December 19, 2024

"The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress... Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk... think about it ..."

"... nothing’s impossible. (not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka ‘uniparty,’ lose their ever-lovin’ minds)."

Tweets Rand Paul.

It's probably a terrible idea but it's funny to think about it.

76 comments:

rhhardin said...

Except the speaker is third in line to the Presidency.

RideSpaceMountain said...

Rand Paul for Fed Secretary
Rand Paul for Fed Secretary
Rand Paul for Fed Secretary

n.n said...

A democracy. The horror.

gilbar said...

rh? i was Already SOLD on the idea, you Don't Need to keep selling it!

Ann Althouse said...

"Except the speaker is third in line to the Presidency."

So he'd be disqualified from ascending to that role if it fell to him and the role would go on the next person in line.

The order of succession after the VP is a matter of statutory law. It can't limit the power of the House to choose its speaker which comes from the Constitution.

Freder Frederson said...

The point is, Elon Musk can not be president. He is not a natural born citizen.

MadisonMan said...

A sense of humor is back!

Enigma said...

Trump was mentioned as a potential Speaker a couple years ago too, and THAT would have been hilarious as the anti-Trump lawfare cases proceeded.

At the end of the day, those with an active a career in politics have sharp fangs and bloody claws. They seek power, they demand power, and they'll die to keep power. Instead, Musk floats around as an old school JP Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, Vanderbilt, or Stanford "captain of industry and man of action" oligarch and disrupter. He's probably best suited for that. He has too little patience to be effective with political Kabuki theater.

victoria said...

It has to be a joke. Either Elon or Rand would be disastrous, quite honestly for the Republicans.

Breezy said...

lol. Hopefully our Congress critters really see what makes Trump, Musk, and Ramaswamy so popular and choose to emulate them when it counts in the future.

Peachy said...

Make is so!

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

And IIRC the order of succession places elected officials ahead of appointed.

Money Manger said...

He's Thomas Cromwell to Trump's Henry VIII. It won't end well.

Peachy said...

Our Government is a corrupt slush fund for insiders.

it's time for the people to take it back.

Maynard said...

Well, Vicky, you have convinced me to support Elon for Speaker. Of course, Rand is a senator, in case you did not know. I would support him for Majority Leader.

Peachy said...

Is there hope on the left that both Trump and JD Vance are murdered?
You bet there is.

Peachy said...

Elon and Rand care about Americans. Democrats care about making themselves wealthy at our expense.

hombre said...

It is a terrible idea, but there are others ….

Peachy said...

Democratic voting loyalists remain ignorant of the truth.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Mean tweets!!!!11!! Quick, everyone to the fainting couches!

Quayle said...

What's wrong with giving an immigrant a little experience?

Jupiter said...

Yeah, I think Musk has enough on his plate already. Speaker is a demanding slog, and would require one's full attention. But there are, indeed, others.

n.n said...

Make America Gay Again... 'Tis the season.

RideSpaceMountain said...

Thanks, that's practically and endorsement.

Yancey Ward said...

It is irrelevant that the Speaker is third in line of succession. Musk as Speaker would simply be skipped in any situation where the President and the Vice President were unable to serve.

Readering said...

He'd have to resign some well paying jobs. Stockholders would be unhappy.

Quaestor said...

Way back in 2015 Vicky proclaimed Trump as a disaster-in-waiting for the Republicans. And she reasserted that claim in 2023 when Trump threw his hat into the ring for the Republican primaries.

Victoria from Pasadena may have her expertise in some field of endeavor. Perhaps her muffins are legendary. However, her track record here is abysmal. If Vicky were a tout, bet on the dead horse rather than her favorite.

The best reason to reject Elon as Speaker is the job would consume too much of his valuable time doing other amazing deeds. Here's a better choice: Ivanka Trump Kushner.

Tim said...

I think it is against the law. The Speaker of the House is number 3 in line for the Presidency, which I think requires the Speaker to be a natural born citizen of the United States.

Quaestor said...

Stupid comparison, utterly stupid. If Money Manger knew anything about Tudor history he wouldn't have posted that. There's no parallel, none.

Bystander said...

I am available and willing to serve.

Quaestor said...

Finally! Readering wisdom!

Quaestor said...

Nope.

Original Mike said...

Pro Tip: Read the preceding comments before making your own

Original Mike said...

Vivek doesn't seem busy.

Big Mike said...

The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress . . .

