruption, he'd first have to defeat a
Democrat machine that had cast a spell on Angelino's.
Speaker 7 (15:56):
In twenty twenty two, Los Angeles was in disarray. The
city was hit with a one two punch wi the
COVID shutdowns a few years earlier shuttered many businesses. Long
stretches of shopping areas were completely empty. Some were even
boarded up. The BLM riots that followed not only had
businesses rethinking opening again, but the riots brought with them
(16:19):
a new normal in crime. Angelino's were becoming accustomed to
petty theft, burglary, and shoplifting. Homelessness skyrocketed, urban blight spread,
and the city's infrastructure projects were being shelved by a
focus on woke ideology and to boot wildfires were running rampant.
(16:40):
Los Angeles was in dire need of leadership, and a
real estate billionaire decided he wanted to take on the challenge.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Billionaire Rick Caruso has filed a declaration with the City
Clerk's office of his intent to run for Mayor of
Los Angeles.
Speaker 14 (16:54):
He's chair of the USC Board of Trustees and served
on the Board of Water and Power Commissioners and as
president of the Civilian Police Commission after being appointed by
Mayor Jamie Han in two thousand and one.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
I'm excited to be here. It's a very meaningful day
for me and my family. I love Los Angeles, I
love the diversity of Los Angeles. I'm eager to be
a part of this.
Speaker 12 (17:13):
Rick caruz So, philanthropist and billionaire developer of landmarks like
the Grove, says he's running for mayor of Los Angeles
because current leadership has failed.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
We met up recently at another Caruso upscale destination Palisades
Village to discuss why he wants the city's top job.
Everyone that I'm running against their legislators, but they've been
on the job for over a decade, and while they've
been on the job, everything has gotten worse.
Speaker 12 (17:40):
Rusa told me the first thing he will do if
elected to mayor of Los Angeles is declare a state
of emergency in the city.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
I want to be tough on crime. I think that's
important to have a safe society and where people feel
secure and happy, and I want to give people an
opportunity to live the American dream.
Speaker 5 (17:55):
His long rumored run comes after about a month after
he registered as a Democrat.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Primary will be June seventh, with the top two finishers
meeting in the runoff in November.
Speaker 7 (18:03):
Within days of his announcement, he got a major endorsement.
Speaker 5 (18:07):
In the race for LA mayor.
Speaker 6 (18:08):
Former LAPD chief Charlie Beck endorsed his former LA Police
Commission president Rick Caruso.
Speaker 7 (18:14):
The city's mayoral race was stacked with a long list
of Democrat Party activists, but only one was a real threat,
and that was Congresswoman Karen Bass Born in Los Angeles,
in nineteen fifty three. Karen Bass came from humble beginnings.
Her father was a postal carrier, her mother a homemaker.
(18:35):
She briefly studied philosophy at San Diego State University, but
changed course and in nineteen eighty two completed a physician
assistant program at the Kech School of Medicine at USC.
In nineteen ninety, she earned a BS in health science
from cal State University, Domingus Hills. That same year, she
(18:56):
founded the Community Coalition, a nonprofit group that purported to
tackle the problems of poverty, so abstance abuse, and crime
that was gripping South Los Angeles. Bass became known as
a community organizer, a far left wing activist, rallying people
around progressive causes. By two thousand and four, her activism
(19:17):
catapulted her to the California State House. Four years later,
she became the sixty seventh Speaker of the California State Assembly,
but she didn't stay there long. In twenty ten, she
was elected to the US House of Representatives as a
congresswoman representing California's thirty third congressional district. You'd think that
Bass would have used her valuable time to champion issues
(19:40):
that directly impacted the Los Angeles community she represented. I mean,
in twenty ten, South Los Angeles was a hellhole of crime, poverty,
and drug abuse. The area needed the full attention of
its representative on these problems. But instead of focusing on
the core issues of Los Angeles, Karen Bass turned her
attention to a far off land. Her top priority appeared
(20:03):
to be Africa.
Speaker 15 (20:05):
She recently traveled to Africa on a fact finding mission
to Malli, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Speaker 7 (20:15):
At every turn, her focus and energy seemed to be
on the continent that was seven thousand miles away from
her congressional district.
Speaker 9 (20:22):
Our perception of Africa is that it's a continent of conflict,
of chaos, constant crisis of corruption and incompetence, and a
continent that always needs our charity. And one of the
reasons why I want to be in Congress, why I'm
in Congress now, is so that I can work on
Africa issues, but so that I could work to change
our perception of the continent.
Speaker 7 (20:44):
Year after year, her attention was in the land of
her ancestors, not in Los Angeles.
Speaker 9 (20:49):
I think there's a variety of ways that the United
States can help to shore up the infrastructure and capacity
of the African Union. So not only are we paying
attention to Africa today, we are also preparing for Africa
in the future.
Speaker 7 (21:10):
By twenty nineteen, she became the chair of the Congressional
Black Caucus, a powerful position in Washington, d C. Her
profile had risen in the nation's capital to the point
that when Joe Biden pledged to pick a female running
mate in twenty twenty, Karen Bass was one of the
top three to be considered. Her Northern California colleague Kamala
(21:31):
Harris out maneuvered her to win the spot. That by
twenty twenty two, she'd increased her name recognition, and she
looked to use it to gain power in her hometown.
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Speaker 1 (22:03):
Time Welcome back to Red Pilled America. As the summer
of twenty twenty one came to a close, Karen Bass
inched closer to entering the race for LA.
Speaker 13 (22:12):
Mayor, Congresswoman Karen Bass as her site set on the
mayor's office.
Speaker 6 (22:16):
She started out born and raised in La. She was
a physician's assistant, got involved with some local community groups
that led to a seat in the California State Legislature.
She was speaker there. That led to a seat in
the United States House of Representatives. And now Karen Bass
wants to head downtown.
Speaker 9 (22:34):
I have been under tremendous pressure to come home. There's
forty one thousand people in Los Angeles City alone sleeping
outside every day.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
In September twenty twenty one, she made it official.
Speaker 9 (22:47):
Los Angeles, you have called me home, and I'm ready
to serve.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
When she entered the race, the field was packed with
local Democrat activists, but because of her national profile, Karen
Bass was the clear front runner. However, after over a
decade focusing on issues in Africa, many began to wonder
whether she'd be able to forego that work and focus
on Los Angeles. Even the candidate herself wondered if she
(23:14):
could give up her work in the far away land.
In an October twenty twenty one interview with The New
York Times, Bass admitted that she hesitated entering the LA
mayoral race.
