Our government is on the verge of shutting down. And all because one oligarch "xeeted" the funding crisis into existence. Elon Musk. If there was any lingering doubt before whether Musk bought out Twitter in order to flex extra political muscle, it's gone now. Musk has now completely derailed a bipartisan agreement which would have kept our nation running.
There's only one word for this: "Elon-gate." (Copyright 2024. Yes, I'm brilliant. You're welcome.)
The numerous reasons Musk gave for derailing Congress' funding bill are too numerous to list here. But as various pundits have pointed out, this move pretty much pushes Trump aside and declares Musk president, in practice if not in title.
For some time now, I've been pointing out that Trump has no real political ability. He is simply a devotee of the Right-Wing Media Machine, to which he is utterly addicted. As such, he simply echoes what Twitter/X and Fox News say about everything, and everyone else who shares Trump's addiction simply nods and goes along with it. You can actually trace the memes out. Elon starts pushing the lie (for example) about Haitians eating pets on X.com, and within hours, Trump is repeating it, even while embarrassing himself with such a claim during a national debate. It was on X, so it must be true, right?
Trump is not using any sort of "lizard brain" ability, nor is he playing "four-dimensional chess." He's a leaf swept up in a cyclone. He's driftwood spiraling in a whirlpool. His power only comes from so many other leaves being swept up with him.
He is the symptom, not the disease.
Elon's power-move to shut down the government is not the first time a media-owning oligarch has dictated terms regarding government policy. But he is the most recent, and most obvious, example.
We didn't need proof that we are living in an oligarchy/kleptocracy/kakistocracy (and not necessarily in that order). But now we certainly have it.
One Wrongway Peachfuzz at the helm is bad enough. TWO Wrongway Peachfuzzes fighting over who controls the steering wheel is even worse.
At this point, the necessity of abandoning ship may no longer be a matter of if, but when.
Eric
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