Elon Musk and his sidekick Donald Trump are remorseless in their pursuit to dismantle our government. But they're wrong to assume their coup has succeeded.
I don’t think any of them have an engineering degree. Most aren’t even old enough. Wired did several stories on them exposing what is happening. A portion of the story on who they are featuring the 19 yr old was picked up by the Times of India.
We were warned. You warned us, Steve, as did others. They put their plans in writing, for crissakes. It was willfully ignored by many “leaders” and we the people are paying the price. “The enemy is us…”
Exactly. I know two old friends who could best be described as old school Republicans. Admittedly vote with their pocketbook as they are wealthy. They hate Trump but could not vote for Harris. Voted for neither. This may have been a common occurrence.
Let’s be clear. Millions of Americans voted for trump and against Harris due to racism and misogyny. The vast majority of white men and a smaller but significant majority of white women fully embraced this felon because they are fully committed to minimizing or eliminating power sharing with their fellow citizens who are people of color. The deeply embedded racial hatred that animates trump and the Republican Party has destroyed this country. America threw away its democracy in order to deport Brown immigrants and oppress every other group they view as “other”. . The majority of whites hate everyone who is not just like them - white, Christian and preferably male. So they chose a rapist and a sadist rather than a highly talented public servant who was a racial minority and a woman.
American democracy is dead or dying because America’s racism and misogyny killed it. The country chose Nazism and it is not going to survive that choice. Whatever is left by the end of these next four years will not resemble the America that existed at the end in 2024. And the destruction will harm every single person in this country. America chose a Nazi over a Democrat. It is about to find out just how disastrous that choice will be.
"American democracy is dead or dying because America’s racism and misogyny killed it." And how utterly, utterly disgraceful is that? Feels like an AWFUL lot of white men in this country think that the Taliban has the right idea.
I don’t think Democratic leadership failed to recognize the seriousness of what is going on. Because it is so nutty and off the rails, some have continued to use the methods that have worked in the past and they have to wake up. This is a new day and requires new approaches to stop the insanity. Great post this morning.
Durbin, the #2 guy of the Democrats, is SILENT. Gillibrand, Hassan, Shaheen, Klobuchar, and Rosen, women who have been in the Senate for more than a few weeks are in lock-step with the Republicans. None of them have been willing to be on the front lines pushing back against Musk/Trump/Vance. They are ALL the problem America is facing.
It was actually hard to get past the first paragraph Steven. Exactly, they should be imprisoned as of a week ago. All you say is right on the money. And it’s unimaginable that they don’t have all the data copied, saved and sent to whomever. It’ll be a long slog out of this. And yet, fighting the forces of materialism and greed is centuries old. Let’s do it together! Thank you for your wisdom and willingness to say it as it is.
And to think that MY senator, John Fetterman, was the lone Democrat supporting the confirmation of Bondi just floors me. No Democrat should vote to confirm any of these people. Doesn't he see that she is just a part of this circle of country destroyers. Nobody, and I mean nobody in this cabal is going to stray from the "Good Shepherd".
The first thing Fetterman did was fly to Trump to worship him. Was it money, a pat on the shoulder, or a smirk from Trump that turned a supposed "guy for the people" toward evil? We will see if Pennsylvania still wants him in the next election.
Of the following, how many are actually being deployed by deeply concerned and committed Democrats today?
1. Develop, sharpen, and articulate a clear and compelling (to a majority of Americans) governing, policy, and leadership story.
2. Give prominent platform to the most attractive leaders of tomorrow, helping them get more air time than the most extreme voices.
3. Take the high road in debate, avoiding tit-for-tat infantile name calling, while making policy and other critical choices clear in terms that everyday people can related to (no wonk or esoteric academic jargon).
4. Find across-the-aisle wins that are too good (in people’s eyes) for the other side to duck or deny. Show that you are the party that can lead in the world as it actually is today.
5. Look in the mirror and have a conversation about how you’ve lost your way on the way to losing the last election.
I do, as well. I was furious with Joni Ernst about hedgehog. Then I saw an interview with her, and she looked pale and trembling from fear. That's when I knew that she and/or her daughter's lives had been threatened.