Speaker 7 (23:24):
I went to Africa every couple of months all the time.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
She told The Times, adding the idea of.
Speaker 7 (23:29):
Leaving that, especially the international work and the Africa work,
I was like, hmm, I don't think I want to
do that.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
But after being pressed on the issue by The New
York Times, Bass ultimately pledged to quote.
Speaker 7 (23:41):
Not travel internationally. The only places I would go would
be DC, Sacramento, San Francisco, and New York in relation
to LA.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
With Los Angeles and dire straits. It was a commitment
Bass knew she had to make, especially against an opponent
in Rick Caruso, that had committed his life to the city.
When she entered the race, Bass quickly became the front runner.
She had the entire Democrat establishment propping her up. By
the June twenty twenty two primary, the Democrat machine forced
(24:14):
her to the top of the pile. Placing second was
Rick Caruso. The two were headed for a November runoff. Technically,
Los Angeles had two Democrats to choose from on election night,
but what Karen Bass understood was that she had an
attack point against her opponent.
Speaker 5 (24:31):
A recent LA Times and UC Berkeley poll shows a
type race between Democrats Karen Bass, the sixth term Progressive
member of Congress, and billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso,
who was a registered Republican until three years ago.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Prior to running for mayor, Rick Caruso bounced around with
his political affiliations, first being a Republican, then an independent.
But as he began exploring a mayoral run, he must
have known that he'd have to change his affiliation to
stand a chance at being elected.
Speaker 7 (24:59):
Prior to nineteen sixty, Los Angeles had predominant been a
Republican city. The county was roughly eighty one percent white,
Hispanics only made up about nine point six percent. In
nineteen sixty one, the city did elect a Democrat, but
a Democrat in name only. La Mayor Sam Yorty was
a registered Democrat but governed as a Republican. He opposed
(25:24):
the area's radical civil rights leaders and increased funding for
law enforcement. But by nineteen seventy the demographics of Los
Angeles were shifting and racial tensions rose. As a result,
Whites were cut to just sixty seven percent, Hispanics doubled
their numbers from a decade earlier to eighteen point three percent.
(25:44):
With racial tensions rising, in nineteen seventy three, LA elected
Tom Bradley as mayor. The black progressive used his past
as an LAPD lieutenant to convince Angelino's he was the
right man for the times. But by the mid nineteen eighties,
the entire States politics would go go in the direction
of Mayor Bradley. After Democrats promised stricter border enforcement measures,
(26:09):
President Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act
of nineteen eighty six. It was a landmark immigration law
that combined amnesty for certain illegal aliens with stricter enforcement measures.
Two point seven million illegal aliens were granted American citizenship,
the largest amnesty program in US history. The Act required
(26:32):
employers to verify employees' legal status and made it illegal
for businesses to knowingly hire illegal aliens. However, Democrats reneged
on their promise and legally challenged the enforcement measures. Enforcement stalled,
causing illegal immigration to explode in California and Los Angeles.
By nineteen ninety, the white population plummeted to just forty
(26:55):
one percent from its eighty one percent number just thirty
years earlier, and Latinos at thirty eight percent, they almost
reached parity with whites. With a flood of low wage
Hispanic workers pouring into Los Angeles, economic prospects for the
area's black population dwindled. Racial tensions rose until they popped
(27:15):
when the Rodney King verdict ignited the La riots.
Speaker 16 (27:19):
The violence erupted after the acquittal of four white policemen
and the beating trial of black motorists Rodney King. There's
been looting, buildings have been set ablaze, and some motorists
have been dragged from their cars and beaten. So far,
nine people are reported dead, scores of others have been injured,
and Governor Pete Wilson has declared a state of emergency.
Speaker 7 (27:38):
Today in a last ditch effort, Angelino's elected Richard Reardon,
a corporate lawyer who ran on a tough on crime platform.
Reardon was a Republican, but in name only he was
pro gun control and pro choice.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
Well David billy Is.
Speaker 16 (27:54):
The battlefield for the immigration issue is prop one eighty seven.
It would take away schools, healthcare, and other social services
from illegal immigrants and their children.
Speaker 7 (28:03):
When the California voters passed Proposition one eighty seven, a
ballot initiative that sought to deny public services to legal immigrants.
Reared in distanced himself from the initiative. Pro immigration groups
quickly challenged the law. In nineteen ninety seven, a California
judge ruled the proposition unconstitutional, stating that only the federal
(28:23):
government had the authority over immigration. When Democrat Ray Davis
became governor in nineteen ninety nine, he quickly announced California
would not appeal the ruling, effectively ending Proposition one eighty seven.
The state would never be the same. The war over
Proposition one eighty seven galvanized the Latino community in Los Angeles.
(28:45):
By two thousand, LA County had almost forty five percent
Hispanics to just thirty two percent whites. Latinos now had
a political majority, and they turned hard against the GOP
party that backed Proposition one eighty seven. Republican became a
four letter ward in the city and the state. By
twenty twenty, the LA County Hispanic population swelled to nearly
(29:10):
fifty percent, Whites were just twenty five percent. Ronald Reagan's
amnesty backfired against his party, so when Rick Caruso decided
to run for mayor, of Los Angeles in twenty twenty two.
His next step was obvious.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
To have any chance of winning, He registered as a Democrat,
but at every turn the media reminded the public of
his past affiliation.
Speaker 14 (29:33):
In January, Caruso changed his voter registration to Democrat. For
almost a decade, he was reportedly registered with no party preference.
Speaker 12 (29:41):
He is a newly registered Democrat. He's that many years
as an independent, before that a Republican.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
His opponent, Karen Bass, was a community organizer whose focus
was on Africa, with no real large scale managerial experience.
In a head to head matchup with Rick Caruso, she
looked like a lightweight, so she latched on to the
one thing that could give her an edge. She argued
that Rick Caruso was not really a Democrat.
Speaker 9 (30:05):
He is basically running a very traditional Republican campaign, but
he's doing it as a new Democrat. He filed to
be a Democrat a couple of weeks before he filed
for this race. And the issues that we have to
make clear is that there's a lot more to being
a Democrat.
Speaker 16 (30:20):
It's about a set of values.
Speaker 9 (30:21):
It's not just about what paperwork you fill.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Out pass enter team jumped on the issue full time.
Speaker 17 (30:27):
When someone shows you who they are, believe now.
Speaker 18 (30:31):
Mar Gonzales, heads La County's Democratic Party, points out Caruso
registered as a Democrat just in January of this year.
Speaker 9 (30:38):
I am a lifelong pro choice Democrat who is always
on your side.
