October 29, 2024

"'[Musk] believes that if Trump wins Pennsylvania, he wins the election. He’s told us that repeatedly. He’s treating this almost like it’s a business deal'..."

"... said one Trump adviser. 'He knows if he loses this election, he’s screwed. The regulations, the attitude of a new Democratic administration, the animosity they’ll have for all the money he’s spent to help Trump — it’s a big business bet for him.' Musk has argued that a victory by Harris 'would destroy the Mars program and doom humanity.' Trump, in turn, has publicly endorsed Musk’s goal of accelerating a human mission to Mars.... 'Get ready, Elon, get ready,' Trump said at an Oct. 19 campaign rally. 'We gotta land it. We gotta do it quickly.' But Musk also casts his new involvement in politics as a moral crusade — to fight back against liberal social policies, protect the U.S. Constitution and oppose the 'big government machine.' 'If the Kamala machine wins, then we’ll see, I think, severe censorship,' he said at one recent rally. 'That’s why I think this is the last election.'"

From "Elon Musk is the October surprise of the 2024 election/The billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO, and owner of X, has interjected himself into a presidential race like no other titan before him" (WaPo)(free-access link, my last of the month, so use it well).

I wouldn't just follow Elon Musk, but Elon Musk, Tulsi Gabbard, and RFK Jr. are all on the same side. They are such different individuals, and they are all strongly for Trump. 
@robertfkennedyjrofficial

I've spent 40 years suing our government agencies. I understand the perverse incentives that put agency capture on steroids. I know how the system is supposed to work to protect the public interest and I will fix it. 🇺🇸

♬ original sound - Robert F. Kennedy Jr

51 comments:

Saint Croix said...

I think the apocalyptic language is kind of ridiculous. Electing Harris will be bad, but not end-of-democracy bad. Come on.

Dixcus said...

Harris and Biden did everything they could to eviscerate the First Amendment on their watch. Every company in America was explicitly ordered - under threat - to monitor and censor the speech of Americans all across the internet. And every type of speech. And no matter who was speaking ... whether it was Joe Six Pack or whether it was the New York Post.

They represent the very threat that our Founding Fathers KILLED PEOPLE FOR and it took some guy from South Africa to come in and upset that apple cart.

American CEOS did NOT push back: Zuckerberg, Tim Cook ... they saw the power they would achieve personally by becoming an arm of the federal government and JUMPED at the chance to turn their entire corporations into CENSOR MACHINES.

I'm glad that Elon Musk is gathering so much information on how to put a rocket where it needs to go because that will come in very handy in the future.

And I don't mean putting them in space.

Peachy said...

Here is where the Dems will try to cheat the most:

Pennsylvania
Arizona
Nevada
Georgia

Wisconsin and Michigan runners up.

Peachy said...

huh? The left will pack the Supreme court, leave the border open, hike taxes to punitive insanity, kill off voter ID and enshrine their power forever. yeah - it's cool.

Iman said...

Americans are lucky we have the man Musk among us. We are all at risk and everything is at stake. The Colossal Fustercluck perpetrated by Progressives must have a stake driven through its shriveled heart and buried in a marked grave for all normal Americans to piss on at their leisure.

Money Manger said...

Remember the Venezuela election of 1998.

Rocketeer said...

You can boil in that pot of water if you want, froggy, but I won’t be joining you.

rehajm said...

Yah. The people running Joe and Kamala want to see the United States as another Euro duchy that falls in line with the Davos crowd’s bullet point presentation on political censorship and criminalizing unacceptable speech. Makes it easier for the implementation of their unpopular polices…

Peachy said...

oh and I forgot - the corrupt left will take X away from Musk and possibly send him to jail. You know - quaint Soviet behavior was can all adjust to.

Achilles said...

You are just ignoring history saying this.

They already destroyed livelihoods over COIVD jabs, practiced mass censorship, and are in the process of starting world war 3, and importing millions of new voters.

Banning voter ID and mass vote by mail is the effective end of democracy in a country without borders.

rehajm said...