So what if their families have been threatened? The life of the country is at stake! It will only take a few R’s to stand up and speak truth to power. Cyber terrorists have taken over our country from within. In plain sight. We can’t just stand around wringing our hands.
If thinking is elevated beyond ‘resistance’ to ‘Leadership,’ I’m pretty sure there are many options. It can’t be that there are no shared visions for the future. And no shared program ideas. And no shared focused policy ideas. It can’t be. I believe in this country, and our people, too deeply to believe that.
Those of us who are serious about "saving our democracy," such as it is, need to start confronting what I call the unelected fourth branch of government: economic power. Since the advent of Reagan, and especially since the Citizens United decision (2010), it's been eating democracy alive. Economic power is now controlling all three branches of government.
We are a woefully ignorant people when it comes to economics. When progressive Democrats talk about economic justice, they too often get trashed as "far left" -- by other Democrats. (The fact that the former are often people of color and the latter are usually white is very worth noting.)
Democrats -- meaning these days those who regardless of party affiliation can't imagine voting for Republicans -- need to stop freaking out about the s-word. (But go ahead, call it a "mixed economy" if you like.) Talk about what government has done, should be doing, and why it matters. And absolutely talk about what happens when we're afraid to talk about economic power. It's now right in front of our noses, so this shouldn't be too hard.
Disagree strongly that the term "fourth branch" be used at all to describe economic power in relationship to government. First, because the term fourth branch has been used since the beginning of our nation to describe the media and their role in informing the public. That is still true and should not be confounded with what economic power is, or how it is used to SUBVERT government.
Economic power should not be considered, even informally, as part of government, for the simple reason that the interests of the moneyed are not in the interests either of our government or of the citizens of our country. One of the problems we have is because we have failed to exercise the proper role of government in regulating what economic power can do and set safeguards against undue influence in governmental affairs. We absolutely need to be clear about this, because if we are not, using a term such as that will tend to normalize something that is antithetical to what our government's role is, which is to serve the needs of the people.
Yes, we need to recognize the outsize role of wealth in influencing our government and be willing to address it head-on, but we also need to make clear the boundaries that keep the two separate.
I agree that there is a massive misunderstanding of what economics is, period, even among students of economics. In our culture, we often teach economics as if it only refers to capitalism, and treat capitalism as if it were governed by natural laws. But economics is not a science, natural or otherwise: it is collection of philosophies in that any economic system makes assumptions about human nature, and conducts economic activities around those assumptions. Capitalism is no different in that regard: Adam Smith recognized the built-in inconsistencies of capitalism and the inevitable consequences, which is why he stated flatly that without regulation, capitalism would fail. As we have seen repeatedly. A
The term Socialism meant something different to Americans in the mid-1800s (state ownership or support of production) than it does now (accessible social welfare provided to all either by or through the state). Capitalism is compatible with social welfare, and most "capitalist" systems include what we consider socialist elements. The proof is that though Americans approve widely when asked what they think of social welfare programs themselves, they reject the term when asked about "socialism" as a label. Yet, we accept many social welfare programs without recognizing that that is what they are (schools, access to health care, safe water systems, fire and police departments, the streets we drive on, parks, etc).
This is the place where we are most successful in getting across our points about a healthy economy and a healthy society. We do not need to tie them to what Trump/Elon/etal are promoting, which is neither capitalism nor socialism, but simply class-oriented fascism: control by a few over the many. Democracy and social welfare are compatible. Fascism and social welfare are not. And a coup can be reversed, IF WE ALL STAND UP AND SAY NO. History bears this out.
But I now fear that even economic hardship will not deter those who are caught in the MAGA web. The next step in the totalitarian playbook is that sacrifice itself becomes a virtue, of which party members can be proud. And the leadership becoming richer is part of the narrative. This is from Orwell's Animal Farm, when it becomes apparent that the pigs are helping themselves to extra servings of apples and milk:
"Milk and apples (this has been proved by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organisation of this farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for YOUR sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples."
It won’t deter the ones holding up the maga web. IMO it will deter the ones who are more apolitical and who vote according to what affects them.
