Well, I see where Elon Musk has recently praised Germany’s neo- Nazis. That’s not a big surprise–anyone who has followed the remaking of Twitter/X into a platform filled with racism, anti-Semitism and other assorted bigotries promoted by the world’s richest man can hardly be shocked by an explicit admission of his already-obvious political preferences.
What has been shocking–at least to me–has been the growing evidence that Musk used his riches to purchase the Presidency. The last few days–as our dysfunctional Congress struggled to avert a pre-Christmas government shutdown–Americans have been introduced to a stunning reality: for his expenditure of a quarter-billion dollars to elect Trump, Musk evidently expects to be a co-President.
Despite the old adage, there really is something new under the sun…
Timothy Snyder–author of a best-selling book about tyranny–has summed up the situation in his Substack.
How to call this thing that is coming to America in a month?
“Administration” seems inaccurate, since it assumes that the elected president just administers a government for four years, whereas Trump clearly wants to rule indefinitely. It also seems wrong since the people he has appointed will chiefly break things rather than run them.
And so “regime” rather than administration. But whose?
As Snyder points out, the correct answer to that question might be Musk. Compared to Musk, Trump is a poor man. He’s also a man who owes Musk a lot more than he owes his voters or even his other ultra-rich donors. And as Snyder predicts, “Looking ahead, it will be Musk, not Trump, who pays for all the lawsuits to quiet the rest of us, or for the campaigns to primary dissenting Republicans.”
As he says, given that reality, any effort to accurately describe the upcoming regime should probably put Musk’s name first. Snyder dubs it “The Mump Regime.” It’s a title that does double duty.
And that recalls a very essential element of the collapse. One weakness of democracy in the United States has always been public health. The lack of a national health system brings us shorter lives, greater anxiety, and less freedom.
Now, with RFK Jr., we face the rollback of vaccinations, and thus a return, precisely, of mumps. And rubella and measles, which are halted by the same vaccine. And much else. The rest of oligarchical cabinet will weaken government by law through incompetence, spite, or avarice. But RFK Jr. will break society by making us sick.
And, thus, another reason to call this thing the Mump Regime. Get ready.
The chaos of the past few days hasn’t just highlighted the inability of Republicans to govern. (Anyone who’s been following the GOP clown-show in the U.S. House already knew that.) It has introduced us to an unprecedented display of the power of wealth.
However, it has also foreshadowed what is likely to be an epic clash of egos.
Musk and Trump share a couple of obvious attributes: massive ignorance of the way government works, and huge egos that prevent them from recognizing their own limitations. The outcome of Musk’s effort to throw a monkey wrench into the original bipartisan bill (itself a stopgap measure that displayed the inability of House Republicans to legislate) was a bill that defied most of their demands. It was also something of a PR disaster for Trump–and if there’s anything that is really important to Trump, it’s hogging the limelight.
The likely implosion of the Mump administration–an epic, forthcoming battle between two massive egos– may save the country from at least some of Trump’s “promises” that would vastly increase inflation, harm millions of Americans, and reverse the strong economic progress made under the Biden administration.
It’s probably too much to hope for, but the antics of these man-child know-nothings might also help undercut the widespread, mistaken belief that very wealthy people are rich because they’re smarter than the rest of us. That belief–that unwarranted respect for those who have managed (for Musk and Trump, via inheritance) to be richer than most people–has been critical to Trump’s support. His wealth and bluster have allowed him to escape public accountability for multiple manifestly stupid acts and pronouncements. The same is true of Musk. (Because they are rich, observers often assume that there must be a method to the madness.. )
By a very slim margin, American voters elected one rich ignoramus. They didn’t elect the other, richer one, although he is acting as though his “investment” entitles him to a “co-Presidency.”. A “come to Jesus” moment can’t be far off.
Pass the popcorn…..
Yes. It will be the most astounding display of stupidity, corruption, ignorance, spinelessness and blind fealty in our nation’s history. This election displayed the sum total of citizen ignorance, stupidity, mental weakness and susceptibility to corruption.
But as that old saw goes, now they will reap the whirlwind. Sadly, that wind will be passing over an open sewer from the worst representatives in our history. The smell will be that of a decaying carcass, aka democracy. The Supreme Court will look like Romper Room compared to Congress and the Republican-controlled state houses. Everything Republicans touch dies … and rots.
So, as Lester has said on this blog, we should stop using it as a lament platform, but a discussion forum for fixing what went wrong. Surely the Trump voters are not ALL that stupid … or maybe they are and we simply cannot define it. How, for example, does a progressive candidate go into the local cafe in Redneck, Nebraska and convince those good, hard-working folks that they people they elect are screwing them out of so much – to say nothing of their health care? What Democrat or what DNC leadership can reach that far out from their base to actually spread truth in such a way that it overcomes the natural resistance among folks to admit they were wrong?
