ROOKE: Far-Left Candidate Thinks She Fooled Conservative Candidate. She Really Just Proved Democrats Love Violence
City Council member Nithya Raman delivered a revealing moment of ideological rigidity that exposes how the left views common-sense policies during the Los Angeles City Hall debate on Wednesday.
When his challenger Spencer Pratt presented a simple vision for eliminating violent, drug-fueled encampments on city streets, Raman called his ideas “a MAGA Republican’s idea of what Los Angeles looks like” — as if using grassroots measures to eliminate violent, angry drug addicts was somehow right-wing and not something all Los Angeles residents wanted.
When Raman mentioned “MAGA,” the camera panned with perfect timing to Pratt, whose facial response was a mix of amusement and disbelief. But the moment reflected a broader frustration in the United States.
How did clearing the streets of chaos become partisan?
Treating the removal of dangerous drug markets and open encampments as simply a “right-wing” position ignores the terrifying reality of Los Angeles’ homeless crisis. The countywide total homeless population was 72,195 people in 2025, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA). There are 43,695 in the city alone. (Subscribe to Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)
Even in blue California, voters approved Proposition 36 in 2024 to restore criminal penalties for repeat drug and theft offenders. Democratic voters are demanding accountability in this crisis. There is no moral reason to allow our government to abandon people to die in tents while putting their families at risk. City data confirms that drug and alcohol overdoses remain the leading cause of death among homeless people, and the terror and destruction caused by these encampments impacts everyone.
Yet when Pratt stands up and declares that the streets must be cleared of violent drug addicts so that public spaces can be returned to the public, Raman’s response is to call him “MAGA.” The truth is that she doesn’t want to debate the merits of her policies. She wants to call him untouchable to avoid any responsibility in his case.
On Tuesday, during a debate between Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Raman, Bass attacked Raman’s record on voting against eliminating homeless encampments. Raman has voted more than a dozen times against creating no-camping zones, which would aim to clear encampments near schools, daycares, parks and other sensitive sites, according to the LA Times.
“I just don’t understand your position around the encampments,” Bass told Raman. “You vote again and again to take away tools from people who are trying to remove encampments, especially near schools. This is completely unacceptable.”
Cleaning the streets of angry, violent drug addicts is not a right-wing fantasy as Raman suggests. I think deep down she knows it too. No rational person believes it’s better for an addict to take fentanyl next to a playground. But she’s probably too entrenched in radical left politics to admit it publicly. (ROOKE: American colleges have a new slogan: foreigners first)
Making Los Angeles safer for moms and kids is the bare minimum of governance. Los Angeles cannot afford leaders who treat the terrifying daily reality of its residents as a casual partisan talking point.
Follow Mary Rooke on X: @MaryRooke
Subscribe to Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!