For them the big appeal was that he spoke at every turn to 2 concerns of all humans: basic needs and safety / security. Everyone he vilified were used as scapegoats for standing in the way of those 2 things. With all that were promises of lower costs and better security at home & not getting involved in other countries.
None of what the WH and Congress are trying to do is “as advertised.” My only fear is that more could decide “both sides” are against them. The Dems need to keep pushing back & have a proposal ahead of midterms that creates a stark contrast between what they offer & the lunacy.
The Arabs in Dearborn, MI and the farms in the Central Valley of CA are threatened with ruin -- and still they say, "We support drumpf!" Absolutely mind-blowing. Oh, wait. Maybe it shouldn't be. You make an excellent, horrible point.
The main problem with using the words like socialism is that they have been hijacked. Socialism in particular is complicated because there are so many groups (from Nazis to Democratic Socialists) who used the label. I like mixed economy because it is accurate.
Mixed Economy is like all the Biden programs that had names attached that did not reflect easily what those programs were doing for the American people and those elsewhere in the world. I needed a crib sheet to remember what the programs were doing to help us all.
I’m thinking it isn’t too hard to understand what an Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act means. CHIPS Act and so on. Building an economy from the bottom up — not clear?
If Mixed Economy isn’t your bag please come up with something that explains the US economic model to your liking & let us know what audience you have in mind. After all, we’re not a ‘free market’ and our economy is not an example of socialism. We, like most nations, have a mixed economy.
LOL- that hardly started with Biden. When I was growing up post WW2, there were so many acronyms that you needed a crib sheet to keep track of which did what. One of them was HUAC, an acronym that still sends shivers down my back. I'd rather have the acronyms than what we're walking into, which is something worse than HUAC..
Listening to this article has drained the blood out of my body. I feel like a corpse as I listen to the corruption happening to the USA. Its hard to survive on such a small glimmer of hope from a few decent judges but that's the reality of today.
Trump is a cancer that has metastasized to the spines of Republicans, transforming them into MAGAs, as the cancer eats away and replaces the bones that were in the spine. All are complicit.
Elon Musk is now the puppet master who not only pulls the strings on Trump but on all the MAGA senators (they are unworthy of the name Republican). The one of my two senators I thought might still have a moral core, has voted for even the most outrageous cabinet appointments after visits from Musk and/or J. D. Vance. Musk also has the strings on Trump's appointees.
Yes. We need to pull together for our democracy to survive.
Thank you, as always, for your sober evaluation of what's making history today. I have visited the horrible Auschwitz and seen the remnant of what way too many deny ever happened. We can't repeat anything like that. I'm also lamenting what's happening to the highly successful USAID. I so appreciate your ending on a positive note, Steven. You're a breath of fresh air.
Such a good article! And despite the odds against us, people are fighting back. Judges blocking crazy orders; Senators like Chris Murphy speaking out; Substack, Politico, my local NPR station, spreading the word. It has to reach a critical mass, however, where enough Americans will act in concert to condemn what is going on, refuse to obey, or shut up, or sit down. I keep thinking of Rosa Parks and how the people were ready to act on what she did. The bus boycott took a long time but it worked.
Mad respect to the judges who uphold the LAW and to Interim FBI Director Driscoll, who has allegiance to the Constitution. All the repube congresspeople oughta be charged with treason for going along with this. And yes, Dems, grow some nads. Damn, this is a crisis.
And let’s stop calling these punks “engineers.” They’re hackers. Full stop.
cyber-terrorists is what i call them
Since when are the two mutually exclusive?
There is a difference. One, It elevates them. Two, many are not true engineers. Three, many are just coders.
Yes, it is a way to polish the rotten apple.
I don’t think any of them have an engineering degree. Most aren’t even old enough. Wired did several stories on them exposing what is happening. A portion of the story on who they are featuring the 19 yr old was picked up by the Times of India.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/elon-musk-is-the-idol-of-doges-youngest-staff-edward-coristine-who-founded-tesla-sexy-llc/articleshow/117985729.cms
I think she means: hackers and cyber-terrorists.
And incels.