Any suggestions?
Vernon ends with the real problem we face over the next 4 years, and it’s a psychological one. People absolutely HATE to admit that they’ve made a mistake and we’re wrong. It’s an ego problem that will effect our new leaders as well as the voters who putting new Mump Regieme into the driver’s seat.
The question now is: How to persuade people to change their minds about MAGA but without forcing them to rub their noses in the manure pile.
What Musk bought at our expense are minds that live here which he can use to expand his influence for whatever use that might come to mind.
Call it a country, market, audience, or social media crowd. It’s raw material from which to profit.
It may go down in history as the greatest purchase of power yet in human history.
The extent of Musk’s control over Trump was kept under wraps till post election when working Americans had been sold out on the MAGA slave block; we will now serve at their discretion and pay for the honor of serving them.
I won’t go into detail about the manner in which 4 old, white Catholic, Republican men in my neighborhood have taken direct actions against me personally for, in the broader scope, it is meaningless. But we have no way of knowing where, who or how often this is being done in neighborhoods and probably families throughout this country since the election. My only question can be WHY; what have any of them achieved with their destructive actions; are their points for their actions and if so, who is keeping score? Do they really believe they will matter to either of our presidents or are only local Republicans interested in what their voters are doing?
“By a very slim margin, American voters elected one rich ignoramus. They didn’t elect the other, richer one, although he is acting as though his “investment” entitles him to a “co-Presidency.”. A “come to Jesus” moment can’t be far off.”
Those many decades ago loving Sunday School lessons I learned in the Methodist Church have all proven to be lies by those claiming the loudest to be our saviors.
Will there be butter and salt on the popcorn?
]
Do we have to convince people they are wrong? Can we convince them they have been conned? Isn’t there a difference?
I heard a podcast a while ago by a group that talked to voters about their choices and had found this to be the most effective way to change minds. It requires listening to their concerns. Over time the name of the group has slipped away, but I believe they are onto something.
I’m clinging to the hope that Trump and Musk will be exposed as the charlatans they are.
Anne, Good post. BUT Harris and other Democrats DID listen to voter concerns and actually developed plans that directly addressed them. It didn’t matter to the 70+ million dupes who voted against their own best interests anyway. Did any podcast since the election talk about that abject failure in critical thinking?
The Mump Regime can be more aptly described, contrary to champions of a democratic republic, an epicariocracy, defined as: “Rejoicing at or deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others.”
There is no need for a cute name to call this incoming destructive oligarchy. If your definition of the merger between our government and corporate power is Fascism, then you can call it the NeoFascist Technocracy. It’s the right-winged oligarchy that wants to shrink government even further so they don’t have to pay any taxes. The Kochs believed that even voting could be handled by the free market, so brace yourselves.
If you watched the spectacle where Musk interfered with the bipartisan deal to keep the government open, the GOP offered him the role of Speaker of the House since you don’t have to be an elected official. Musk and Trump have also warned any Republicans who stand in their way will get primaried. Money talks, bullshit walks.
I don’t believe Kennedy, Kash, or Gabbard will wreak havoc. They might be able to break down some of the corruption at the highest government levels. Big Pharma has run the FDA and other health departments for centuries. Has anybody made the connection between Indy’s puppets and Eli Lilly? What about the Lilly Foundation and all the nonprofits they feed behind the scenes? It might be a clue as to why Indiana is the last state in the Midwest to legalize marijuana. 😉
Hegseth is the biggest disaster waiting to happen. Gaetz was probably used as a distraction to push Hegseth through the confirmation process.
Years ago, a book or major article about inherited wealth now wanted to run the show. As Sheila pointed out, they don’t have to be smart to inherit money from the family. Some of the old money is two or three generations deep. I don’t believe Musk is one of those. His momma raised all the kids, but Elon was a partner/founder of PayPal with deep ties to the CIA. In fact, most of Silicon Valley has deep ties to the CIA, so it will be fascinating to watch how Musk operates when recommending where to cut government spending. Gabbard will be interesting to follow as well. There is a LONG history of battles between the FBI and the CIA.
I would buy a massive bag of popcorn, salt, and butter. These aren’t the brightest people calling the shots. I was amazed at Musk’s ignorance about the government and his deliberate disinformation campaigns on X, especially about immigrants. Half a trillion dollars in net worth buys a lot of politicians and positive media.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedge:_The_Secret_War_Between_the_FBI_and_CIA
Todd … you are so wrong about the influence of The Lilly Endowment to equate with the ill will and spurious aims of the incoming Mump Regime. Most major contributions to the quality of life unique to Marion County and Indianapolis can be attributed to the footprint of The Lilly Endowment.
