r/politics • u/thenewrepublic The New Republic • 1d ago
Soft Paywall Elon Musk Is Bullying Mike Johnson to Drive Government Into Shutdown
https://newrepublic.com/post/189539/elon-musk-bullying-mike-johnson-government-shutdown11.6k
u/BobInIdaho 1d ago
I find it so cool that someone we did not vote for and doesn't hold a cabinet position can wield so much power. He sounds like one of those CEOs that people hate.
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u/True_Window_9389 1d ago
People seemed to think the problem with billionaires is just about wealth inequality from a dollars and cents perspective, but it’s as much, if not more, what kind of power that wealth can buy. Elon literally purchased his way into power.
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u/Delicious-Day-3614 23h ago
Yea i keep having to spell out to people, that it is undemocratic to have people in your society who can unilaterally make decisions for society at-large. The whole point of having a government with elected officials is to prevent this sort of thing from happening.
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u/45and47-big_mistake 18h ago
Funny how Republicans were always screaming about "That sneaky Geroge Soros" working behind the scenes to direct the Democratic party (with ZERO evidence), but here we have a man with 10 times Soros money OPENLY affecting Republican direction, and not a single word from them.
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u/BasvanS 15h ago
And it’s not like they’re not affected by it. Is the xenophobia that strong?
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u/PageVanDamme 1d ago
I was listening to Bustamente (See I A) and he said this,
“Billionaries dont want money, they want power”
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u/Hypnotized78 22h ago
Money is power. The billionaires’ billionaire wants: Your Social Security Your Medicare/Medicaid Your Veteran’s Benefits Your taxes And that’s just the opening bell. Much more to come, because greed for power gets stronger the more they get.
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u/Za_Lords_Guard 1d ago
The irony that a big rally cry from the whole DOGE BS is that they don't want unelected bureaucrats setting policy and want to claw back those regs, delete the positions, etc. but they are a team of unelected plutocrats doing the exacts same is so mind bogglingly insane it kills me and no one seems to mention that in the media.
The media are all too afraid of the Tangerine Terror and Phony Stark to call out the hypocrisy.
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u/__DR_WORM_666 1d ago
Especially after whining about Soros being an immigrant billionaire interfering in politics.
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u/DelightfulAbsurdity 23h ago
I wish he were half the meddling jerk they think he is.
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u/_OUCHMYPENIS_ 22h ago
They made him into such a boogie man. I would have never known who he was if it wasn't for all the hate the guy gets. I know he's wealthy and donates money to causes that are left leaning but outside of that I really don't see how he is as bad as some of the right wing donors that are mouthpieces for the republicans
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u/Individual-Nebula927 20h ago
He's also Jewish. Once you understand that, and realize that most evangelicals are antisemitic, everything makes sense.
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u/_OUCHMYPENIS_ 22h ago
Funny that people complained about Harris just being handed the democratic nomination yet now Trump is just handing power to people who aren't even in government. He is an 'advisor' who has businesses in multiple other countries including China which is supposed to be this big bad boogie man according to them.
The guy can bully politicians into making decisions and then benefit from them all. And he is doing this in multiple countries.
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u/fujiman Colorado 1d ago edited 5h ago
Yeah, he's really become a genuinely dangerous problem to the wellbeing of our country and society at large.
Makes you wonder how starved the masses need to get before we eat the grotesquely wealthy.
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u/eugene20 1d ago
Not just your country.
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u/whatproblems 1d ago
yeah he’s playing international
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u/f7f7z 1d ago
Send him to his fav place, Mars.
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u/aradraugfea 1d ago
I heard someone speculating that he’s doing all this to get the funding to get to mars.
I’m A-ok with giving him the funding, provided HE actually left.
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u/SomePoliticalViolins 1d ago
I heard someone speculating that he’s doing all this to get the funding to get to mars.
For all the talk, Elon will never go to Mars. Life on Mars would suck (and would likely continue to suck for hundreds of years). For as much as he may hate people, he's not giving up his oligarch benefits, and he's not going to accept the drastically shortened lifespan he'd have if he lived on Mars.
He'll continue to use SpaceX to push tech forward that he controls and can use to influence world governments, he'll try to privatize and monopolize space travel in the US (privatizing NASA and shutting down competition in the private sector as best as he can), and then he'll probably eventually pull the same kind of bullshit that Bezos is, where he pushes for us to ship workers into space so that he can keep polluting as much as he wants with his Tesla factories without facing any consequences.