Full credit to the Althousians that pointed to the story of the Brits vigorously opposing Musk, even coming to the US to stump for Kamala. Not better illustration of where their interests align…

Peachy said...

and 2024.

Dixcus said...

That only works over there because their people allowed themselves to be DISARMED.

The way you protect our Constitutional Republic is to go down to your gun store, buy a weapon, learn how to use it, and keep a huge stock of ammunition prepared for the day that we need to eliminate these and find new guards for the defense or our liberties.

Dixcus said...

The Brits better hope the Nazi's who rallied in New York don't invade their little island. They won't get away with a few bombs being dropped on random buildings this time.

Peachy said...

Weee!

Sebastian said...

Musk recognizes the invasion for what it is and what it means. Is Althouse still on the fence?

Peachy said...

This cannot be posted enough

Actual words... out of Kamala's mouth.

Peachy said...

I don't normally agree with Achilles- but here - I do. 100%

RCOCEAN II said...

Billionaire donors have been controlling the D party for years. George Soros for example. And billionaries like Bloomberg run our Media. Jewish Billionaries decided the College Palestinian Protests were bad, so they shut them down and got Ivy league presidents fired.

But we get almost nothing from the MSM or the D party about those rich men involving in politics. But let Musk help Trump out, and suddendly (sic) they're all populists upset about "Money in politics". LOL

Anyway per the MSM,
Bezos, Soros, Ackman, Gates, Singer, Bloomberg, Cuban, Zuckerberg = just honest citizens doing their civic duty. Nothing to see here, folks.

Musk = Rich oligarch trying to rule the country with his billions. Maybe we need to do something about "Money in politics".

Balfegor said...

Re: Dixcus:

American CEOS did NOT push back: Zuckerberg, Tim Cook ... they saw the power they would achieve personally by becoming an arm of the federal government and JUMPED at the chance to turn their entire corporations into CENSOR MACHINES.

I think you misunderstand the dynamic. For many years now, a key element of US policy has been to offload the burden of enforcement onto private companies, so that their internal governance and compliance mechanisms work to police their employees and customers and report back to the government when they identify instances of potential illegal behaviour. Like a lot of stuff, this started in heavily regulated industries like finance (e.g. suspicious activity reports), but has migrated to less regulated industries. E.g., in the past year or so, the US Department of Justice has been threatening that if companies don't monitor their employees private "off-channel" communications (their texts and Whatsapp messages, etc.) they could be penalised, even if they aren't subject to any legal obligation that would directly implicate then (unlike, say, investment advisers or broker dealers, who have to retain communications with customers and whose communications with customers are regulated). That's the American model.

American CEOs didn't push back because the government suggesting that they should suppress this or that user activity is completely in keeping with the way the American government interacts with corporate compliance departments today. It probably wasn't that they wanted power. It's that they were perfectly aware that if they didn't click their heels, the civil service would come after them more or less the way the civil service is coming after Musk. Not even as part of a grand conspiracy -- civil servants just have a perception of companies as good corporate citizens (=submissive) and bad corporate citizens (=recalcitrant) and will focus on anything they can find against bad corporate citizens. It's 90% stick, maybe 10% carrot.

RCOCEAN II said...

BTW, Biden and Democrats don't even hide that they're trying to destroy Musk through "Lawfare" and use of the State and Federal governmental agencies. Notice that R's never do that. They don't care or they just love rich people on general principle. Even when Rich people are leftwing D's trying to destroy them.

Dave Begley said...

A little bird told me that RFK, Jr. and Tulsi are appearing at a rally in Madison tonight and the location isn't secret. Go to Trump's website for free tickets. It is at the Alliant Energy Center, Arena Bldg., 6 pm.

Badgers report!

NKP said...

Electing Harris? Be serious. Harris won't be in charge of a damn thing.

RCOCEAN II said...

You're going too easy on the CEOs. there's no reason to believe they wouldn't censor on their own. Just because someone is the head of a Corporation doesnt mean they believe in free speech or dont support the D agenda.