And the 25 y/o is not a “kid” he is an adult who had committed an adult crime, plus he’s disgusting (as is pervy “big balls”)
We were warned. You warned us, Steve, as did others. They put their plans in writing, for crissakes. It was willfully ignored by many “leaders” and we the people are paying the price. “The enemy is us…”
Exactly. I know two old friends who could best be described as old school Republicans. Admittedly vote with their pocketbook as they are wealthy. They hate Trump but could not vote for Harris. Voted for neither. This may have been a common occurrence.
I warned you all, too.
Let’s be clear. Millions of Americans voted for trump and against Harris due to racism and misogyny. The vast majority of white men and a smaller but significant majority of white women fully embraced this felon because they are fully committed to minimizing or eliminating power sharing with their fellow citizens who are people of color. The deeply embedded racial hatred that animates trump and the Republican Party has destroyed this country. America threw away its democracy in order to deport Brown immigrants and oppress every other group they view as “other”. . The majority of whites hate everyone who is not just like them - white, Christian and preferably male. So they chose a rapist and a sadist rather than a highly talented public servant who was a racial minority and a woman.
American democracy is dead or dying because America’s racism and misogyny killed it. The country chose Nazism and it is not going to survive that choice. Whatever is left by the end of these next four years will not resemble the America that existed at the end in 2024. And the destruction will harm every single person in this country. America chose a Nazi over a Democrat. It is about to find out just how disastrous that choice will be.
Regretfully, my feelings exactly. Well stated.
"American democracy is dead or dying because America’s racism and misogyny killed it." And how utterly, utterly disgraceful is that? Feels like an AWFUL lot of white men in this country think that the Taliban has the right idea.
I don’t think Democratic leadership failed to recognize the seriousness of what is going on. Because it is so nutty and off the rails, some have continued to use the methods that have worked in the past and they have to wake up. This is a new day and requires new approaches to stop the insanity. Great post this morning.
Durbin, the #2 guy of the Democrats, is SILENT. Gillibrand, Hassan, Shaheen, Klobuchar, and Rosen, women who have been in the Senate for more than a few weeks are in lock-step with the Republicans. None of them have been willing to be on the front lines pushing back against Musk/Trump/Vance. They are ALL the problem America is facing.
"they HAVE to wake up"!!!
It was actually hard to get past the first paragraph Steven. Exactly, they should be imprisoned as of a week ago. All you say is right on the money. And it’s unimaginable that they don’t have all the data copied, saved and sent to whomever. It’ll be a long slog out of this. And yet, fighting the forces of materialism and greed is centuries old. Let’s do it together! Thank you for your wisdom and willingness to say it as it is.
And to think that MY senator, John Fetterman, was the lone Democrat supporting the confirmation of Bondi just floors me. No Democrat should vote to confirm any of these people. Doesn't he see that she is just a part of this circle of country destroyers. Nobody, and I mean nobody in this cabal is going to stray from the "Good Shepherd".
The first thing Fetterman did was fly to Trump to worship him. Was it money, a pat on the shoulder, or a smirk from Trump that turned a supposed "guy for the people" toward evil? We will see if Pennsylvania still wants him in the next election.
Honestly, I've been waiting for Fetterman to switch parties. I think he's a purebred political animal, and Pennsylvania went for Trump.
Another defection based on convenience, like Gabbard and Kennedy?
"Doesn't he see that she is just a part of this circle of country destroyers." Sure, he sees. He just doesn't give a damn.
Ways to Win
Of the following, how many are actually being deployed by deeply concerned and committed Democrats today?
1. Develop, sharpen, and articulate a clear and compelling (to a majority of Americans) governing, policy, and leadership story.
2. Give prominent platform to the most attractive leaders of tomorrow, helping them get more air time than the most extreme voices.
3. Take the high road in debate, avoiding tit-for-tat infantile name calling, while making policy and other critical choices clear in terms that everyday people can related to (no wonk or esoteric academic jargon).
4. Find across-the-aisle wins that are too good (in people’s eyes) for the other side to duck or deny. Show that you are the party that can lead in the world as it actually is today.
5. Look in the mirror and have a conversation about how you’ve lost your way on the way to losing the last election.
Great list.
But I'm not sure (#4) that there is any 'across-the-aisle' possibility right now. Even Collins and Murkowski voted to confirm Russell Vought.