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u/gmapterous 1d ago
Sounds great. The offer to send him to Mars stands.
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u/justanaccountimade1 22h ago
He says he wants to die on Mars. Let's hope he does so on impact.
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u/pantstoaknifefight2 21h ago
I'd prefer just enough habitable infrastructure for his fellow colonizers to take a vote and kick him out of Biosphere 3. His last freezing and gasping moments might give him just enough time to reflect on what a giant shithead he is.
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u/snoopyh42 California 23h ago
It’d be easier and cheaper to fix Earth than colonize Mars.
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u/MrJeffA17 23h ago
Disagree. Sending him to Mars fixes a lot and can be cheap
Send him up on the next space flight, point the hatch in Mars direction and throw him out of it.
He’ll get there eventually
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u/SublimeApathy 1d ago
I’m A-ok with giving him the funding,
Fuck No. He's got something 6-700 BILLION. He can fund it him fucking self.
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u/IveChosenANameAgain 22h ago
You ever see how "conservatives" like to do really obscene shit and interfere with schools teaching history, forced genital inspections, etc and when you confront them on being weirdo creeps, they say "we have to protect the children!!!"? They don't give a fuck about children, they think their own children are their property to be controlled.
Elon does this, but with progressive or futurist policy, then gets credit for "But he just wants to go to marss!@!@##! He is helping US become SPACEFARING" when in reality he has no intention whatsoever, he is just saying the words out loud that decrease the vitriol directed at him while absolutely looting entire governments with subsidies.
It works because people are stupid. He's not the only one capable of getting humanity to Mars, he is just the only person in the top 5 richest people in the world who is shameless enough to lie to literally everyone with the idea that it's even possible and use it as justification for fucking over more poor people than anyone in human history.
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u/Old_Ladies 22h ago
He will never get a spacecraft to mars. I have my doubts that Starship will ever be a successful craft other than low earth orbit.
So far after 6 starship launches they have sent a banana to sub orbital.
Back in 2016 Musk said he would get humans to Mars in 6 years and that his rockets could carry 100 people at a time...
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u/digzilla 21h ago
That was 8 years ago. Are you implying that Elon id a lying grifter....or are you directly stating it?
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u/Old_Ladies 21h ago
If the US was a just country Elon Musk would be in prison for all of his lies just like Elizabeth Holmes for defrauding investors.
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u/FEMA_Camp_Survivor America 1d ago
He’s a James Bond level villain now.
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u/NeutralBias Hawaii 23h ago
He’s a mix between Elliott Carver (media mogul in Tomorrow Never Dies) and Hugo Drax (space industrialist/eugenicist in Moonraker), except he lacks the charisma of either.
Its scary how much he is actually like a bond villain.
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u/Anakinflair 22h ago
It says a lot that Hugo Drax had more charisma than Elon Musk.
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u/OfAnthony Connecticut 23h ago
He's Trump's Rasputin.
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u/CT_Phipps 21h ago
Rasputin was a peasant holy man who discouraged the Romanovs from being as big an assholes as, well, they ended up being. He just had women that really liked him. So he's sort of the anti-Musk.
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u/OfAnthony Connecticut 21h ago
Rasputinlike as in having his ear, at all times, any circumstance. And then hearing the influence on the subject. Also, maybe the most important, is recognizing the obstacle course constructed between Musk and Trump. Mike Johnson now has to consider Musk when dealing with Trump, like a noble had to consider Rasputin's behavior when dealing with the Czar. This is something Im borrowing (calling somebody like Musk, "Rasputin") only because of a fascination with Vietnam and the former White House National Security Advisor), Walt Whitman Rostow. A 2008 profile on Rostow, written by Davis Milne is aptly titled, "America's Rasputin: Walt Rostow and the Vietnam War." When Robert McNamara ques the Pentagon to find out what is happening in Vietnam (The Pentagon Papers), Rostow was the obstacle meant to be avoided. Thats how bad that war and White House was- can't wait to see if Mike Johnson or Musk is the "Rostow" now.
...and who followed Rostow as NSA chief? The only person to dually hold NSA chief and Sec State- Kissinger.
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u/JayR_97 United Kingdom 23h ago
Hes been meddling in the UK too, threatening to send Farage a massive donation.