Speaker 19 (30:43):
Rick.
Speaker 9 (30:44):
I think when you changed your registration, one of the
things that you said is that you like the Democratic
Party of ten years ago, not the Democratic Party of today.
I like the Democratic Party ten years ago and I
like the Democratic Party of today because the Democratic Party
of today is more diverse, diverse politically and diverse in
every single way.
Speaker 4 (31:03):
Him to be accepting me, well please, but you know.
Speaker 9 (31:07):
And you know, no, no, no.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
In the final days of the race, Rick Caruso got
a major endorsement.
Speaker 20 (31:12):
My name is Freddie Escobar. I'm a thirty three year
veteran of the Los Angeles Fire Department. I've never seen
the city as as it is today. We deal with
the ramifications twenty four hours a day. We want a
better Los Angeles and we believe Rick Caruso will deliver
that change for the city of Los Angeles, for the
Fire Department and have a reflection what the fire department
(31:35):
should look like in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 10 (31:37):
The city has grown exponentially, while our fire department has shrunk.
We are severely understaffed, and that's why we here at
United Firefighters of Los Angeles City proudly endorse Rick Caruso
for mayor because he will prioritize public safety and staff
the fire department the way it needs to be staffed.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
On the eve of the election, Bass continued to attack
on Caruso's party affiliation.
Speaker 9 (32:02):
The message of the day is, and the message of
yesterday and the day before is that I am the
only Democrat running in this race.
Speaker 13 (32:09):
Nast Monday called Caruso a liar about his political beliefs
and to switch in January to the Democratic Party.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
We should be talking about the issues and that's what
I'm staying focused on.
Speaker 21 (32:19):
In the last couple of weeks, Bass has spoken critically
of Carusoe, calling him a liar for registering as a
Democrat right before the launch of his campaign.
Speaker 18 (32:28):
And yes, we have two Democrats on the ticket, but
Riccruso used to be a Republican. He changed his registration
first to no party preference and then to Democrat just
before he got into the race, and I think that
that was sort of a subcurrent all throughout this race
was you have a very democratic city sort of wrestling
with what kind of Democrat they think they are. And
(32:48):
I think that this race is really going to be
a referendum on that.
Speaker 13 (32:51):
Is he going to win or lose?
Speaker 18 (32:52):
I think that being a Republican is still really hard statewide.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Has Election Night twenty twenty two arrived, it appeared Caruso
still had a fighting chance.
Speaker 21 (33:00):
In the race for Elm mayor. It's a toss up
between Congresswoman Karen Bass and billionaire developer Rick Caruso.
Speaker 15 (33:07):
Several celebrities have voted for Crusoe over Bass, saying they
believe Crusoe is the one you can lead LA out
of the mess that it's in. Among them Snoop Dogg,
with A Paltrow, Kim Kardashian, Maria Schreiber, Katie Perry Pratt,
Paris Hilton, Jessica Alba, Mary Lopez, just to name a
few of The list goes on and on.
Speaker 21 (33:26):
Karen Bass has been getting support from big names in
the Democratic Party like former President Barack Obama and Vice
President Kamala Harris.
Speaker 17 (33:34):
And she's running with the support of nearly the entire
Democratic Party establishment.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
When the votes began coming in, Caruso was in the lead.
Speaker 4 (33:42):
Karen Bass, California Democrat trails Rick Caruso and the race
for mayor of Los Angeles.
Speaker 17 (33:46):
Rick Caruso has a slight lead with fifty one percent
of the votes just over two hundred and fifty thousand
so far. Karen Bass right behind with forty eight point
eight percent.
Speaker 4 (33:55):
But I'm happy to say that we're starting out strong
and we're a couple of thousand votes out.
Speaker 20 (34:00):
All's a good ride.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
The days went on, a familiar phenomenon began happening with
the vote tally. The establishment candidate started chipping away at
the lead.
Speaker 9 (34:10):
Thursday's numbers show an even tighter LA mayoral race. Developer
Rick Caruso now leads Representative Karen Bass by just over
two thousand votes.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
Three days after election day, Karen Bass took the lead
for good.
Speaker 8 (34:24):
Karen Bass has now taken the lead with fifty point
four percent of the votes. Rick Caruso went forty nine
point six percent of the votes, a lead of about
forty three hundred.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
Eventually, Los Angeles chose its new leader.
Speaker 10 (34:36):
It took more than a week, but the City of
Los Angeles finally has a new mayor.
Speaker 9 (34:41):
The Associated Press declaring Bass the winner.
Speaker 12 (34:44):
It is my jubilant honor to welcome the next Mayor
of Los Angeles.
Speaker 15 (34:50):
Karen Bass.
Speaker 12 (34:51):
Boosters crowd gave Ellie's major elect Karen Bass a war
welcome at the Wilshire Ebel Theater Thursday morning.
Speaker 9 (34:57):
Mark my words, we will get big things done together.
Speaker 1 (35:10):
In the end, Karen Bass beat Rick Caruso by almost
ten points. It was a decisive victory. She branded the
real estate developer as a Republican in disguise, and the
voters bought it. Los Angeles chose the community organizer over
the manager. In the coming months, Mayor Bass would push
(35:32):
for a budget to fight homelessness. She prioritized diversity, equity
and inclusion programs, increased funding for law enforcement, and cut
the budget for the fire department. Firefighting officials were shocked
and tried, warning of an impending catastrophe.
Speaker 19 (35:46):
If we cut one position, if we closed one station,
if we close one resource, the residents of Los Angeles
are going to pay the ultimate sacrifice and someone will die.
And we want to work with you guys to prevent
that from happening, and we have the fact to back
it up.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
But the new mayor had other priorities. When twenty twenty
five arrived, Los Angeles was experiencing a notably dry winter,
and officials made decisions that left the city particularly vulnerable
to a wildfire. Just as historic winds were headed for
the city, Mayor Bass chose to break her campaign pledge
with Los Angeles on the edge of crisis, she left
(36:26):
for yet another trip to Africa, and while she was away,
the city faced a reckoning with its decision to elect her.
Speaker 7 (36:35):
Coming up on Red Pilled America.
Speaker 5 (36:37):
Do you think that Mayor Bass should have canceled her
trip to to Ghana when she knew that they were
going to be an extreme event?
Speaker 2 (36:43):
I literally can't judge it. I don't know when she left.
I can't. I can't assess that it's not on it.
Speaker 13 (36:49):
And I mean this like there's not a at peril.