I don’t know that Elon Musk can be spared from DOGE, however Vivek might be spared, and as Speaker he could work with Elon and Steve Scalise to make DOGE that much more effective.

At any rate, a hearty thanks to Senator Rand Paul for giving Mike Johnson some needed motivation. In the past Republicans have been badly burned by government shutdowns and the Democrats know it and take advantage of it. But there are at least two big differences right now in the winter of 2024. First, Johnson is well-positioned to send a clean bill to the Senate and force Schumer & his automatons to be the ones that shut down the government. Will they? Can Schumer count on Sinema and Manchin — and Fetterman, let’s not forget — to stay in line?

Secondly, this time around Donald Trump has the bully pulpit. The newsmedia will want to trot out the old playbook and blame the GOP, but Trump will beat the crap out of the Democrats (verbally speaking, of course) and the good, honest, working people of the United States will listen. Note that the senators from Minnesota and Michigan who are up for re-election in 2026 won with less than 50% of the vote. Do you think they want Trump beating them up over a government shutdown for the next two years?

Wince said...

Speaker Mike Johnson on several occasions looked like a hanger-on with Trump and Musk.

Will he ever again be allowed to hang with the cool kids?

lamech said...

Imagine if Musk leveraged his current wealth with the stock trading prowess of Speaker Pelosi!

RideSpaceMountain said...

No kidding. I shit you not, there is actually a Nancy Pelosi investment tracker. For private investors like myself, betting on what Nancy bets on is a better indicator and gives better returns than following Warren Buffet.

Nancy missed her calling!

Michael Fitzgerald said...

Great idea! No swamp rats are going to do what needs to be done.

mezzrow said...

Minds are being concentrated on the main thing. This is the effect of real live players on governance. It has been a long time coming.
"Here's the deal."
"This is a dog's breakfast. Start over."
"You weren't supposed to notice. That's why we do business this way."
It ain't Schoolhouse Rock.

n.n said...

The trail boss will be played by Trump. The ramrod by Vance. Get along little DOGE by Musk!

n.n said...

Elon is the first African-American to serve in multiple roles. Get along little DOGE. Musk!

n.n said...

Is Trump the first Person of Orange (PoO) to serve as President?

We need the lived experience of an albino to serve on the Supreme Court.

Hassayamper said...

He can be Speaker regardless of his eligibility to be President. If the Presidency and Vice Presidency both became vacant due to some disaster, he would be passed over in the line of succession in favor of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, currently Sen. Patty Murray of Washington. Wouldn't that be something....

Eva Marie said...

I’d like to see Sarah Palin as Speaker of the House.

Kakistocracy said...

Where will Elon Musk end up ranking among America’s shadow presidents?

Hassayamper said...

I am sure he knows that the disgusting corrupt Democrats intend to shower him and his companies with what are effectively Bills of Attainder the instant they seize power again. Will that make him more loyal to Trump, or less?

RideSpaceMountain said...

Somewhere below Obama and Jill Biden.

Hassayamper said...

Above Jill Biden, Valerie Jarrett, and Edith Wilson, surely.

Dave Begley said...

Elon would be great but he's supposed to be the CEO of about 4 businesses. Vivek would be a better choice.

Peachy said...

Who Writes the Bills?

Androcles said...

Elong has a pretty full plate right now. Vivek has time.

Meade said...

Kakistocracy said...
“Where will Elon Musk end up ranking among America’s shadow presidents?”

Ask your friends at Bluesky. They ought to know.

Just an old country lawyer said...

I like Vivek, but whoever is picked, the GOP should start following the advice of that noted Democrat, Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest: "Put the skeer on 'em and keep it on 'em."

Lazarus said...

There was talk that Trump would become Speaker when the Republicans took back Congress in 2023 (or when they rejected McCarthy and couldn't decide on a replacement). It didn't happen. Why would Trump want the job? He wanted the presidency. Why would the representatives want him? They wanted the job for one of their own.

There was similar speculation that Clinton or Obama would become head of the UN after leaving the White House. Why? That job would be a step down for them, and foreign diplomats weren't going to throw away the best job they could ever possibly get to someone who'd already had more power and fame than they could ever dream of for themselves.

People online love to talk about things that could happen or should happen. What they often mean is "Here's something that never could or should happen, but it's something that would gratify me enormously if by some miracle it did happen."

Peachy said...