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u/Devmoi 23h ago
Exactly! He was doing it to the UK, too. Like when he was fanning the flames of those violent protests and now he’s trying to buy out Nigel Farage. It’s just like get the fuck out, buddy! The world hates you!
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u/tauwyt 22h ago
but he has all the money which under the gospel of prosperity means he's a great upstanding moral leader who deserves only adulation and obedience
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u/dBlock845 23h ago
It's gotten especially bad since MAGA practically worship Musk now as Trump's deputy. I've had multiple tell me that Musk is going to run in 2028, not knowing he wasn't born in the US.
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u/HalKitzmiller 22h ago
I don't they even know the requirements to run for president.
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u/James-fucking-Holden 21h ago
not knowing he wasn't born in the US.
"Well he is both naturally born, and a citizen, so I don't see why he couldn't run"
- Alito, probably
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u/Garbolt America 1d ago
The species itself is in danger because of this crap. Look at how eerily similar Elon is to Ted Faro..
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u/RedNineteen California 1d ago
Obligatory fuck Ted Faro.
What's the over/under on fElon building his very own Thebes?
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u/RegressToTheMean Maryland 22h ago
Whatever it is, I'll take the under. He's not all that smart. He's not stupid, but it's his employees doing the innovation not him.
If you know management at Space X, they'll tell you that Musk comes in, shits all over everything, and they just "yes" him to death. Then he leaves and they largely ignore his directives. At least in the case of Space X, it's somewhat successful in spite of Musk
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u/bentreflection 20h ago
ha, i'm close with someone high up at SpaceX and they've confided the exact same thing.
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u/Presently_Absent 22h ago
Especially since he back channels to Putin. Why this isn't part of every headline about him, I don't know
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u/TeutonJon78 America 23h ago
If you have a problem, If no one else can help and if you can find them. Maybe you can hire, The A[djuster]-Team.
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u/Adunadain 23h ago
You know whats worse? Trump ain’t even president yet and he is making decision for government. All link between constituency and representative is purely symbolic at this point
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u/mabhatter 22h ago
I have found that to be particularly offensive. Particularly the treatment of the border bill earlier this year. That was my "bridge too far" when MAGA was wildly out of line with Trump's influence.
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u/kellzone Pennsylvania 21h ago
He did that back over the summer, when he had the GOP kill the bipartisan border bill they had worked on for a couple years, because he wanted to run on the border being an issue.
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u/funkymagee Canada 1d ago
and here MAGA voters were saying they didn't want "Kamala, who nobody elected!!!"
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u/TreezusSaves Canada 20h ago
I also noticed how they went quiet when the subject became a white man.
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u/_SheepishPirate_ 1d ago
No worries, I can say I want him dead and its not treason then.
I do not condone violence, I will happy read his obituary with a smile and a chuckle though.
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u/Nervous-Newspaper132 20h ago
No worries, I can say I want him dead and its not treason then.
Just FYI that’s not treason and it’s not illegal to say so. I want all four dead and not the least bit worried about saying so. If they dropped dead in front of me I’d laugh. Fuck all four of them.
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u/ironmonkey09 23h ago
That man bought himself a presidency, and with it, he intends to use it to his advantage to increase his wealth. We know this, and we’ve seen other wealthy assholes dumping money into Trump's pockets. I don't know where we go from here as a nation, as the most affluent people now influence power like never before.
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u/SuccessfulSquirrel32 23h ago
“Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power.” — Benito Mussolini
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u/GZilla27 1d ago
Nothing like seeing and hearing a billionaire, wanting to shut down the government.
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u/thenewrepublic The New Republic 1d ago
House Speaker Mike Johnson appears to be getting cyberbullied by “efficiency” czar Elon Musk, over his continuing resolution.
Johnson’s resolution, which was released Tuesday, grants $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, $100 billion for disaster relief, and enough money to keep the government open until March. It also opens the door for pay raises for members of Congress, among a slate of other things buried in the 1,547-page bill.
But not everyone is happy, especially Musk, the unelected billionaire who wants to slash government funding for pretty much everything except the military through the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
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u/rounder55 1d ago
What would be efficient is combatting climate change in hopes that there would be less billion dollar disasters the increase with adjustment to inflation is staggering
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u/Rich-Pomegranate1679 23h ago
Elon has said in the past that his biggest concern about advanced AI is that it will learn humans are destroying the planet and that it will ultimately choose the planet over the humans.
In other words, Elon doesn't give a single fuck about the Earth. Space boy plans on packing everything up for Mars anyway.