Speaker 20 (36:52):
My response appears to be political.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
And I make the left on that road at that point,
and that's when it just gets just horrific.
Speaker 7 (37:02):
Red piled a Mayor Ka is an iHeartRadio original podcast. It's
owned and produced by Patrick Carrelci and me Adriana Cortez
for Informed Ventures. Now you can get ad free access
to our entire catalog of episodes by becoming a backstage subscriber.
To subscribe, just visit Redpilled America dot com and could
join in the topmenu. Thanks for listening.
This is Red Pilled America. Hey Fambam, Just a quick
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(00:23):
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Red Pilled America.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
An intense plume of smoke that was rising and moving
very fast.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
He's got a really big NFC.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
Get out of your car if you want to live.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Andre made his way down palace Age Drive.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
It was really apocalyptic. They had abandoned probably three hundred cars.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Rick Caruso took to the airwaves to express his outrage.
Speaker 5 (00:55):
There's no water in the palata.
Speaker 6 (00:57):
There's no water coming out of the fire hid.
Speaker 7 (00:59):
In nineteen fifty nine, experts from the National Fire Protection
Association performed an assessment of the Los Angeles area. They
found a real problem in the mountain ranges bordering the
Pacific Ocean, A decision would be made in Washington, d C.
That would forever change the landscape of Los Angeles County.
(01:21):
I'm Patrick Carelchi and I'm Adriana Cortes.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
And this is Red Pilled America, a storytelling show.
Speaker 7 (01:28):
This is not another talk show covering the day's news.
We're all about telling stories.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Stories. Hollywood doesn't want you to hear stories.
Speaker 7 (01:37):
The media mocks stories about everyday Americans at the globalist ignore.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
You can think of Red Pilled America as audio documentaries,
and we promise only one thing, the truth. Welcome to
Red Pilled America. We're at part two of our series
(02:05):
of episodes entitled The Reckoning. We're looking for the answer
to the question Who's to blame for the twenty twenty
five LA wildfires by telling this story behind the city
where it happened. So to pick up where we left off.
As the Highlands neighborhood of the Pacific Palisades was expanding
in the late nineteen seventies on the other side of
the Santa Monica Mountains, and Angelino was entering one of
(02:26):
the most prestigious universities in America, and he would eventually
go on a mission to make Los Angeles beautiful again.
Speaker 7 (02:33):
In nineteen seventy six, a young man named Rick Caruso
entered USC's Marshall School of Business, and he arrived with
a bit of a pedigree. The grandson of Italian immigrants,
Rick was born in Los Angeles in nineteen fifty nine.
As he traveled through his elementary school years, his father,
Henry Crusoe, founded Dollar renecar. The venture instilled in the
(02:56):
younger Crusoe an entrepreneurial drive early in his life. He'd
go on to graduate from USCA in nineteen eighty with
a Bachelor of Science degree in Business administration, and three
years later he obtained his jd from Pepperdine University School
of Law. Carusoe immediately began making a mark in Los Angeles.
(03:17):
In nineteen eighty five, when he was just twenty six
years old, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley appointed Carusoe as
commissioner for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
He became the youngest commissioner in the city's history. He'd
eventually become the president of the water Board and ended
a twenty five year old lawsuit for the LADWP. The
(03:39):
resolution resulted in a windfall of clean water for the city.
In parallel, Rick started working as a real estate attorney,
but quickly figured out that he wasn't meant for the courtroom.
In nineteen eighty seven, he shifted course by founding Carusoe
Affiliated Holdings, a retail real estate development company. It would
change the landscape of the Los Angeles area. Caruso had
(04:09):
a unique philosophy to development. He prioritized creating experiences, not
just places to shop. He was an early critic of
the enclosed malls of the time. In his view, they
were outdated and lacked a sense of community. He favored
open air shopping environments, and he'd quickly bring this philosophy
(04:29):
to life. He developed the Encino Marketplace, the Village at
moor Park, the Promenade at Westlake, the Commons at Calabasas,
and the Lakes at Thousand Oaks, all beautifully designed upscale
shopping centers that emphasized experience over transactions. He brought an
attention to detail in landscaping, lighting, music, and architecture that
(04:51):
was missing in most shopping centers. It made his retail
developments feel welcoming and high end, and as a result,
he attracted upscale brands and premium tenants. By two thousand,
Rick Caruso had established himself as the premier luxury shopping
developer in Los Angeles, and even with his success in
(05:13):
real estate, Rick continued his service work in the city.
In two thousand and one, LA Mayor James Hahn appointed
Rick to the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners. He
was quickly elected as the president of the board and
played a crucial role in reforming the force. He led
the process of bringing one of the most sought after
law enforcement experts to Los Angeles. By the late nineteen nineties,
(05:37):
New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton was a shining
model of what law enforcement could be in the Big Apple.
He introduced CompStat, a data driven system that analyzed crime
trends and held precinct commanders accountable for crime reduction. He
advocated for broken windows policing, which targeted minor offenses to
(05:58):
prevent more serious crimes. As a result of his efforts,
crime rates in New York City plummeted, but in nineteen
ninety six, Bratton resigned due to tensions with New York
City Mayor Giuliani, overtaking credit for the success. Rick Caruso
saw that the star law enforcement expert was free and
moved to snatch him up for Los Angeles. The retail
(06:21):
mogul led the effort of recruiting Braughton to serve as
a chief of the LAPD. Caruso's profile in Los Angeles
was rising, but it was the launch of a real
estate development in two thousand and two that would make
him a legend in the city of angels.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
We were finishing up a project in Calabasas and I
heard of the opportunity next to the Farmers Market.
Speaker 7 (06:42):
That's Rick Caruso speaking to Jake Millar of Unfiltered in
nineteen ninety eight. While wrapping up the Commons at Calabasas, California,
Rick got word that a parking lot adjacent to the
famous Los Angeles Farmers Market became available.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
I've always been a fan of the Farmers Market because
I love history and I love the city, as I said,
and the market is one of the few historic landmarks
in the city of Los Angeles with a great history
to it.
Speaker 7 (07:08):
Rick imagined an outdoor shopping center that matched the old
time beauty of the Farmer's Market.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
What I knew was I had an iconic neighbor in
the Farmer's Market that I could build off of, and
if we followed the rule to reinvent something and do
something different, I wanted to build something that felt like
it was an extension of the market from a few
decades after. The story was that this was a town
and a great street that was built after World War
(07:35):
Two had fallen into disrepair, and we were bringing it back.
But it was all about being outdoors because I loved
the outdoors, right, So I had to build a street
to hold this new development together. And that's how it
just started rolling along. And then I went around the country,
walking different streets to get inspiration.