Collins and Murkowski voted on every fool Trump wanted. When did they ever "work across the aisle"?
Well, they voted against Hegseth, and voted to impeach. That counted for something. I have a suspicion that their families have been threatened.
I do, as well. I was furious with Joni Ernst about hedgehog. Then I saw an interview with her, and she looked pale and trembling from fear. That's when I knew that she and/or her daughter's lives had been threatened.
Oh wow. I was just guessing. It would be great to see some investigative journalism on this.
So what if their families have been threatened? The life of the country is at stake! It will only take a few R’s to stand up and speak truth to power. Cyber terrorists have taken over our country from within. In plain sight. We can’t just stand around wringing our hands.
If thinking is elevated beyond ‘resistance’ to ‘Leadership,’ I’m pretty sure there are many options. It can’t be that there are no shared visions for the future. And no shared program ideas. And no shared focused policy ideas. It can’t be. I believe in this country, and our people, too deeply to believe that.
Thank you Richard. I needed a positive antidote today!
Those of us who are serious about "saving our democracy," such as it is, need to start confronting what I call the unelected fourth branch of government: economic power. Since the advent of Reagan, and especially since the Citizens United decision (2010), it's been eating democracy alive. Economic power is now controlling all three branches of government.
We are a woefully ignorant people when it comes to economics. When progressive Democrats talk about economic justice, they too often get trashed as "far left" -- by other Democrats. (The fact that the former are often people of color and the latter are usually white is very worth noting.)
Democrats -- meaning these days those who regardless of party affiliation can't imagine voting for Republicans -- need to stop freaking out about the s-word. (But go ahead, call it a "mixed economy" if you like.) Talk about what government has done, should be doing, and why it matters. And absolutely talk about what happens when we're afraid to talk about economic power. It's now right in front of our noses, so this shouldn't be too hard.
Disagree strongly that the term "fourth branch" be used at all to describe economic power in relationship to government. First, because the term fourth branch has been used since the beginning of our nation to describe the media and their role in informing the public. That is still true and should not be confounded with what economic power is, or how it is used to SUBVERT government.
Economic power should not be considered, even informally, as part of government, for the simple reason that the interests of the moneyed are not in the interests either of our government or of the citizens of our country. One of the problems we have is because we have failed to exercise the proper role of government in regulating what economic power can do and set safeguards against undue influence in governmental affairs. We absolutely need to be clear about this, because if we are not, using a term such as that will tend to normalize something that is antithetical to what our government's role is, which is to serve the needs of the people.
Yes, we need to recognize the outsize role of wealth in influencing our government and be willing to address it head-on, but we also need to make clear the boundaries that keep the two separate.
I agree that there is a massive misunderstanding of what economics is, period, even among students of economics. In our culture, we often teach economics as if it only refers to capitalism, and treat capitalism as if it were governed by natural laws. But economics is not a science, natural or otherwise: it is collection of philosophies in that any economic system makes assumptions about human nature, and conducts economic activities around those assumptions. Capitalism is no different in that regard: Adam Smith recognized the built-in inconsistencies of capitalism and the inevitable consequences, which is why he stated flatly that without regulation, capitalism would fail. As we have seen repeatedly. A
The term Socialism meant something different to Americans in the mid-1800s (state ownership or support of production) than it does now (accessible social welfare provided to all either by or through the state). Capitalism is compatible with social welfare, and most "capitalist" systems include what we consider socialist elements. The proof is that though Americans approve widely when asked what they think of social welfare programs themselves, they reject the term when asked about "socialism" as a label. Yet, we accept many social welfare programs without recognizing that that is what they are (schools, access to health care, safe water systems, fire and police departments, the streets we drive on, parks, etc).
This is the place where we are most successful in getting across our points about a healthy economy and a healthy society. We do not need to tie them to what Trump/Elon/etal are promoting, which is neither capitalism nor socialism, but simply class-oriented fascism: control by a few over the many. Democracy and social welfare are compatible. Fascism and social welfare are not. And a coup can be reversed, IF WE ALL STAND UP AND SAY NO. History bears this out.