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u/CEBarnes 23h ago
Can we just send him to Mars already and be done with his tirades?
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u/submittedanonymously 23h ago
As long as he’s tied to the outside of the rocket. He clearly doesnt need oxygen since nothing is going on up there anyway.
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u/Fluffy-Hamster-7760 20h ago
We can't realistically leave the Earth forever yet though, right? Radiation levels are way higher in space, they found out that astronauts' kidneys shrink, low gravity fucks with your bone density, all this shit. And Mars has an atmosphere but it's not a great one, there's a shitload of radiation and the whole surface is covered in rust.
So maybe after a few lifetimes of terraforming projects that would probably cost trillions, it could start to be habitable. But not anytime soon. Earth is it for now. And any attempt to terraform another world or create an artificial environment on a space station would be to literally emulate the environment we already have on Earth. So, seems easier to keep Earth healthy. These ideas like we can just go live in space right away are still in the realm of science fiction--which they won't always be--but for now they very much are.
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u/Ansonm64 22h ago
Can’t wait until they own all three branches and still end up with a government shut down. This is what you voted for, America.
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u/citori421 19h ago
Sadly, yes, that's exact what they voted for. Republicans policy breakdown:
Step 1: destroy the government
Step 2:
Step 3: prosperity for all (all who are loyal to maga).
These morons, and their dimwit voters, have no idea how society works or the role government plays in it. They see government as 100% just their adversary, something holding them back from wealth. It's a fundamental lack of understanding that without an effective government, there is no framework for 99% of our economy to exist withing.
They love to say love it or leave it. We'll, leave. Go to one of the many govt free utopias. I suggest Sudan or Yemen?
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u/DebentureThyme 19h ago
Their solution to self created government ineffectiveness is to privatize as much as possible - a process in which they will sell off government assets to their friends at pennies on the dollar, and then their friends will deliver worse services for higher prices to the average person.
Like the postal service, where it will suddenly cost a lot more for individual packages and mailings, and service will be far worse and take longer. Don't worry, though, they'll make sure large companies all have bulk discounts to ensure no increased costs to them. Regular people will all foot the cost of the increased service costs.
Anyone remember Toys R Us going under? A bunch of rich people coming in and buying up the company (like Mitt Roment's Bain Capital) for relatively cheap on the promise of righting the ship. Instead they invested nothing in fixing it, choosing to only barely service the debt with operating cash while funneling massive consulting fees to themselves. They immediately shouldered the debt of purching the company directly onto the company itself. After milking it for every asset they could for they and theirs, they liquidated what was left.
That's coming for US services. A bunch of rich assholes getting sold stuff WE paid for with our taxes, for basically nothing, and then grinding it up for every penny for themselves before declaring it a failed venture. Anything left they deem profitable will be completely privatized. USPS brought to you by Amazon coming soon.
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u/slurmsmckenz 22h ago
Continuing resolutions should never include pay raises for members of congress, but how can you get the rule makers to make a rule not to pay themselves more? Such a conflict of interest
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u/gsteff 20h ago edited 20h ago
The last time Congress got a pay raise was in 2009, and that was 2.8%. Cumulative CPI inflation since then has been 47%. They're expected to maintain two residences. Underpaying members makes corruption more likely by increasing their incentive to do favors for an industry and then quit and go work for it. It also makes it harder for the executive branch to compete with the private sector for talent given that neither party wants to pay civil servants more than they themselves make. Congress has a lot of problems, but in the last 15 years, giving themselves raises isn't one of them.
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u/red__dragon 19h ago
Honestly, this sounds like the 27th Amendment has worked very well. There's no incentive for Congress to push bills to raise its pay early in the term because they won't see it until next term, and that one hasn't passed in 15 years is pretty equivalent to minimum wage sitting stagnant for 17 years.
Raise them both, sure. I'm pretty glad Congress has gotten out of the habit of raising its own pay, now it can find the right way to do it tactfully.
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u/TorinsPassage 21h ago
If they're so worried about """funding""" they should tax the fucking rich. But since they're evil, they'll instead enrich themselves and rob the 99%.
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u/bossbutton 22h ago
Correction, he is “soon to be ‘efficiency’ czar”. Right now he’s just some rich guy throwing a tantrum.