Speaker 7 (07:55):
He eventually stumbled upon King Street, a walking in retail
shoppers paradise in Charleston, South Carolina. Street has a colonial
era vibe with Victorian storefronts and Art Deco influences. Rick
loved the simple, refined Americana beauty of King Street and
felt it was perfectly in sync with the design of
the famed La Farmer's Market. He believed that if he
(08:18):
could build a beautiful location and experience, people would of
course flock to it. In nineteen ninety nine, he began development.
He crafted a winding street that traveled the length of
the development. He built a movie theater that was a
throwback to Hollywood's heyday. He installed an extravagant fountain, a
family friendly lawn with manicured, vibrant green grass that doubled
(08:40):
as a central gathering spot in the winter. He envisioned
a lighting ceremony with a large Rockefeller Center sized Christmas tree,
and he outfitted the street with tracks for a nineteen
fifty style double decker trolley to transport visitors from one
end of the property to the neighboring farmers Market. He
called it the Grove, and by the time he unveiled
(09:02):
it to Angelas in two thousand and two, it was
a thing of beauty.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
The curve of the gutters, the crown in the street.
Your eye picks up all of that to make it
look like it really did connect into the old market.
Speaker 7 (09:16):
It was an instant success, attracting both locals and tourists
from all over the world. The Grove would eventually become
one of the biggest destinations in Los Angeles, attracting forty
nine thousand plus visitors a day, more than even Disneyland.
Six years later, Rick would replicate the success by developing
The Americana at the Brand, a luxury mixed use development
(09:40):
in Glendale that fused high end retail with residential living. Then,
in twenty eighteen, he traversed to the Santa Monica Hills
to build Palisades Village in Pacific Palisades, a main street
experience that blended seamlessly into one of LA's most affluent enclaves.
Rick Caruso was becoming known as the Walt Disney of
(10:00):
real estate. His projects were made making Los Angeles beautiful again,
But it was a scandal at his alma mater that
proved Caruso could not only make a city a work
of art, but could also clean it up as well.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
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(10:41):
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(11:03):
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(11:28):
Welcome back to Red Pilled America. In May twenty eighteen,
Los Angeles Times broke a major scandal at the city's
most prestigious institution.
Speaker 8 (11:37):
It made me feel extremely uncomfortable and violated. For the
first time, USA student Daniellemohazib is speaking publicly allegend University
gydecologist doctor George Tindall sexually abused her under the guise
of medical care.
Speaker 9 (11:52):
I was in the hands of a predator.
Speaker 8 (11:54):
She joins a group of six current and former students
filing lawsuits alleging a pattern of sexual abuse. Tyndall was
the only full time gynecologist at the school's student health
center for nearly three decades.
Speaker 10 (12:06):
I am looking for justice, not just for me.
Speaker 5 (12:09):
But for all victims.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Within a couple of weeks, the potential victim count swelled.
Speaker 11 (12:14):
The university says they've received as many as three hundred
calls on a hotline set up for patients of doctor Tyndall.
Tyndall has denied any wrongdoing to the La Times and
left the university in twenty seventeen.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
USC faculty spoke out and began applying pressure on the
school as president.
Speaker 6 (12:32):
The president of USC under fire this evening after several
former students sued the university, accusing a campus gynecologist of
sexual misconduct and assault.
Speaker 11 (12:40):
Two hundred faculty members at USC demanding that USC president
Max Nikiya's stepped down, writing that he's quote lost the
moral authority to lead a.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
Group of us.
Speaker 12 (12:51):
You know a week ago just said, you know, this
can't go on, and this something is broken.
Speaker 11 (12:57):
Here Nikias, who has the full support of the Board
of Trustees, has said Tyndall's allegedmist conduct is unacceptable and
he has a plan to change the culture of the
university when it comes to handling allegations of sexual misconduct.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
To add to US's problems, both the LAPD and the
US Department of Education announced they were initiating investigations. The
university was in trouble at its lowest point in the
school's long and storied history. The school turned to an
alumnus for help. The university's president reportedly summoned Rick Caruso
to the campus, an alumnus and Board of Trustees member,
(13:32):
Caruso met with Nikias and learned that the next in
line to be the head of the board was not
equipped to lead the university through the crisis. The school
needed Caruso to provide stability to the situation. He decided
to take on the task pro bono. He effectively became
the CEO of not only the most prestigious institution in
(13:54):
Los Angeles, but also the largest private employer in the city.
His impact was immediate.
Speaker 13 (14:00):
President Max Nikias had said he would step down Jack
in May. Now about two months later, he finally has
this happening. After a meeting of US's board. Board chair,
Ricruso hopes to get a new president officially in place
between four and six months from now.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
He pushed the school to settle the lawsuit, which would
eventually cost the university roughly one point one billion dollars.
He played a key role in appointing the university's first
female president, Carol Foust, and took on the arrows to
reform the governing board that was chock full of some
of the biggest power players in America.
Speaker 13 (14:33):
Board President Ricruso said in a letter to students, faculty,
and alumni that a broad cultural change is needed here
at USC. He says those changes would also affect the board,
which has been criticized recently for being too large and
for handing over too many decisions to Max Nikias.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
By the time he was done four years later, the
consensus was that each successfully navigated the storm, helping to
recover the university's former stature. A USC trustee was impressed
with Carusoe's turnaround job, telling the La Times quote.
Speaker 7 (15:07):
He was willing to take the bullets and the darts
to do the right thing. I know very few people
in public and private life who are as truly courageous.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Rick Crusoe had cleaned up LA's most prestigious institution through
his work with the Board of Water and Power Commissioners,
He'd brought more water to the city. As president of
the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, he helped reform
the LAPD, and all while becoming the Walt Disney of
real estate, beautifying his hometown with stunning retail attractions. Rick
(15:35):
Caruso had proven to be a force for good in
Los Angeles, and now he wanted to take on the
job of cleaning up the city at large. But what
he didn't know at the time was that to clean
Los Angeles of corruption, he'd first have to defeat a
Democrat machine that had cast a spell on Angelino's.
Speaker 7 (15:56):
In twenty twenty two, Los Angeles was in disarray. The
city was hit with a one two punch wi the
COVID shutdowns a few years earlier shuttered many businesses. Long
stretches of shopping areas were completely empty. Some were even
boarded up. The BLM riots that followed not only had
businesses rethinking opening again, but the riots brought with them
(16:19):
a new normal in crime. Angelino's were becoming accustomed to
petty theft, burglary, and shoplifting. Homelessness skyrocketed, urban blight spread,
and the city's infrastructure projects were being shelved by a
focus on woke ideology and to boot wildfires were running rampant.
