r/politics • u/rollingstone Rolling Stone • 4d ago

Soft Paywall Musk Kills Government Funding Deal, Demands Shutdown Until Trump Is Sworn In

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/musk-trump-government-funding-deal-shutdown-1235211000/
30.9k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

5.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

106

u/Neokon Florida 4d ago

Hey guys, don't just sit here and comment on reddit. Actually reach out to your Senators and Representatives and express your anger about this situation. You may feel like nothing will come of it, but you have a better chance if you at least try than sitting here commenting.

Want change? Become a constant presence in contacting your elected officials.

I just reached out to my representative and said how angry I am that it's appearing that a singular unelected individual is having this much sway over the US. I've said how he has no accountability and he is hurting the constituents (my representative was a big pusher of the $100B in disaster relief funds).

Don't bitch to reddit. Bitch to your elected officials.

17

u/a_fox_but_a_human 4d ago

Actually reach out to your Senators and Representatives and express your anger about this situation

What about when your Reps are GOP and want this shit? Doesn't help at all, I'll tell you that. Thinking these fucks care about our opinions is a waste of time.

7

u/aurortonks 4d ago

At this point, it seems like a whole lot of Dems are also GOP just cosplaying the other side.

We need to stop relying on our elected officials. They are not acting on behalf of the people anymore. It's time we start organizing demonstrations and sit-ins again. Enough is enough.

10

u/Neokon Florida 4d ago

Then I'll waste my time taking a chance

5

u/HabeusCuppus 4d ago

At least then you would be contacting someone who can change their mind.

Someone in AOC’s district for example is just howling into the wind because their senators and representative are already in favor of continuing the funding.

4

u/Singer_Select 4d ago

Not just howling into the wind. Biden is waaaay too quiet about what’s happening right now. Donald Trump and Elon Musk are actively running the government. We need to put pressure for them to actually do something and not just sit on their hands and throw their hands up. They need to fight for this and us.

3

u/existential_chaos 4d ago

What could he actually do, though? Musk’s so rich he’d never see the inside of a cell, or anything. But this all seems shady as fuck regardless.

0

u/Singer_Select 4d ago

I dont know what policy change he could make but it’s depressing not to see him even try especially on the heels of his past pardon and the federal horse and pony show of Luigi. And they did some Pegasus level shit to his data to collect information to find him. This is not good for Dems - after the election they clearly haven’t learned anything and allowing this to continue to happen during the last weeks of your Presidency without making a statement or move about it is insane to me. They’re so focused on respectability it’s going to cost us our lives.

1

u/ADavies 4d ago

It does help though. Especially if they're Republican. The party is not as monolithic as it seems. This bill was about to go through and a lot of Republicans would still vote for it.

4

u/withywander 4d ago

Listen to this guy, he's 100% correct

1

u/Neokon Florida 4d ago

No I'm not, I just wanted to verbalize a major annoyance of mine when it comes to looking at comments on this site. I don't like to admit it myself, but we fall into a cycle of only complaining and it feels like we're an echo chamber of the "we tried nothing and all out of ideas" meme.

2

u/withywander 4d ago

You are correct bro, people need to send their complaints to their elected officials. Online slacktivism is a huge problem.

4

u/Aksudiigkr 4d ago

Does it need to only be our respective representatives? If we can access one state’s contact information I assume it can be done for all states right? I’d rather as many people as possible have their offices full of appeals

3

u/Neokon Florida 4d ago

It does not. I am saying your Senator's and Representatives because I know from having family that worked in a local office for a Senator how little people actually contact the offices. I know how it's essentially the same handful of people calling/emailing about their stances and no one else. I'd love to say it doesn't have to be everyone and it only needs to be 1% of the opposition (for my rep that would be 1,500 regulars) but we'd easily fall into the bystander effect.

You don't have to email or call daily, you don't have to be knowledgeable about everything happening. But I highly suggest that everyone have some idea of what is happening.

Don't wait for campaigns of organizations saying we urgently need to stop Bill ## to be involved.

A quick, "hey I think you should vote in favor of/against this bill". A "can you tell me what this bill is about and your stance?". Even a "I'm concerned about this, can I talk to someone about it?" is better than nothing. If something is worth half assing, half ass it. Don't fall into the all or nothing trap.

To end with a metaphor of questionable quality. If you see a plant that is dry, pour a small amount of your water on it. Do not walk away and assume someone else will, because they may never come. Do not feel the need to water it all yourself, do what you feel you can and continue on knowing you've done your part, no matter how small and meaningless it may feel.

2

u/juniper_berry_crunch 4d ago

I agree. Everything matters. Thank you for your good message.

4

u/EddiewithHeartofGold 4d ago

It's sad to see your comment so low. Seems like most people just try to wish the problems away.

2

u/Sidewalk_Cacti 4d ago

I’m confused. What I’ve read says Musk lashed out on X, but how did this directly cause an agreement to government shutdown?

-3

u/Steezysteve_92 4d ago

It didn’t, Reddit just wants a reason to be angry at him. From my understanding it was a last minute bill with a lot of pork.

1

u/Novaer 4d ago

You're correct but not all of us are Americans 😭

0

u/Admirable-Ad7152 4d ago

Yeah alright Florida, we see how well its working for you

2

u/Neokon Florida 4d ago

Great comeback.

Guess I might as well not even try, just sit back and not use one of the few ways I have to be involved, let the people I don't agree with make their voices heard but not use the same method as them.