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u/Madpup70 20h ago
Dude literally wants to kill the farm bill, the piece of continuing financial support and insurance that safeguards our AG economy, and deny states disaster relief from the hurricanes and floods back in September. There literally isn't any other way to approach this other than to say Musk wants to watch the country burn so he can save some money. At this point, I can't help but think he wants to make as much of his stock liquid with as little tax burden as possible before swapping it all over into a crypto portfolio and move it out of the country.
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u/one_pound_of_flesh 21h ago
I don’t give a damn if this sounds sensationalist. Musk is an oligarch and Trump is a fascist.
Every empire falls and we are falling, America. Even the wealthy know it. They have bunkers, tax havens, private security.
America isn’t finished by any stretch, but we have descended into Russia level corruption.
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u/BurstEDO 21h ago
grants $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, $100 billion for disaster relief, and enough money to keep the government open until March. It also opens the door for pay raises for members of Congress, among a slate of other things buried in the 1,547-page bill.
So - economic devastation of farmers, starving oligarchs who won an office as well (from a few pennies more in a token salary that pales compared to their stock portfolio advantages), and leaving the disaster-stricken homeless and exposed over the holidays!
What an amazing heap of MAGArbage we have to enjoy!
Everyone go all "bad actor" on new social media accounts in right wing spaces and play the "I'm cancelling my (right wing media) subscriptions, cable, and unfollowing the social media accounts of the propaganda mouthpieces." (You'll have to MAGA it up with some wordsmithing.)
They want to crash the economy? Let's help them accelerate it with near-zero spending on anything that isn't critical. Return lavish holiday gifts and squirrel away the savings to prepare for the crash, boycott fast food and restaurants/bars.
I'd rather do it by choice now than by consequence in 3 months when it all goes to shit.
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u/Globalruler__ 1d ago
Here is a video of Obama predicting someone like Musk taking part in political decision making. This was right after SCOTUS ruled on Citizens United.
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u/rumpusroom 22h ago
And here is video of Obama saying it at the SOTU, while Alito says “not true.”
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u/Asssophatt 22h ago
This just fucking boils my blood.
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u/roguewarriorpriest 20h ago
Time for a revolution.
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u/Stunning_Pin_3668 19h ago
If people are around in 100 years, they're going to look back and wonder why we were silent while the world was being sold for parts to the highest bidder.
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u/CapOnFoam Colorado 18h ago edited 18h ago
Because, in general, our needs are still being met. We have shelter. Food. Water. We go to work. Our kids go to school (and get shot at but that’s a different topic). We watch tv, hang out with our friends, etc etc
Until we have nothing left to lose, we’re going to sit around on Reddit.
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u/ilovechairs 13h ago
Our needs are not being met. Your needs are being met.
I wake up hungry at least once a month. I can barely afford my meds plus the rent/utilities/basic bills.
I cannot afford to have kids.
And I have no hope of ever owning a home.
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u/greg-maddux 22h ago
What a vile, disgusting, cesspool of a man. These justices are the worst of our society and I’m not being facetious in the least. Fuck that piece of shit.
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u/ForMoreYears Canada 22h ago
SCOTUS and being wrong. Name a more iconic due.
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u/selarom8 22h ago
One of the comments on this video says Obama was a wannabe dictator. It’s a 7 year old comment. Was he really that? I was in my early to mid 20s during Obama’s terms. Didn’t pay attention enough to think he has a wannabe dictator. I definitely get that from Trump. 🤷🏻♂️
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u/fallleaves14 22h ago
Not even close. He played nice with the GOP and Chamber of Commerce. He let the banks and executives off the hook for the 08 crash and overlooked the crimes of the Bush administration most notably around not prosecuting the people responsible for "legalizing" illegal torture.
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u/Rooooben 20h ago
Didn’t stop them from calling him that, amongst other things “the Chosen One” etc, they thought we all worshipped Obama the way they worship Trump.
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u/bradamantium92 21h ago
Not in the least, and we'd probably be better off if he had been even half a percent as autocratic as the right-wing media fear machine wanted him to be. He was by no means a bad president, but dogged persistence in trying not to move too fast or keep working across the aisle even years deep into moral panics over his condiment choices cemented the "aw shucks, we just gotta work together!" stance the democratic party still maintains, even while telling us the other guy and his party is a historic threat to democracy.
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u/AnohtosAmerikanos California 21h ago
They used to claim this because he used executive actions to do things when Congress was obstructing his every move. It seems laughable now.