Humbly suggest that the best positive work ahead lies around these issues:
– Term limits for elected and appointed public officials’
– Greater public transparency for government activities
– More states providing a path for citizen ballot initiatives
Lester … you rightfully argue for pillars of citizen action to strengthen and preserve our democratic republic.
As you have pointed out before, there appears to be no limit to the ignorance of those who have elected this buffoon to be president, and that election has further exposed the mental limitations of Musk (ironically redefining anti-brilliance as he plods forward in such an obvious manor). Responsible citizens MUST remain united against this kind of thinking!!!
It has been and will always be “follow the money”. Musk, Koch, tRump, etc., are all the latest iteration of inherited wealth endowing heirs to wannabe aristocracy.
The mafia-like actions of this regime, even before they have assumed power, should not be a surprise to anyone paying attention for the last decade or more.
Money buys the loyalty of those who are not capable of attaining wealth on their own initiative, by intimidation, by blackmail or by using those convinced of their own inadequacy but firmly believing they are entitled. When nothing else works, be sure to put those resisting in tall buildings with open windows. Clear warnings are hard to miss.
The irony of having a vaccine-resister controlling the health of the nation is that most of the older adults have either survived contraction of childhood diseases or have been vaccinated in childhood and have some degree of immunity. The most vulnerable are the very young. The same people who declare themselves “pro-life” are the most likely to support anti-vacs, pro-gun, anti-women’s healthcare policies that endanger the lives of children in overwhelming ways.
IMO, nothing else explains where we all are more than racism and misogyny. Add in fundamental religious indoctrination that excludes all non-believers to justified eternal condemnation and you have the perfect mix to once again elevate wealthy authoritarians controlling the message to complete ownership. We have become slaves to them in every physical sense. Controlling individual minds may be a little harder but the authoritarians seem to have figured out how to control us through indoctrination, propaganda and flooding with media-sphere with BS. Include bread and circus for distraction and you have the finishing touches. Easy peasy!
Call all of us to the struggle. It will be millions of people acting in myriad ways, each doing what they can according to their abilities and resources. Some will converse to educate, some will write, some will donate, some will march, some will boycott and some will make “good trouble.” Remember that more people voted against Trump than voted for him. You have allies. Support each other.
It has been reported by Heather Cox Richardson and by Thom Hartman that in defeating the first Continuing Resolution, Musk gained the time and the clout to get an extremely important clause deleted from the second CR that he allowed to pass; i.e. the part about technology transfers and investments in China. This was a major win for Musk because of his Tesla investment in China, and because he is also making a major AI investment in China. Both are way more important to his future wealth than the trivial matter of Trump wanting to be able to blame the increase in the debt ceiling on Joe Biden instead of Donald Trump.
The potential good news is that Musk may have played his hand too early since Trump hasn’t even been inaugurated yet. Maybe Trump will wake up and shove Musk to the side for hogging the limelight which Donald craves so much. We can hope!
I don’t like to lodge a complaint without also proposing a solution. I’m on my hobby horse once again, so here I go. I’ve found it impossible to speak Democrat vs Republican in my neck of the woods. I have had some luck talking policy differences. As an example, I was at one of my many doctors’ offices when I saw a woman who was clearly in a caregiver role for her husband. I asked her if he was a veteran, getting care from VA. If he had been she could have gotten caregiver benefits, like respite care. He was not. Then I said that it should be covered by Medicare, but it’s not. She whole heartedly agreed. Then I commented that it might have happened, if the election had gone the other way. She stopped for a minute before saying she agreed. We chatted for a few more minutes before she had to escort her husband to the next station.
I’m not certain she will ever vote for a Democrat, but I am certain I gave her something to think about. Sometimes that’s the best you can do.
What Sharon says. Anti-fascist, authoritarian, sadistic type characters of the Mump regime have a heavy lift with the tearing down they plan to do. Most Americans I know like law and order and fair play for everyone. When the new regime gains official power and begins their destructive ways the spotlight has to shine bright on what they’re doing. When they hide behind their daily distractive theatrical performances our questions need to be loud and clear. Observation, questioning, calling out and ridiculing are tactics to use in coordinated effort to promote critical thinking that’s necessary to stand up for our established rights that the Mump regime is threatening.
Vernon’s question was ‘how can anyone convince the Nebraska rednecks that the person/people they voted for is/are screwing them’?