The insider Corruptocratic Demo-frats are back to calling everyone/anyone who dare to get in their way ... an "OLIGARCH"

This after 4 years of Biden being 100% controlled by others.

Peachy said...

Elon Musk the only serious person in the room. (along with Rand Paul)

Peachy said...

Now- inform the class - who runs Biden's puppet strings?

Mason G said...

They're too busy patting each other on the back over being brave enough to hang out on a website where they don't have to be confronted by ideas they don't like and can't refute. Probably.

Freder Frederson said...

Yeah, well Rand Paul and Trump are not good buddies. Plus, he is nowhere near rich enough to be in Trump's cabinet.

Freder Frederson said...

Here's a better choice: Ivanka Trump Kushner.

Great idea. We certainly wouldn't have to worry that the job would consume too much of her valuable time doing other amazing deeds

Jim at said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jim at said...

Either Elon or Rand would be disastrous, quite honestly for the Republicans.

Note to self: Always heed the advice from deranged leftists when it comes to what's best for Republicans.

RideSpaceMountain said...

"Trump can't appoint his billionaire friends to work on government problems! That was a job for Joe and Kamala's billionaire friends!" - Fredo

Narayanan said...

Is the frisson same for terrific and terrible?

Readering said...

I wonder who that person will be. Feinstein was passed over for president pro tem in 2021 before dying in 2023 at 90. Will Grassley reassume the position or be passed over in 2025 at age 91? For the turtle?

Kakistocracy said...

It’s perfectly valid not to want to use a platform run by an individual who has tuned the algorithm to reward division and rage-farming, bullied his developers into forcing his own tweets onto users’ feeds whether they like it or not, and destroyed the commercial proposition so thoroughly that it’s just filled with ads for drop-shipped plastic tat.

Ann Althouse said...

damned italics…

Mason G said...

Not "probably", more like "actually".

Posted by Jonathan Turley: "This week, Aaron Rodericks, the head of trust and safety at Bluesky, confirmed the worst fears of the site. Bluesky has been hammered with complaints from conservatives and libertarians that they have been subject to not only death threats on the site but also blocked from posting. Some have demanded even more aggressive measures to block or suppress conservative or libertarian views deemed threatening or demeaning. Liberal pundits have heralded the site as allowing them to “breathe again” without hearing the type of opposing views allowed on X."

Poor babies- how distressing it must be, to hear things that upset them so much.

Original Mike said...

"Bluesky has been hammered with complaints from conservatives and libertarians that they have been subject to not only death threats on the site but also blocked from posting."

So Bluesky has turned into what Twitter was pre-Musk.

m said...

Thinking the same. In those pics it looked like he was living his best life. Apparently the siren call of the uni-party is hard to resist.

Readering said...

Who watched Thursday's proceedings and thought Speaker, that's a job I'd enjoy?

Kakistocracy said...

After trialing Bluesky it has major advantages over X which aren't related to blowback from the political machinations of Musk or the network's user base.

Because Bluesky lacks an algorithm which pushes content you have complete control over who and what you see. This isn't filtering so much as active seeking. On X if you scroll and dwell on anything, or read someone's account (because for example, you're interested in what someone a bit mad is saying) you'll be fed more and more of that kind of content which floods out the kind of content you're there to engage with. Academics, politicians, tech commentators, high quality journalists. On X false rumors spread like wildfire because the algorithm pushes them on you. On Bluesky if you follow high quality accounts you only see high quality content.

The issue with only seeing content you actively follow is that discovery is difficult -- the algorithm on X helped with this, but the way the algorithm pushed engagement bait which were manipulated by bots to push them up the algorithm has made it harder and harder to find quality accounts to follow over the years. Bluesky's starter packs are an elegant solution. I now follow hundreds of very high quality accounts posting fascinating content and quality commentary as a result.

The other enormous benefit (currently) is the lack of bots and troll farms. They've seriously degraded the effectiveness of X over the last few years. If Bluesky will remain largely bot free is an open question, but currently it is.

Meade said...

Kakistocracy said...
“After trialing Bluesky[…]”

Okay. But what we want to know is: Did you copy someone else’s writing at Bluesky and then present it here as if you authored it?

Gravel said...

That's a ... very specific question.

Freder Frederson said...

Please provide a link to that quote. Althouse will excoriate you (who am I kidding, she won't say a word) for putting what is not a direct quote in quotation marks.

I'm sure that RideSpaceMountain can back up his lie easily.