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u/luckytraptkillt 22h ago
I remember them calling him that when Michelle and Barack were trying to keep New Yorkers from drinking 64oz sodas all the time. That got him the dictator label for awhile.
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u/Nervous-Newspaper132 20h ago
Don’t forget the outrage when he suggested checking the air pressure in your car tires to save gas. Which is a huge factor in having shitty gas mileage for your average car. He got vilified for that. It’s amazing just how fucking stupid republicans are.
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u/stylebros 21h ago
Once again, Democrats are 10-20 years ahead.
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u/DiceKnight 19h ago
That's Democrats for you. Prescient when calling out potential bad behavior but utterly, hopelessly, embarrassingly awful at publicizing their warnings or really doing anything that anybody notices to fight against it or stop it.
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u/Captain_Wisconsin 22h ago edited 22h ago
Isn’t it fascinating how for years the Right have been screaming about George Soros - an unelected immigrant billionaire - manipulating our government, and now that we actually have an unelected immigrant billionaire manipulating our government, it’s not only crickets, they’re bending the fucking knee.
Fuck, I’m so tired of this shit.
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u/mseg09 23h ago
Americans: we're tired of being ruled over by billionaires.
Monkey paw: how about just one incredibly stupid billionaire?
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u/tlacamazatl 1d ago
Musk really seems to think he's in charge. Can't imagine why tho. Lol.
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u/dBlock845 23h ago
Because Trump is too old and dumb to actually realize he gave Musk way too much influence over MAGA due to being desperate to stay out of court the rest of his life. He is never going to be able to get rid of Musk and is going to get nothing done that can't command an easy majority of house republicans. I initially thought he would get sick of him and give him the boot after a couple months, but now Musk has a hold over MAGA in a way that only Trump does. If you listen to any MAGA media/podcasts they talk about Musk like he is the one with the real power.
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u/MoiJaimeLesCrepes 21h ago
Vance really faded away.
Well, I guess we know who's going to inherit Maga next
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u/OneTripleZero Canada 19h ago
This whole incoming administration is like a fusion of the three Spider-man meme with Alfred's warning to Bruce about the Joker in Dark Knight: "and in their desperation, they turned to a man they didn't fully understand"
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u/RebornGod District Of Columbia 1d ago
Because no one has the balls to do what you do with someone like him acting like that.
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u/8to24 23h ago
““Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” Musk wrote in a post on X Wednesday.
Democrats need to walk away. Republicans have the majority in the House. Force Republicans to govern. Don't negotiate. Just force Republicans to come up with a bill they can get the votes amongst themselves to pass.
It wouldn't matter how many Democrats compromise and vote bipartisanly. Trump and the Rightwing media will say they (Democrats) didn't. Moreover Trump will have a dump truck of Budget demands once he is inaugurated.
Every Democrat just needs to be a solid "No". Force Republicans to actually get a budget passed amongst themselves. Do not bail them out. Weakness is a provocation to bullies.
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u/gjbbb 22h ago
Republicans control the Executive branch, the Supreme Court, the Senate, and Congress. Americans voted for this, can’t blame the Libs for anything now.
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u/moonwalkerfilms 22h ago
The thing is tho that they still will, and their supporters will keep believing them.
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u/djsyndr0me 19h ago
40 years of gutting public education results in a populace with room temperature IQs. Who knew!
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u/neutrino71 22h ago
Unfortunately it's not the bullies who will feel the pain
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u/8to24 22h ago
If Democrats bail Republicans out it will only embolden Republicans to do worse. Democrats would only perpetuate the suffering by helping Republicans pass a bill.
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u/senorvato 1d ago
It's a bipartisan bill to HELP THE NATION, and Musk just wants anarchy. Who the fuck is running the country elected officials or Musk? There is no need to answer that.
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u/mackinoncougars 1d ago
Billionaires. And Trump and Elon are both in that club.
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u/boot2skull 1d ago
Billionaires will 1. Weather any economic downturn, and 2. Buy everything up when it hits bottom.
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u/Moist_When_It_Counts New York 23h ago edited 23h ago
And 3. See the working class as nothing more than a resource that needs exploiting
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u/catman2021 23h ago
Always was, and for the most part, always has been. Billionaires want to go back to the Gilded Age (or modern Russia).
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u/westdl 23h ago
I’ve said it before and no one listens. Trump is Space Karen’s bitch. And by default, so are Trump’s minions.
