"After Musk spent the day telling Republicans not to support the bill [to keep government going], Trump weighed in against it, too. That put the bill on life support.
If this isn’t oligarchy, I don’t know what is.
You may not get access to services you depend on just before the holidays because an unelected billionaire shadow president wanted it that way."
~ Robert Reich
#Trump #ElonMusk #EconomicElites #oligarchy
/1
robertreich.substack.com/p/can…
Can the Muskrat shut the United States government?
Sure looks that way. The richest person in the world has turned his wealth into raw power. That's what oligarchy looks like.Robert Reich
William Lindsey :toad:
in reply to William Lindsey :toad: • • •"A dictionary definition of oligarchy is “a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes.” The super-rich know Trump can punish or reward them, and he’s trying to pressure them into anti-democratic alliances with him. Sadly, some billionaires are happy to do so."
~ Mark Jacob
#Trump #ElonMusk #EconomicElites #oligarchy
/2
stopthepresses.news/p/here-com…
Here Come the Oligarchs to Undermine Democracy
Mark Jacob (Stop the Presses)William Lindsey :toad:
in reply to William Lindsey :toad: • • •"Elites have repeatedly made alliances with autocrats. Elites retain power and privileges, and have the potential to expand their profits, in return for supporting the autocrat no matter what he says or does. ...
Those who enter into alliances with Trump forget the lessons of history."
~ Ruth Ben Ghiat
#Trump #ElonMusk #EconomicElites #oligarchy
/3
lucid.substack.com/p/capitulat…
Capitulating to Trump, American Elites Follow a History of Autocratic Enabling that Doesn't End Well
Ruth Ben-Ghiat (Lucid)William Lindsey :toad:
in reply to William Lindsey :toad: • • •"It’s already clear that assuming the worst happens — and it’s hard to see how it won’t — this will be the dumbest shutdown ever. ...
Inauguration Day is still a month away, yet the chaos monkeys have already taken over."
~ Paul Krugman
#Trump #ElonMusk #EconomicElites #oligarchy
/4
paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the…
The Chaos Monkeys Have Already Taken Over the Zoo
Paul Krugman (Krugman wonks out)William Lindsey :toad:
in reply to William Lindsey :toad: • • •"The world’s richest man wants to burn it all down. …
Needless to say, their priority [of Congressional Republicans] isn’t to well and faithfully discharge their duties. Their priority is to listen closely so that when Trump and Musk say, 'Jump,' they promptly ask, 'How high?'”
~ William Kristol
#Trump #ElonMusk #EconomicElites #oligarchy
/5
thebulwark.com/p/the-worlds-ri…
The World’s Richest Man Wants to Burn It All Down
William Kristol (The Bulwark)William Lindsey :toad:
in reply to William Lindsey :toad: • • •"In one day we got 1) renewed attention to Trump’s depraved and dangerous nominees 2) Trump’s agenda already doing significant harm to the US economy 3) the Russian-backed Trump/Musk wrecking ball publicly savaging the Republican Speaker and killing his bi-partisan bill to keep the government open over the Holiday season two days before the government shuts down."
~ Simon Rosenberg
#Trump #ElonMusk #EconomicElites #oligarchy
/6
hopiumchronicles.com/p/the-tru…
The Trump Wrecking Ball Is Already Here, More Notes On The Path Forward - My Latest Video On US Politics
Simon Rosenberg (Hopium Chronicles By Simon Rosenberg)William Lindsey :toad:
in reply to William Lindsey :toad: • • •"Remember 'governing by tweet?' This time it was Elon Musk's tweets. He 'posted dozens of times, dozens,' against the bipartisan funding bill, and Republicans in Congress 'answered Elon's call.'"
~ Brian Stelter
#Trump #ElonMusk #EconomicElites #oligarchy
/7
view.newsletters.cnn.com/messa…
William Lindsey :toad:
in reply to William Lindsey :toad: • • •"Uber and its CEO have donated $1m each to Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, joining a growing list of firms seeking to garner favor with the administration. Meta also gave $1m, with Amazon and OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, reportedly planning similar donations."
~ Jem Bartholomew
#Trump #ElonMusk #EconomicElites #oligarchy
/8
theguardian.com/us-news/2024/d…
First Thing: 51 men found guilty in Pelicot mass rape trial
Jem Bartholomew (The Guardian)William Lindsey :toad:
in reply to William Lindsey :toad: • • •"Driving the right-wing backlash against House Republicans over the now-abandoned continuing resolution to fund the federal government through mid-March was the erratic and impetuous richest man in the world, posting furiously on the social media platform he owns."
~ David Kurtz
#Trump #ElonMusk #EconomicElites #oligarchy
/9
morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.…
Republicans Turn Eating Their Own Into A Spectator Sport
David Kurtz (Morning Memo)William Lindsey :toad:
in reply to William Lindsey :toad: • • •"Trump has brought Musk into the central circle of power. He’s not only de facto Vice President. When was the last time you saw JD Vance? He’s practically co-president. Musk is erratic, volatile, impulsive, mercurial. He introduces a huge source of unpredictability and chaos into the presidency that for once Trump doesn’t control."
~ Josh Marshall
#Trump #ElonMusk #EconomicElites #oligarchy
/10
snyder.substack.com/p/class-wa…
Class War or Culture War?
Timothy Snyder (Thinking about...)William Lindsey :toad:
in reply to William Lindsey :toad: • • •"Musk did this. Trump thrives on chaos, but his chaos. Not someone else’s chaos.
Trump is following. He’s trying to pretend otherwise but he’s following. ...
Trump has sewn himself into a sack with Elon Musk, a few billion dollars, a cat and a snake, and had the sack tossed into the Tiber. That’s the story here. And it will go on for a while."
#Trump #ElonMusk #EconomicElites #oligarchy
/11