Wonderful post. I need this clarity. Thank you
This all makes sense.
But I now fear that even economic hardship will not deter those who are caught in the MAGA web. The next step in the totalitarian playbook is that sacrifice itself becomes a virtue, of which party members can be proud. And the leadership becoming richer is part of the narrative. This is from Orwell's Animal Farm, when it becomes apparent that the pigs are helping themselves to extra servings of apples and milk:
"Milk and apples (this has been proved by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organisation of this farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for YOUR sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples."
It won’t deter the ones holding up the maga web. IMO it will deter the ones who are more apolitical and who vote according to what affects them.
For them the big appeal was that he spoke at every turn to 2 concerns of all humans: basic needs and safety / security. Everyone he vilified were used as scapegoats for standing in the way of those 2 things. With all that were promises of lower costs and better security at home & not getting involved in other countries.
None of what the WH and Congress are trying to do is “as advertised.” My only fear is that more could decide “both sides” are against them. The Dems need to keep pushing back & have a proposal ahead of midterms that creates a stark contrast between what they offer & the lunacy.
The Arabs in Dearborn, MI and the farms in the Central Valley of CA are threatened with ruin -- and still they say, "We support drumpf!" Absolutely mind-blowing. Oh, wait. Maybe it shouldn't be. You make an excellent, horrible point.
The main problem with using the words like socialism is that they have been hijacked. Socialism in particular is complicated because there are so many groups (from Nazis to Democratic Socialists) who used the label. I like mixed economy because it is accurate.
Mixed Economy is like all the Biden programs that had names attached that did not reflect easily what those programs were doing for the American people and those elsewhere in the world. I needed a crib sheet to remember what the programs were doing to help us all.
I’m thinking it isn’t too hard to understand what an Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act means. CHIPS Act and so on. Building an economy from the bottom up — not clear?
If Mixed Economy isn’t your bag please come up with something that explains the US economic model to your liking & let us know what audience you have in mind. After all, we’re not a ‘free market’ and our economy is not an example of socialism. We, like most nations, have a mixed economy.
LOL- that hardly started with Biden. When I was growing up post WW2, there were so many acronyms that you needed a crib sheet to keep track of which did what. One of them was HUAC, an acronym that still sends shivers down my back. I'd rather have the acronyms than what we're walking into, which is something worse than HUAC..
Listening to this article has drained the blood out of my body. I feel like a corpse as I listen to the corruption happening to the USA. Its hard to survive on such a small glimmer of hope from a few decent judges but that's the reality of today.
Trump is a cancer that has metastasized to the spines of Republicans, transforming them into MAGAs, as the cancer eats away and replaces the bones that were in the spine. All are complicit.
Elon Musk is now the puppet master who not only pulls the strings on Trump but on all the MAGA senators (they are unworthy of the name Republican). The one of my two senators I thought might still have a moral core, has voted for even the most outrageous cabinet appointments after visits from Musk and/or J. D. Vance. Musk also has the strings on Trump's appointees.
Yes. We need to pull together for our democracy to survive.
Thank you, as always, for your sober evaluation of what's making history today. I have visited the horrible Auschwitz and seen the remnant of what way too many deny ever happened. We can't repeat anything like that. I'm also lamenting what's happening to the highly successful USAID. I so appreciate your ending on a positive note, Steven. You're a breath of fresh air.
Such a good article! And despite the odds against us, people are fighting back. Judges blocking crazy orders; Senators like Chris Murphy speaking out; Substack, Politico, my local NPR station, spreading the word. It has to reach a critical mass, however, where enough Americans will act in concert to condemn what is going on, refuse to obey, or shut up, or sit down. I keep thinking of Rosa Parks and how the people were ready to act on what she did. The bus boycott took a long time but it worked.
Mad respect to the judges who uphold the LAW and to Interim FBI Director Driscoll, who has allegiance to the Constitution. All the repube congresspeople oughta be charged with treason for going along with this. And yes, Dems, grow some nads. Damn, this is a crisis.
Thanks for writing all of these posts, Steven. I just don't know what to say or even do except write and call my representatives -- who are Democrats.
Good one Steven! Wake up America!!
Powerful writing as usual, Steven