Was Spencer Pratt ROBBED? The Strange Vote Swing That Changed L.A.’s Election

[00:00:00]Here's the reality. It's too late for my campaign. A lot of people refuse to accept that, but I can. I told you all to get your ass out and vote. Tell your friends [music] to vote. Vote enough to beat the cheat. We didn't beat it, but that doesn't mean I quit. I don't know how to quit.

[00:00:11]>> He never knew when to quit.

[00:00:14]>> My goal isn't to try and salvage [music] the campaign. Just like my advocacy in the wake of the Palestine Fire wasn't about my own home. It's too late for me.

[00:00:21]This is about you. This is about the next one. To step aside and quietly disappear. I'll remind you there's a smart way to handle these things and a dumb way. Evidence is not proof. So, was Spencer Pratt robbed? The honest answer is we do not publicly have enough proof to state that as a fact. There's enough to ask questions. There are statistical changes that deserve explanation. There is a real federal case involving payments for voter registrations on Skid Row. And Spencer claims his investigators collected uh interviews from people who said they were paid or influenced. [music] But the missing piece is still the connection. Can Spencer connect specific illegally obtained ballots [music] to this mayoral election? Can he demonstrate that enough unlawful votes were cast to change the result? [music] Can he connect those activities to a campaign, a political organization, or coordinated operation? Sadly, until that happens, I cannot honestly tell you without a shadow of a doubt that Spencer was robbed. I have my suspicions, but that's neither here nor there. But I also cannot tell you that the public should simply stop asking questions because government officials says everything was normal. No, no, no, no, no. Perhaps Spencer was cheated. Perhaps he legitimately [music] lost. Perhaps both things are partially true. That vulnerabilities were exploited, but not on a scale large enough to change the final outcome. That is what a serious investigation is supposed to determine.

[00:01:46]But there's a larger question that has bothered me throughout this entire election process. Um, even assuming every ballot was legitimate, [music] why would uh people who constantly complain about Los Angeles continue voting for politicians connected to the conditions [music] they complain about? Folks complain constantly about the taxes, the homelessness. They complain about uh deteriorating streets, broken water lines, crime, uh, bureaucracy, corruption. They, uh, complain about the billions of dollars being spent without any visible results. Then election [music] time comes and many of those same voters support the continuation or expansion of the [music] same political philosophy.

[00:02:25]But why not try something different?

[00:02:28]Listen, I [music] understand that Spencer Pratt may not be everyone's idea of a quote unquote conventional mayor.

[00:02:34]He's a celebrity. He's confrontational.

[00:02:36]He says things that make people uncomfortable.

[00:02:39]But when the conventional politicians have overseen the deterioration of the city, being unconventional should not automatically disqualify somebody. At [music] some point, the voters, you, me, we have to decide something. We have to decide whether uh we're more frightened of something new than we're exhausted by what already exists. And I think part of the answer may be that uh Los Angeles is not failing everyone equally. Um, working-class people experience Los Angeles through rent increases, uh, through long commutes, potholes, uh, utility bills, failing public services, uh, neighborhoods that feel increasingly neglected. But there's another Los Angeles.

[00:03:20]If you can, I'd like you to take a drive through the wealthier parts of Pasadena, uh, Beverly Hills, the Hollywood Hills, or many gated communities, uh, throughout Southern California.

[00:03:31]There are people living in homes worth millions of dollars, sometimes with several properties, uh, private security, accountants, attorneys, um, access to political networks that ordinary residents will never experience.

[00:03:45]They do not stand in the same lines.

[00:03:48]They do not wait for the same services.

[00:03:51]They do not feel every tax increase the same way. See, they can move money. They can move businesses. They can move themselves. uh they can do this when a policy feels or becomes inconvenient.

[00:04:02]But some of them the existing system it's not broken at all. It works extremely well. Some may benefit from government contracts, uh nonprofit funding. Some may benefit from development deals, uh consulting relationships, property ownership, or simply having access to the people who are making the decisions. That does not mean that every wealthy voter is corrupt. It doesn't even mean that everyone supporting Karen Bass or Nitio Ramen is personally benefiting from corruption. But it does mean this.

[00:04:31]The people who suffer the most from a policy are not always the same people promoting it. This is also why I'm very very skeptical when wealthy celebrities and television personalities present themselves as if they're uh living under the same conditions as ordinary working people. I saw Whoopy Goldberg this recently on the view. I'm thinking like I have to go to work. I'm thinking like no you don't. No you don't. Listen, whether it's a panelist on like The View or movie star, political commentator, or another celebrity telling people how they should vote, we have to remember that many of these individuals live completely different lives. I'm not talking about kind of different. I'm talking completely different. Most of them have extremely high salaries, investments, several properties, private transportation, and most importantly, connections that protect them from the consequences of the policies [music] they publicly support.

[00:05:18]Higher gas prices do not change their lives. A rent increase will not force them out of the neighborhood. Uh-uh. Uh, a deteriorating public school will not affect them if their children attend a private [music] school. A dangerous street will not affect them if they have private security and live behind gates.

[00:05:34]They can support almost any policy because they are wealthy enough to survive any outcome.

[00:05:41]Maybe they sincerely believe what they're saying. Maybe they want to appear relatable. Maybe, maybe they're repeating the expectations of the professional and social circle surrounding them. I don't really know, and I won't accuse someone of being secretly paid without evidence, but their words should still be judged with the understanding that they may never personally experience the consequences.

[00:06:02]Uh, voting for Karen Bass or Nithia Ramen probably won't negatively change their lives at all. In some cases, remaining connected to the dominant political network may even protect their access and influence. But the working person paying the bill, we don't have that protection. So, was Spencer Pratt robbed?

[00:06:21]Maybe. But suspicion, like he said, it's not proof. And Spencer still has to establish the missing connection between [music] the irregularities he describes and the ballots that determine this election. The government also has a responsibility. It cannot design an election process that takes days or weeks to resolve, provide limited public explanation, and then attack voters for becoming suspicious. If the system is legitimate, show us. Show us where the late ballots originated. Show us when they were received. Show us when uh or how they were verified. Show [music] us why one candidate performed so differently among those ballots.

[00:06:54]Transparency should settle questions, not silence them. But even if Spencer lost completely fairly, Los Angeles residents still need to confront the larger issue. [music] Why do people complain about the direction of the city and repeatedly vote to continue that direction? Why does trying something new seem more frightening than accepting a system that people already believe is failing? The answer may be that Los Angeles is not one shared experience.

[00:07:18]The [music] working class is living under one Los Angeles. The politically connected and extremely wealthy are living in another. The people carrying the consequences uh may not be the people controlling the conversation.

[00:07:30]That's why this election is bigger than Spencer Pratt, [music] Netia Ramen, or even Karen Bass. It is about who Los Angeles truly works [music] for. It is about whose suffering actually matters and it's about whether ordinary residents [music] still believe that changing their vote can actually change their city. Tell me [music] what you think. Was Spencer Pratt robbed? Did he simply lose a legitimate election? Or are voters uh continually supporting a system because the people with the most influence are also the people most protected from its failures? [music] Leave your answer in the comments below.

[00:08:03]Like this video, subscribe to Wolf Cage Los Angeles, and share with someone who believes Los Angeles deserves both election transparency and political competition. I'm Wolf Cage. Peace.

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