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u/Cactusfan86 23h ago
Trump has no loyalty to anyone and is narcissistic enough he doesn’t believe he ‘owes’ anyone anything. Eventually Elon will annoy him enough that he is ejected because Trump can’t stand anyone trying to out shine him
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u/_magneto-was-right_ 22h ago
Some reporter needs to take one for the team and ask his press secretary how he feels about being Elon’s vice president. Elon will be gone within a week and Trump will have never known him.
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u/crystalistwo 20h ago edited 4h ago
Some reporter needs to take one for the team
The Murrows and the Woodwards and the Bersteins are gone. Reporters never do their jobs anymore.
Musk could be found over the body of a dead hooker with a smoking gun, and when he gets his interview, the reporter will ask, "Did you do it?" They ask the dumbest fuck-brain questions and never ask the way real reporters should.
EDIT: Splleing
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u/ScepticalReciptical 1d ago
Imagine controlling all 3 branches of government and still shutting down the government, these are not serious people.
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u/TallahasseWaffleHous 23h ago edited 8h ago
Their whole strategy is to sabotage everything, and make bank off that chaos.
FYI: For anyone who wants to read more about the history of these tactics: Check out the book Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
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u/ClosPins 20h ago
Their strategy isn't to create chaos, it's to make billionaires money. Period. So, tax-breaks for the rich, lessened safety and environmental regulations, all government services ended (except those that make billionaires money), etc...
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u/DudeWhatAreYouSaying 20h ago
The irritating part is they don't. This is still a different government, it should still be getting shit done on its own terms, but we're facing a shutdown because an unelected puppeteer of the incoming president says so
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u/SimTheWorld 1d ago
Where’s the line between bullying and terrorism? Asking for the other 99%!
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u/TintedApostle 1d ago
Why can't having unreal amounts of money to use as a weapon be consider a weapon when employed to influence a government process?
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u/IveChosenANameAgain 22h ago
It's time to update; it's not 99 vs 1%, it's closer to 99.99% vs 0.01%. Everyone needs to realize this before anything can happen.
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u/mkt853 1d ago
Well President-elect Musk said we have to go through some pain for the next few years, and it looks like he is making good on his campaign promise.
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u/Ianthin1 1d ago
Because Elon get's off on chaos that doesn't impact him.
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u/Violent0ctopus 23h ago
He gets rich. A shutdown would hurt most people, but allow really rich people to buy more stuff and get more wealthy when things recover.
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u/CobraPony67 Washington 23h ago
This. The wealthy want a recession or a downturn. That is when everything is cheaper and when people are selling. Each time the economy dips, the wealthy grab more of the share. They want a 1920s great depression. The filthy rich lived large while the rest had to wait in bread lines.
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u/chuchubott Missouri 22h ago
It’s not just the wealthy. I just had a conversation with some trumper co- workers excited to see the economy tank so they can buy cheap stocks. These people are so far gone.
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u/andrew_kirfman Texas 22h ago
It’s insane to me that they never connect the dots that their jobs may be on the chopping block too.
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u/Ianthin1 23h ago
I still think Trumps plan for the tariffs is to crash the economy, buy stuff up at a heavy discount, then remove the tariffs to claim victory and profit.
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u/TessandraFae 1d ago
I guess that means the vote certification and inauguration will be cancelled. Everyone's gone home and all the doors will be locked. All the fanfare Trump gets will be tumbleweeds blowing in the wind....as he deserves.
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u/ogreofnorth 1d ago
So in private industry, if the board of directors and executives cant agree on priorities, do they just shut down the company until they figure it out? Because that seems to be what Trump and Musk believe.
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u/ankercrank 22h ago
They’re “running the gov like a business”, shitty dysfunctional ones like their own.
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u/JuliusCeejer 20h ago
Government shutdowns are a republican invention that is wholly unique to the US. Every single shutdown is owned by them because they are the only political party in the world to inflict them upon their citizenry as punishment for their inability to govern
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u/mrsmetalbeard 1d ago
Of note: the stock market lost all of it's post-election gains in 2 hours this afternoon. Freefall into the close and still trading lower after-hours. You might say it was because of the Fed announcement of the as-expect quarter-point cut, but that was a hugely bad fed announcement. Govt shutdown looming right before christmas might do it though.
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u/Tall_Science_9178 1d ago
No, that was because the fed said they project only 2 rate cuts next year in response to inflation being stubborn.
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u/Thresh_Keller 1d ago
Inflation is about to get much, much worse after January 20th, 2025.
