Los Angeles Mayoral Candidate Rick Caruso speaks in a campaign event. Sept. 15, 2022. (Photo: Ringo Chiu, Shutterstock)
Rick Caruso Switching Sides… Again?
Failed LA Mayor candidate funding Democrats
By Thomas Buckley, November 7, 2023 3:15 am
Billionaire Developer Rick Caruso, who spent $104 million last year in his failed campaign to become mayor of Los Angeles, appears to be politically reinventing himself once again: the former Republican donor and Trump appointee is now rebranding himself as a Democrat kingmaker.
And maybe thinking about being a king – or at least a mayor or governor – himself.
Recently, Caruso pledged to spend an undisclosed sum in 2024 to defeat five California Republican members of Congress.
“We’ve got to get things moving and get out of this ridiculous constant fighting and everybody kicking sand in each other’s face in the sandbox,” Caruso told Politico’s Christopher Cadelago and Melanie Mason of his plans. He will “(S)tick with the central theme of getting moderates in the House,” Caruso said. “I am not out to support extremists or, frankly, ideologues.”
Besides opening his checkbook, Caruso is reportedly making the Democratic rounds, hobnobbing in DC and trying to kiss and make up locally.
Prior to running for mayor as a Democrat, Caruso had been both a decline to state (independent) and a Republican and a regular campaign contributor to GOP candidates and committees, nationally and locally. Over the years, Caruso has donated hundreds of thousands to Republican candidates, from George w. Bush to Mitt Romney to former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield.
“Rick Caruso has been a pro-life Republican his whole career until he decided to run for mayor,” tweeted Democrat consultant Bill Burton, the former deputy press secretary for President Obama. “So much so that Donald Trump appointed him to his economic team.”
Caruso may find some of his more pro-business, tough(er) on crime positions not exactly welcome in many Democratic circles, which could hamper any attempt to run for anything.
In other words, the checks will be welcomed by Democrats, the request to support any electoral ambitions may not.
The five congress members targeted also seems to raise uncomfortable questions. Caruso in the past has been criticized for his alleged – and confirmed – treatment of members of minority groups. He called Rep. Maxine Waters a “bitch,” which – while it may or may not be accurate – was frowned upon by Black political leaders.
He was also criticized by a fellow USC trustee who felt he was dismissed and disparaged by Caruso for his background and tenuous command of the English language.
“I strongly felt, I was discriminated, humiliated, embarrassed and singled out from the board the meeting because of my race and my knowledges of the facts” of the issue at hand, said Ming Hsieh according to USC Annenberg Media.
Hsieh has donated $85 million to the school, endowed the USC Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering and established the Ming Hsieh Institute for Research on Engineering-Medicine for Cancer at USC.
It has not escaped the notice of LA political movers and shakers that of the Republicans congress members targeted by Caruso in the next election cycle, four are either first-generation immigrants or children of foreign-born parents, two are women, one is Latino, and two are Asian Americans.
The Globe reached out to the Caruso organization for comment. There was no response.
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tell me you have no loyalty and cannot be trusted by not telling me you have no loyalty and cannot be trusted
With Caruso’s money, he should have his own counter intelligence operation, smear factory, reporters on payroll, his own print shops owned through shell corporations, and a privately hosted and maintained contact management/voter management system. He should have his own cloud data centers around the region, hosting sites without pointing to him directly from which to ruin or build up networks of people he uses to further his aims.
Instead, he has a bank account and a phalanx of parasites – they charge him per ad., per mailer, per email, etc.
In other words, he is a RICH CHUMP being bled dry by a professional parasite class.
The sharks that have the above-mentioned networks and services are happy to let this businessman RUBE get robbed.
A person who has shown to jump sides to what benefits them with no actual cause but to self promote – is not to be trusted at all levels — Caruso can pledge this or that but holding him accountable to it is laughable – he looks “dirty” — if we want to be lied to there are many democrats or RINOs to choose from already
Does he smell a POTUS opening?
If Gavin Newsom is a DNC front runner for the job; of course why not Caruso.
Caruso at least has more accomplishments to his name and has balanced his own private sector budgets.
I can also smell RINO’s behind this, itching for a surrogate fight with Trump. Lord knows Ronald Reagan would turn over in his grave if he knew what RINO hot bed his Presidential Library has become. Caruso was a donor to the Library displays, in honor of the Gipper.
RINO’s will throw their weight behind the right Democrat that tells them what they want to hear; long before they will ever back Trump again. 2024 is getting interesting an interesting-er. Lord knows this country has major problems to confront.
How savvy is Caruso and the need to pander to the big public sector unions (D) to even get taken seriously, if only RINO’s are now currently turning his head. Plus Caruso proved he cannot close the deal, after his failed LA mayor’ race. He is in this for all the wrong reasons, and people intuitively sense this.
I heard all I need to hear about chameleon Caruso in this article. Will vote and contribute accordingly.