Democratic Socialists Endorse Billionaire Steyer for California Governor’s Race

Despite calling him mealy mouthed about Israeli “genocide” and making his fortune through the “exploitation of the working class,” California’s Democratic Socialists Association is throwing its support to billionaire Tom Steyer ahead of California’s gubernatorial primary on June 2.The organization, which calls its endorsements “rare and special,” said Mr. Steyer is running the most progressive campaign among the top contenders in the race. “The most progressive of the current viable candidates for governor is Tom Steyer. Time will tell whether he’s truly a class traitor,” reads a statement by the group on its website. In making its recommendation, the DSA acknowledged the probable veracity of sexual abuse allegations that forced Eric Swalwell to back out of the race. It said Mr. Steyer stood out among his competitors and offered a litany of reasons for not backing Representative Katie Porter (“whiteboard warrior”), the former mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa (backed by the oil lobby), and the former congressman and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra (“milquetoast”). It also urged voters not to cast a protest vote for more socialist candidates, saying they are not viable. “We highly encourage voters to not cast a protest vote, as the stakes are incredibly high and the chance of the top two candidates both being Republicans is still very real,” the group wrote on its website. The group noted that Mr. Steyer, the billionaire hedge fund founder who got his start at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, supports taxing the rich, including backing the proposed billionaire tax currently on California’s ballot. Mr. Steyer has also “done an about-face from his previous position to now supporting state-level Medicare for All. He has called ICE a ‘violent extremist group’ and outlined how he, as governor, would prosecute ICE agents,” the group wrote. Mr. Steyer is backed by several teachers and state employee unions as well as progressive groups such as Our Revolution and Courage California. He supports California’s law protecting trans girls’ participation in girls’ sports, both reasons given by the Democratic Socialists for its recommendation. Mr. Steyer’s biggest drawback, says the group, is his refusal to call Israel’s actions a “genocide.” Mr. Steyer has said in previous statements that he does not have a clear definition of genocide. That “rhetorical trick,” wrote the DSA, is “pulled from the same Zionist playbook that motivates genocide denial across the political spectrum — playing dumb about the daily horrors and atrocities Israel commits is not ‘progressive’ in any way.”Political pundits offered alternating expressions of amusement and dismay at the recommendation. “It’s like the feminists who supported Bill Clinton. By extending their protective umbrella over him, they gained leverage over him for the attainment of their legislative agenda,” wrote author Wesley Yang on X. “Clinton was an ideal ally in no small part because of the leverage the movement exerted over him by virtue of the vulnerability they helped buttress. A white male finance billionaire that seeks the approval of socialists can be an ideal ally in this same way.”“You can’t make this up. The DSA is so morally corrupt and stupid. Why do we let foreign money into our elections? Where does the DSA get their money from… enemies of America,” countered wealth manager Ross Gerber.Noting a recent comment from Mr. Mamdani’s ally, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who said on a podcast last week that no one can “earn” a billion dollars, columnist and TV host Batya Ungar-Sargon called the endorsement “absolutely delicious.”“The side that pretends to oppose the very existence of billionaires, whose favorite diss of Donald Trump is that he’s a billionaire and thus couldn’t possibly be doing anything except favors for his billionaire friends … is telling voters to pick the billionaire — over a single mom and a civil servant who served as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services, no less!”

Democratic Socialists Endorse Billionaire Steyer for California Governor’s Race

Democratic Socialists Endorse Billionaire Steyer for California Governor’s Race

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