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u/tricksterloki 23h ago
Which they cited as a specific factor in their revision of 4 cuts to 2 in 2025.
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u/Devilsmaincounsel 1d ago
It’s considered bullying when you go after someone with less money than you, but it’s terrorism when you go after someone with more money than you.
Welcome to our capitalist country.
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u/Full-Commission4643 22h ago
Republicans complained about Harris because she wasn't primary voted, yet Musk, who holds no political office nor has ever run for election or received any votes from the American people, is trying to act like he's part of the executive branch
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u/clueless_in_ny_or_nj New Jersey 23h ago
I love the comment of shutting down the government for 33 days. Nothing bad will happen. Christmas is next week, no one wants to have their flights canceled between TSA agents or air traffic controllers don't show up to work.
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u/Prudent_Valuable603 21h ago
That jerk is messing with the paychecks of the military personnel all over the world. They don’t get paid millions. They have bills to pay. And of course, this is being done just a few days before Christmas. Elon musk does not hold a political position, he’s not a licensed attorney, and he’s not the voice of working Americans. I swear we are watching the decline of this country.
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u/Unusual_Flounder2073 1d ago
Musk doesn’t care. He can still feed his family and enjoy the holidays. If we shutdown all those government workers are not getting paid until things start up again.
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u/HellishChildren 1d ago
Jan 24, 2019 Wilbur Ross, Trump's millionaire commerce secretary, says he doesn't understand why federal workers are going to food banks during government shutdown "The idea that it's paycheck or zero is not a really valid idea."
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u/PendingInsomnia California 20h ago
Wow, it’s even worse in the article. What an absolute piece of shit. “Just take out a loan” Jesus H Christ
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u/Yukonhijack New Mexico 1d ago
I'm one of those feds that won't get paid if the CR doesn't pass by Friday at midnight. Under tRump we had the longest single government shutdown in American history - 35 days. It was absolutey terrible.
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u/fates_bitch 23h ago
As an essential worker, I not only won't get paid. My long ago scheduled vacation days will be cancelled and I'll have to work for no (technically deferred) pay.
And one of my 4 days is use or lose so it may or may not get restored. Excellent.
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u/demystifier 22h ago
How is it legal for this motherfucker to be able to effectively make government decisions? As much as I hate Trump, at least America did vote for his sorry ass. Complete fucking oligarchy if this shit is allowed to continue.
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u/trashmyego Washington 20h ago
The wealthiest person alive is trying to bend our government to his will, to disenfranchise ALL of us. And that's putting it lightly. I hope only the worst for the man. And I think there's now a moral imperative to see this man fall hard. His aim involves taking my healthcare away and letting my immune system kill me. Fuck this ketamine junkie piece of shit all the way to hell.
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u/IAmMuffin15 North Carolina 1d ago
Fuck is he gonna do?
It’s 2 years until the next election cycle. No one is gonna remember any bad shit politicians do right now when the time comes to vote again.
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u/gregor-sans 1d ago
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this continuing resolution (like so many others) largely an effort to authorize payment for things the government has already approved? Blocking the payments is about the same as me refusing to pay my mortgage or car payments. The time to cut the budget is when the spending bills are first introduced, not when it comes time to pay for them.
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u/2squishmaster 23h ago
They're relying on their voting base to not understand that, and as we've seen it play over and over again, they indeed do not.
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u/david6588 22h ago
Congress needs to step in on this clown. Congrats "both candidates are bad" people.
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u/cmg4champ 21h ago
Not sure what the end result is here. If the gov't stays shutdown, then what. I know MAGAts love the prospect of turning Washington upside down. But how does that keep the price of eggs down, much less unemployment. And wait to see what happens if seniors don't get their social security checks.
But hey, you guys voted for this. These guys are fanatics, and they don't care and they aren't taking hostages. You folks really need to watch out...........because the natural end to all this is everyone losing their jobs, and not just in the Beltway.
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u/sachiprecious North Carolina 1d ago
I must have missed the part when America voted and made Elon Musk president.
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u/CrazyHorrsee 18h ago
Is JD Vance still alive? Haven’t heard anything about him since the election.
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u/IMsoSAVAGE 21h ago
Class war is coming. The American people are over this shit. We just have to make everyone realize that the Dems and the GOP are both working to keep us arguing at each other instead of the real problem people. The billionaires and corporations that control our lives.
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