(16:40):
Los Angeles was in dire need of leadership, and a
real estate billionaire decided he wanted to take on the challenge.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Billionaire Rick Caruso has filed a declaration with the City
Clerk's office of his intent to run for Mayor of
Los Angeles.
Speaker 14 (16:54):
He's chair of the USC Board of Trustees and served
on the Board of Water and Power Commissioners and as
president of the Civilian Police Commission after being appointed by
Mayor Jamie Han in two thousand and one.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
I'm excited to be here. It's a very meaningful day
for me and my family. I love Los Angeles, I
love the diversity of Los Angeles. I'm eager to be
a part of this.
Speaker 12 (17:13):
Rick caruz So, philanthropist and billionaire developer of landmarks like
the Grove, says he's running for mayor of Los Angeles
because current leadership has failed.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
We met up recently at another Caruso upscale destination Palisades
Village to discuss why he wants the city's top job.
Everyone that I'm running against their legislators, but they've been
on the job for over a decade, and while they've
been on the job, everything has gotten worse.
Speaker 12 (17:40):
Rusa told me the first thing he will do if
elected to mayor of Los Angeles is declare a state
of emergency in the city.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
I want to be tough on crime. I think that's
important to have a safe society and where people feel
secure and happy, and I want to give people an
opportunity to live the American dream.
Speaker 5 (17:55):
His long rumored run comes after about a month after
he registered as a Democrat.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Primary will be June seventh, with the top two finishers
meeting in the runoff in November.
Speaker 7 (18:03):
Within days of his announcement, he got a major endorsement.
Speaker 5 (18:07):
In the race for LA mayor.
Speaker 6 (18:08):
Former LAPD chief Charlie Beck endorsed his former LA Police
Commission president Rick Caruso.
Speaker 7 (18:14):
The city's mayoral race was stacked with a long list
of Democrat Party activists, but only one was a real threat,
and that was Congresswoman Karen Bass Born in Los Angeles,
in nineteen fifty three. Karen Bass came from humble beginnings.
Her father was a postal carrier, her mother a homemaker.
(18:35):
She briefly studied philosophy at San Diego State University, but
changed course and in nineteen eighty two completed a physician
assistant program at the Kech School of Medicine at USC.
In nineteen ninety, she earned a BS in health science
from cal State University, Domingus Hills. That same year, she
(18:56):
founded the Community Coalition, a nonprofit group that purported to
tackle the problems of poverty, so abstance abuse, and crime
that was gripping South Los Angeles. Bass became known as
a community organizer, a far left wing activist, rallying people
around progressive causes. By two thousand and four, her activism
(19:17):
catapulted her to the California State House. Four years later,
she became the sixty seventh Speaker of the California State Assembly,
but she didn't stay there long. In twenty ten, she
was elected to the US House of Representatives as a
congresswoman representing California's thirty third congressional district. You'd think that
Bass would have used her valuable time to champion issues
(19:40):
that directly impacted the Los Angeles community she represented. I mean,
in twenty ten, South Los Angeles was a hellhole of crime, poverty,
and drug abuse. The area needed the full attention of
its representative on these problems. But instead of focusing on
the core issues of Los Angeles, Karen Bass turned her
attention to a far off land. Her top priority appeared
(20:03):
to be Africa.
Speaker 15 (20:05):
She recently traveled to Africa on a fact finding mission
to Malli, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Speaker 7 (20:15):
At every turn, her focus and energy seemed to be
on the continent that was seven thousand miles away from
her congressional district.
Speaker 9 (20:22):
Our perception of Africa is that it's a continent of conflict,
of chaos, constant crisis of corruption and incompetence, and a
continent that always needs our charity. And one of the
reasons why I want to be in Congress, why I'm
in Congress now, is so that I can work on
Africa issues, but so that I could work to change
our perception of the continent.
Speaker 7 (20:44):
Year after year, her attention was in the land of
her ancestors, not in Los Angeles.
Speaker 9 (20:49):
I think there's a variety of ways that the United
States can help to shore up the infrastructure and capacity
of the African Union. So not only are we paying
attention to Africa today, we are also preparing for Africa
in the future.
Speaker 7 (21:10):
By twenty nineteen, she became the chair of the Congressional
Black Caucus, a powerful position in Washington, d C. Her
profile had risen in the nation's capital to the point
that when Joe Biden pledged to pick a female running
mate in twenty twenty, Karen Bass was one of the
top three to be considered. Her Northern California colleague Kamala
(21:31):
Harris out maneuvered her to win the spot. That by
twenty twenty two, she'd increased her name recognition, and she
looked to use it to gain power in her hometown.
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Speaker 1 (22:03):
Time Welcome back to Red Pilled America. As the summer
of twenty twenty one came to a close, Karen Bass
inched closer to entering the race for LA.
Speaker 13 (22:12):
Mayor, Congresswoman Karen Bass as her site set on the
mayor's office.
Speaker 6 (22:16):
She started out born and raised in La. She was
a physician's assistant, got involved with some local community groups
that led to a seat in the California State Legislature.
She was speaker there. That led to a seat in
the United States House of Representatives. And now Karen Bass
wants to head downtown.
Speaker 9 (22:34):
I have been under tremendous pressure to come home. There's
forty one thousand people in Los Angeles City alone sleeping
outside every day.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
In September twenty twenty one, she made it official.
Speaker 9 (22:47):
Los Angeles, you have called me home, and I'm ready
to serve.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
When she entered the race, the field was packed with
local Democrat activists, but because of her national profile, Karen
Bass was the clear front runner. However, after over a
decade focusing on issues in Africa, many began to wonder
whether she'd be able to forego that work and focus
on Los Angeles. Even the candidate herself wondered if she
(23:14):
could give up her work in the far away land.
In an October twenty twenty one interview with The New
York Times, Bass admitted that she hesitated entering the LA
mayoral race.
Speaker 7 (23:24):
I went to Africa every couple of months all the time.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
She told The Times, adding the idea of.
Speaker 7 (23:29):
Leaving that, especially the international work and the Africa work,
I was like, hmm, I don't think I want to
do that.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
But after being pressed on the issue by The New
York Times, Bass ultimately pledged to quote.
Speaker 7 (23:41):
Not travel internationally. The only places I would go would
be DC, Sacramento, San Francisco, and New York in relation
to LA.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
With Los Angeles and dire straits. It was a commitment
Bass knew she had to make, especially against an opponent
in Rick Caruso, that had committed his life to the city.