Several commenters have stated that it can’t be done and I agree. The only way they will recognize the harm they’ve caused to themselves (and the rest of us) is when they actually start feeling extreme pain financially and otherwise. Even then, it will take quite a bit of time and suffering due to Fox, Newsmax and ultra-right wing podcasters continuing to lie to them.
When the magas finally open their eyes and see how deeply they’ve been duped I hope they will collectively use the firearms they’ve amassed and use them to chase out all of the corporate, congressional and state legislature thieves that stole their freedom and money. Maybe then they will put an end to the Maga media that fed them lies 24/7 for so many years.
Hmmm,
A person would have to be intellectually blind to not see this coming. And what folks fail to realize, this blueprint was used before.
Talking to Marv the other day, this government takeover has been in the works for decades. They played the long game! As I recall, a few years back, everyone talked about the death of the GOP. It was done for! And what happened? Everyone relaxed and didn’t pay attention. Marv is sick, but he still has that fire in his belly. He is doing about the only thing he can, to which he readily admits, has a snowballs chance on the surface of the Sun.
51% of men whom had describe themselves as black, supported DT. Interestingly, many of those same individuals despise women who are powerful. I’ve known some of these folks who had left their wives after a hysterectomy. All the while claiming that because of the surgery, they were no longer a woman.
Back in the day, when you had to get the man’s permission to authorize a surgery, breast cancer, or ovarian cancer, anything to do with the female gender. The man refused to authorized the lifesaving surgery because of extremely flawed and barbaric opinions on what makes a woman a woman.
I’ve known about this for a long long time, and circumstances such as today, brings these ideas and opinions to the fore. This kind of mentality would make Nazis proud!
Will January 20th go by without a whimper? I think it will go through with great despair. But, there is still time! The guarantee is this, if it’s not stopped before the 20th of January, there is going to be some really brutal things coming to light. And most will not be happy. There is too much money floating around out there, and if they can really put the screws to the average person, The power brokers won’t ever have to worry about consequences.
When you have all three branches of government in one party, they pretty much can do anything they like! The POTUS has the power to prevent what’s coming, and, he won’t do a thing.
Anyone who defends the mob associated with Big Pharma’s business model is suspect or, more likely, ignorant of the corruption from the 19th century forward. Philanthropists’ monies are primarily unpaid labor to workers and overpayment by customers. Insulin is one of the most egregious money-making schemes in the industry.
The Lilly Foundation helped underwrite the school choice initiative in Indiana by funneling cash through the Mind Trust et al. Lilly Foundation also funds:
– The Hudson Institute, a conservative nonprofit think tank
– The Pacific Research Institute, a California-based free-market think tank that has opposed government healthcare interventions.
– The Federalist Society ($1.5 million in a decade), a conservative law group[11]
– And climate change denial efforts
Lilly Foundation and Eli Lilly have spent millions in Washington, preventing the people from having universal healthcare. I don’t care how much they use their money to control Indianapolis, and they are part of the right-wing mafia that jacked up SCOTUS and brought us Trump 2. #profiteers #oligarchy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilly_Endowment
Trump likes to put on a show. So let’s have some fun describing groups for cast of the show:
The Mump Regime: Elon Musk and Donald Trump
The Mumpsters: The Cabinet
The Mumpets: Direct reports
[Anyone above this can be characterized in the realm of they do not know what they do not know. They make announcements.
Deep State State actors who run the day to government.
They actually know what is required under law to do their jobs. Stay tuned 🤗
On this observation, Sheila, regarding undercutting, in your words, “the widespread, mistaken belief that very wealthy people are rich because they’re smarter than the rest of us. That belief–that unwarranted respect for those who have managed (for Musk and Trump, via inheritance) to be richer than most people–has been critical to Trump’s support. His wealth and bluster have allowed him to escape public accountability for multiple manifestly stupid acts and pronouncements. The same is true of Musk. (Because they are rich, observers often assume that there must be a method to the madness.. )” Consider learning from “The Fiddler on the Roof.” It was Rebbe Tevye that had this issue just right when he opined, “When you’re rich, they think you really know.” But, of course, they don’t and we know it!
Critical mass. A certain number of people must suffer enough or die to motivate change. Apparently, not enough of us are suffering or dying to wake up enough citizens to the realization that these rich goons donʻt care about the average working American. And too many men and yes, women, couldnʻt bring themselves to vote for a woman. Once enough Americans see that the jackboot is also for them and not just the “others,” then they will finally vote in their own best interests. That is, unless voting rights have been stripped away first. I wasnʻt always this cynical, but this last election really brought home how easily fooled and how hate-filled is our electorate.