This reminds me of the fiscal crisis of 2008, where the banksters crashed the economy and in some cases drove their banks into the ground due to short term greed. people tried to defend them by blaming the Federal Government policies, but that ignored that a large of banks complied with the laws and didn't get into trouble (cf US bank). No it was the greedy banksters, who literally gambling with their stockholders/depositers money.

Kate said...

Bobby's message hasn't changed, but now it dovetails under the Trump admin. I'm glad to see that his expertise is appreciated and valued. I hope Trump wins for political reasons, but I also want to see someone like Bobby unleashed. And Musk expanding. It's so exciting to think how far this admin could go.

Dixcus said...

Balfegor ... American CEOs didn't push back, you're right. The one from South Africa told the US government to go fk itself and fired all of their censors within days of taking over Twitter. That's kind of my point: Americans aren't resisting the destruction of their country and it's sickening the cowardice on display by these companies.

All of these companies, by the way, have secret data sharing agreements with our internal intelligence agencies, including the NSA, CIA and FBI. They are part-and-parcel of our government and it is within their power to refuse to allow their corporations to be co-opted and made into censor machines.

Dixcus said...

What time does Beyonce come on stage to give her free concert?

Jupiter said...

Maybe not the end of Democracy. But almost certainly the end of the Republic.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Me too. I agree with Achilles and April Longname. Take a look at what Schumer is promising because it is apocalyptic, as is the packing of the Supreme Court.

Dave Begley said...

The same little bird said Dylan will be performing and, after the show, heading over to Meadehouse for some laughs.

Earnest Prole said...

I think we can all agree if our fellow citizens vote wrong Democracy As We Know It Will Be a Thing of the Past™

Big Mike said...

Rory said...

SC: they just invalidated 15 million votes, without explanation. What more could you need to see?

Aggie said...

@Saint Croix: Nobody can precisely predict what the future will bring, even in the short term of next week's Election Day. But we can look precisely at what has been done, by those currently in power. How do your sensibilities align with these actions, the censorship of individual speakers, the cancellation of their social media accounts, the vitriolic Lawfare campaign against Donald Trump, the reasonable suspicions surrounding the 2020 election - which is unverifiable, and the use of the general population for medical experimentation, as with the COVID jab mandates?

Are you noticing how the courts are turning some of these things around, signalling a recognition that there is a clear wrong-doing that needs correction and punishment? Can the Republic stand under the stresses imposed by a party that acts now to eliminate Voter ID, and acts simultaneously to import unvetted immigrants illegally, falsely confer 'parole' status to 'legalize' them, and then facilitates them through voter registration, opposing all efforts to exclude them?

It's a reasonable position to believe the Republic cannot stand under these stresses - but more importantly - how could one support such efforts, knowing they cause harm to our system of government? Or, dismiss them, as inconsequential? Is that really your position?

Jersey Fled said...

Four more years of open borders would be apocalyptic bad. Just ask Europe.

Original Mike said...

"Four more years of open borders would be apocalyptic bad."

Yes, it would.

bagoh20 said...

Musk is on course to become the most influential and pivotal human in American history since the founders. In league with Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln, and an immigrant - a profoundly American story.

Achilles said...

Musk is #2. Elon Musk voted for Joe Biden in 2020.

His rise would not be possible with the obvious #1.

Dude1394 said...

The very first thing the democrats tried to pass was federal election laws that would codify the COVID steal. The VERY FIRST ONE.

Big Mike said...

Electing Harris will be bad, but not end-of-democracy bad.

Actually, there's plenty of evidence to the contrary. So as usual St. Croix is wrong.

MadisonMan said...

In the media, it's always Billionaire Elon Musk. It's rarely Billionaire Jeff Bezos

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Strange how the MSM is constantly concerned about every dollar that R's collect despite the fact that it's now a fraction of what D's blow on elections.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Keep in mind they are always projecting, always. When Hillary said Trump was colluding with Russia, she was doing it to produce the Steele Dossier. So now when Kamala Harris says Trump "is a threat on democracy" then what you should understand is she's telling us up front thst her being elected in the end because if they can pull this off, they will:
1 grant citizenship and voting rights to all 30-million illegals
2 pass Schumer's federal control over elections bill outlawing any ID
3 pack the court to give it crazy left majority
4 grant statehood to Puerto Rico and DC giving them 4 new D senators

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

With no filibuster there will be no way for R to stop D changing whatever they want and confirming any judge they want to.

loudogblog said...