When she entered the race, Bass quickly became the front runner.
She had the entire Democrat establishment propping her up. By
the June twenty twenty two primary, the Democrat machine forced
(24:14):
her to the top of the pile. Placing second was
Rick Caruso. The two were headed for a November runoff. Technically,
Los Angeles had two Democrats to choose from on election night,
but what Karen Bass understood was that she had an
attack point against her opponent.
Speaker 5 (24:31):
A recent LA Times and UC Berkeley poll shows a
type race between Democrats Karen Bass, the sixth term Progressive
member of Congress, and billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso,
who was a registered Republican until three years ago.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Prior to running for mayor, Rick Caruso bounced around with
his political affiliations, first being a Republican, then an independent.
But as he began exploring a mayoral run, he must
have known that he'd have to change his affiliation to
stand a chance at being elected.
Speaker 7 (24:59):
Prior to nineteen sixty, Los Angeles had predominant been a
Republican city. The county was roughly eighty one percent white,
Hispanics only made up about nine point six percent. In
nineteen sixty one, the city did elect a Democrat, but
a Democrat in name only. La Mayor Sam Yorty was
a registered Democrat but governed as a Republican. He opposed
(25:24):
the area's radical civil rights leaders and increased funding for
law enforcement. But by nineteen seventy the demographics of Los
Angeles were shifting and racial tensions rose. As a result,
Whites were cut to just sixty seven percent, Hispanics doubled
their numbers from a decade earlier to eighteen point three percent.
(25:44):
With racial tensions rising, in nineteen seventy three, LA elected
Tom Bradley as mayor. The black progressive used his past
as an LAPD lieutenant to convince Angelino's he was the
right man for the times. But by the mid nineteen eighties,
the entire States politics would go go in the direction
of Mayor Bradley. After Democrats promised stricter border enforcement measures,
(26:09):
President Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act
of nineteen eighty six. It was a landmark immigration law
that combined amnesty for certain illegal aliens with stricter enforcement measures.
Two point seven million illegal aliens were granted American citizenship,
the largest amnesty program in US history. The Act required
(26:32):
employers to verify employees' legal status and made it illegal
for businesses to knowingly hire illegal aliens. However, Democrats reneged
on their promise and legally challenged the enforcement measures. Enforcement stalled,
causing illegal immigration to explode in California and Los Angeles.
By nineteen ninety, the white population plummeted to just forty
(26:55):
one percent from its eighty one percent number just thirty
years earlier, and Latinos at thirty eight percent, they almost
reached parity with whites. With a flood of low wage
Hispanic workers pouring into Los Angeles, economic prospects for the
area's black population dwindled. Racial tensions rose until they popped
(27:15):
when the Rodney King verdict ignited the La riots.
Speaker 16 (27:19):
The violence erupted after the acquittal of four white policemen
and the beating trial of black motorists Rodney King. There's
been looting, buildings have been set ablaze, and some motorists
have been dragged from their cars and beaten. So far,
nine people are reported dead, scores of others have been injured,
and Governor Pete Wilson has declared a state of emergency.
Speaker 7 (27:38):
Today in a last ditch effort, Angelino's elected Richard Reardon,
a corporate lawyer who ran on a tough on crime platform.
Reardon was a Republican, but in name only he was
pro gun control and pro choice.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
Well David billy Is.
Speaker 16 (27:54):
The battlefield for the immigration issue is prop one eighty seven.
It would take away schools, healthcare, and other social services
from illegal immigrants and their children.
Speaker 7 (28:03):
When the California voters passed Proposition one eighty seven, a
ballot initiative that sought to deny public services to legal immigrants.
Reared in distanced himself from the initiative. Pro immigration groups
quickly challenged the law. In nineteen ninety seven, a California
judge ruled the proposition unconstitutional, stating that only the federal
(28:23):
government had the authority over immigration. When Democrat Ray Davis
became governor in nineteen ninety nine, he quickly announced California
would not appeal the ruling, effectively ending Proposition one eighty seven.
The state would never be the same. The war over
Proposition one eighty seven galvanized the Latino community in Los Angeles.
(28:45):
By two thousand, LA County had almost forty five percent
Hispanics to just thirty two percent whites. Latinos now had
a political majority, and they turned hard against the GOP
party that backed Proposition one eighty seven. Republican became a
four letter ward in the city and the state. By
twenty twenty, the LA County Hispanic population swelled to nearly
(29:10):
fifty percent, Whites were just twenty five percent. Ronald Reagan's
amnesty backfired against his party, so when Rick Caruso decided
to run for mayor, of Los Angeles in twenty twenty two.
His next step was obvious.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
To have any chance of winning, He registered as a Democrat,
but at every turn the media reminded the public of
his past affiliation.
Speaker 14 (29:33):
In January, Caruso changed his voter registration to Democrat. For
almost a decade, he was reportedly registered with no party preference.
Speaker 12 (29:41):
He is a newly registered Democrat. He's that many years
as an independent, before that a Republican.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
His opponent, Karen Bass, was a community organizer whose focus
was on Africa, with no real large scale managerial experience.
In a head to head matchup with Rick Caruso, she
looked like a lightweight, so she latched on to the
one thing that could give her an edge. She argued
that Rick Caruso was not really a Democrat.
Speaker 9 (30:05):
He is basically running a very traditional Republican campaign, but
he's doing it as a new Democrat. He filed to
be a Democrat a couple of weeks before he filed
for this race. And the issues that we have to
make clear is that there's a lot more to being
a Democrat.
Speaker 16 (30:20):
It's about a set of values.
Speaker 9 (30:21):
It's not just about what paperwork you fill.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Out pass enter team jumped on the issue full time.
Speaker 17 (30:27):
When someone shows you who they are, believe now.
Speaker 18 (30:31):
Mar Gonzales, heads La County's Democratic Party, points out Caruso
registered as a Democrat just in January of this year.
Speaker 9 (30:38):
I am a lifelong pro choice Democrat who is always
on your side.
Speaker 19 (30:43):
Rick.
Speaker 9 (30:44):
I think when you changed your registration, one of the
things that you said is that you like the Democratic
Party of ten years ago, not the Democratic Party of today.
I like the Democratic Party ten years ago and I
like the Democratic Party of today because the Democratic Party
of today is more diverse, diverse politically and diverse in
every single way.
Speaker 4 (31:03):
Him to be accepting me, well please, but you know.
