The Democrats need to rally together rather then eating their own over the California fires. There is strength in unity.

@beckyromero Wow... you must really have a low regard for the "regular" voters: How could they possibly know not to vote for Bass if no one tells them and doesn't hand them another candidate who is pre-screened for purity. And, how can another Democrat possibly know to challenge Bass if it isn't orchestrated?

The same arrogance that kicked Biden to the curb is the same one that is now cropping up to eat Bass alive. It's a proven path to Democrat suicide in the name of purity and the attitude, "we know better than the poor helpless voters who need our help." Again, this is not a defence of Bass and her performance. It is a lesson learned that the Pelosi way didn't work at the presidential level and it won't work here.

If Bass can redeem herself with the voters, then that that's the path to success. If she can't or takes herself (HERSELF) out of the running, then that's the path to success. If another candidate wants to challenge her (Democrat or Republican or Other), then that's the path to success. Orchestrating her ouster is a proven path to failure. Kamala Harris was "found" as a competent replacement for the voters and she failed... maybe for all the wrong reasons, but a failure just the same.

"A competent and generally respected" candidate needs to find his/her way to the voters. And, that may still be Bass. Orchestrating a solution to protect the "helpless" voters to sell them on someone who looks good, looks young, looks pure, looks enthusiastic, looks competent sounds like machine politics. It's been tried. It's a failed approach.

@MarkPaul

Respectfully, Bass and Biden are not comparable. Bass' actions with regards to budget cuts may have contributed to the crisis. Biden got us out of the pandemic.

Also, the mayoral race in Los Angeles is not a partisan race. There are no party primaries. If someone gets 50% +1 on June 2, 2026, they are elected. Otherwise, the top two have a run-off in November.

There's only 17 months to the election.

If a Democrat jumps into the race in the next couple months, is that going to be "eating their own" if s/he focuses on City Hall incompetence and goes after Bass for the city's response to the fires?

[media=https://youtu.be/UzCcnFX3y6o]

@beckyromero You don't seem to want to learn from the debacle of pushing Biden to the curb in an orchestrated way. The conditions don't have to be the same to learn a lesson. The issue does remain the same... orchestrating a candidate change vs. respecting empowered voters to do the "right" thing.

If another Democrat jumps into the ring to challenge Bass and give voters a choice... that's not eating their own. If, like Pelosi and her minions did with Biden, if Democrat officials have public "family discussions" (this was their term to describe what they were doing) in the media to attack Bass, that is eating their own.

I am advising against orchestrating toppling Bass. I am in favour of voters making a candidate selection (even if that includes Bass) without such orchestration.

@jshm2 Diminishing humans into landscape material is a pretty horrible commentary all of its own and lacks any pragmatic path to winning elections. "New" candidates should always be welcomed, but they need to clear their own way to the top rather than having the path cleared for them. The voters could have easily selected anyone but Bass, but they voted for her. There is empirical evidence kicking her to the curb, Biden-style, won't win elections. It only will open the way for someone even less desirable.

If voters are unhappy with Bass, they will find another candidate on their own without the political machinery clearing the way.