"I wouldn't just follow Elon Musk, but Elon Musk, Tulsi Gabbard, and RFK Jr. are all on the same side. They are such different individuals, and they are all strongly for Trump."

Plus, they're all individuals who have been driven out of the Democrat party. (Each for different reasons.)

One Fine Day said...

Well, there's not a single mention of RFK and Tulsi being in town in the local media, while they are all headlining that Harris is back in Madison today ("alongside several musical acts") and will be back in WI somewhere on Friday.

The Donks are very worried about WI.

Zavier Onasses said...

I believe we are transitioning to an Oligarchy; government controlled by a few very wealthy individuals. Nothing new; Roman Republic many public projects were funded by Oligarchs (who got wealthy bleeding the natives as Governor of some Province).

In late 19th Century USA onward, many public projects funded by Carnegie, Standford, Rockefeller. So nothing new.

But individuals die. Dynasties wane.

What IS new is what we are transitioning FROM. That is a living, self sustaining, unaccountable and uncontrollable Bureaucracy. It confiscates private wealth (or dilutes it with debased currency), using it to grow in size and in economic control. It eats Individual Liberty.

Every decision made by Government (what you study in school, what you may do with your Property...) is a freedom taken from the Individual.

rehajm said...

...just for clarification of the record, Claudine Gay is still quite gainfully employed by Harvard...

john mosby said...

Zavier O: the government set up by the Framers was also an oligarchy.

JSM

RNB said...

Democratic Paychecks wrote: "Here is where the Dems will try to cheat the most: / Pennsylvania / Arizona / Nevada / Georgia"

Specifically: Fulton County

Mary H said...

About an hour ago, Buzz Aldrin posted a stirring endorsement of Trump on X:

"A half-Century ago, it was an honor to serve my country in the effort to put a human being on the Moon. I am proud of what we accomplished then and I have dedicated my life to the pursuit of an enduring human presence in space – it is a calling that runs through every fiber of my being.

Over time, I have seen our government’s approach to space wax and wane. But under the first Trump Administration, I was impressed to see how human space exploration was elevated as a policy of high importance again. Under President Trump’s first term, America saw a revitalized interest in Space, and his Administration reignited national efforts to get back to the Moon, and push on to Mars. The Trump Administration also reinstituted the National Space Council, and our Nation’s defense was enhanced with the creation of the U.S. Space Force – increasingly important as space becomes a contested domain. At the same time, I have been enthused and excited by the great advancements in the private sector space economy, led by visionaries like @elonmusk.
These are concrete accomplishments that align with my concerns and America’s policy priorities.

'"America is facing serious and difficult challenges both at home and abroad. The Presidency requires clarity in judgement, decisiveness, and calm under pressure that few have a natural ability to manage, or the life experience to successfully undertake. It is a job where decisions are made that routinely involve American lives – some urgently but not without thought. The job requires sober analysis of frightening scenarios, and the instinct to lead with resolve. From the skies over Korea in air-to-air combat to navigating, landing, and walking on the Moon, I appreciate this kind of pressure. I know what it is like to have to make these kinds of decisions, with firmness and follow-through.

"In this election, we have a choice and we all have one vote. For some, the choice may not be easy – but in times of uncertainty real leaders are most needed – to guide and inspire a people, to push through the noise, recognize what really matters, and accomplish missions critical to all citizens. Most Americans rightly consider it an honor to cast their vote for a leader they believe will best serve the nation. For me, for the future of our country, to meet enormous challenges, and for the proven policy accomplishments above, I believe we are best served by voting for @realDonaldTrump. I wholeheartedly endorse him for President of the United States. Godspeed President Trump, and God Bless the United States of America."

Homer Hickam seconded Aldrin's endorsement.