Speaker 9 (31:07):
And you know, no, no, no.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
In the final days of the race, Rick Caruso got
a major endorsement.
Speaker 20 (31:12):
My name is Freddie Escobar. I'm a thirty three year
veteran of the Los Angeles Fire Department. I've never seen
the city as as it is today. We deal with
the ramifications twenty four hours a day. We want a
better Los Angeles and we believe Rick Caruso will deliver
that change for the city of Los Angeles, for the
Fire Department and have a reflection what the fire department
(31:35):
should look like in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 10 (31:37):
The city has grown exponentially, while our fire department has shrunk.
We are severely understaffed, and that's why we here at
United Firefighters of Los Angeles City proudly endorse Rick Caruso
for mayor because he will prioritize public safety and staff
the fire department the way it needs to be staffed.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
On the eve of the election, Bass continued to attack
on Caruso's party affiliation.
Speaker 9 (32:02):
The message of the day is, and the message of
yesterday and the day before is that I am the
only Democrat running in this race.
Speaker 13 (32:09):
Nast Monday called Caruso a liar about his political beliefs
and to switch in January to the Democratic Party.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
We should be talking about the issues and that's what
I'm staying focused on.
Speaker 21 (32:19):
In the last couple of weeks, Bass has spoken critically
of Carusoe, calling him a liar for registering as a
Democrat right before the launch of his campaign.
Speaker 18 (32:28):
And yes, we have two Democrats on the ticket, but
Riccruso used to be a Republican. He changed his registration
first to no party preference and then to Democrat just
before he got into the race, and I think that
that was sort of a subcurrent all throughout this race
was you have a very democratic city sort of wrestling
with what kind of Democrat they think they are. And
(32:48):
I think that this race is really going to be
a referendum on that.
Speaker 13 (32:51):
Is he going to win or lose?
Speaker 18 (32:52):
I think that being a Republican is still really hard statewide.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Has Election Night twenty twenty two arrived, it appeared Caruso
still had a fighting chance.
Speaker 21 (33:00):
In the race for Elm mayor. It's a toss up
between Congresswoman Karen Bass and billionaire developer Rick Caruso.
Speaker 15 (33:07):
Several celebrities have voted for Crusoe over Bass, saying they
believe Crusoe is the one you can lead LA out
of the mess that it's in. Among them Snoop Dogg,
with A Paltrow, Kim Kardashian, Maria Schreiber, Katie Perry Pratt,
Paris Hilton, Jessica Alba, Mary Lopez, just to name a
few of The list goes on and on.
Speaker 21 (33:26):
Karen Bass has been getting support from big names in
the Democratic Party like former President Barack Obama and Vice
President Kamala Harris.
Speaker 17 (33:34):
And she's running with the support of nearly the entire
Democratic Party establishment.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
When the votes began coming in, Caruso was in the lead.
Speaker 4 (33:42):
Karen Bass, California Democrat trails Rick Caruso and the race
for mayor of Los Angeles.
Speaker 17 (33:46):
Rick Caruso has a slight lead with fifty one percent
of the votes just over two hundred and fifty thousand
so far. Karen Bass right behind with forty eight point
eight percent.
Speaker 4 (33:55):
But I'm happy to say that we're starting out strong
and we're a couple of thousand votes out.
Speaker 20 (34:00):
All's a good ride.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
The days went on, a familiar phenomenon began happening with
the vote tally. The establishment candidate started chipping away at
the lead.
Speaker 9 (34:10):
Thursday's numbers show an even tighter LA mayoral race. Developer
Rick Caruso now leads Representative Karen Bass by just over
two thousand votes.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
Three days after election day, Karen Bass took the lead
for good.
Speaker 8 (34:24):
Karen Bass has now taken the lead with fifty point
four percent of the votes. Rick Caruso went forty nine
point six percent of the votes, a lead of about
forty three hundred.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
Eventually, Los Angeles chose its new leader.
Speaker 10 (34:36):
It took more than a week, but the City of
Los Angeles finally has a new mayor.
Speaker 9 (34:41):
The Associated Press declaring Bass the winner.
Speaker 12 (34:44):
It is my jubilant honor to welcome the next Mayor
of Los Angeles.
Speaker 15 (34:50):
Karen Bass.
Speaker 12 (34:51):
Boosters crowd gave Ellie's major elect Karen Bass a war
welcome at the Wilshire Ebel Theater Thursday morning.
Speaker 9 (34:57):
Mark my words, we will get big things done together.
Speaker 1 (35:10):
In the end, Karen Bass beat Rick Caruso by almost
ten points. It was a decisive victory. She branded the
real estate developer as a Republican in disguise, and the
voters bought it. Los Angeles chose the community organizer over
the manager. In the coming months, Mayor Bass would push
(35:32):
for a budget to fight homelessness. She prioritized diversity, equity
and inclusion programs, increased funding for law enforcement, and cut
the budget for the fire department. Firefighting officials were shocked
and tried, warning of an impending catastrophe.
Speaker 19 (35:46):
If we cut one position, if we closed one station,
if we close one resource, the residents of Los Angeles
are going to pay the ultimate sacrifice and someone will die.
And we want to work with you guys to prevent
that from happening, and we have the fact to back
it up.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
But the new mayor had other priorities. When twenty twenty
five arrived, Los Angeles was experiencing a notably dry winter,
and officials made decisions that left the city particularly vulnerable
to a wildfire. Just as historic winds were headed for
the city, Mayor Bass chose to break her campaign pledge
with Los Angeles on the edge of crisis, she left
(36:26):
for yet another trip to Africa, and while she was away,
the city faced a reckoning with its decision to elect her.
Speaker 7 (36:35):
Coming up on Red Pilled America.
Speaker 5 (36:37):
Do you think that Mayor Bass should have canceled her
trip to to Ghana when she knew that they were
going to be an extreme event?
Speaker 2 (36:43):
I literally can't judge it. I don't know when she left.
I can't. I can't assess that it's not on it.
Speaker 13 (36:49):
And I mean this like there's not a at peril.
Speaker 20 (36:52):
My response appears to be political.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
And I make the left on that road at that point,
and that's when it just gets just horrific.
Speaker 7 (37:02):
Red piled a Mayor Ka is an iHeartRadio original podcast. It's
owned and produced by Patrick Carrelci and me Adriana Cortez
for Informed Ventures. Now you can get ad free access
to our entire catalog of episodes by becoming a backstage subscriber.
To subscribe, just visit Redpilled America dot com and could
join in the topmenu. Thanks for listening.
Hosts And Creators
Adryana Cortez
Patrick Courrielche
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