{"id":34925,"date":"2024-07-18T19:36:19","date_gmt":"2024-07-19T02:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=34925"},"modified":"2024-07-18T19:36:20","modified_gmt":"2024-07-19T02:36:20","slug":"why-bernie-sanders-is-thanking-elon-musk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/07\/18\/why-bernie-sanders-is-thanking-elon-musk\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Bernie Sanders Is Thanking Elon Musk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Elon<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Elon Musk speaks at an event on November 29, 2023 in New York City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo: Slaven Vlasic\/Getty Images for The New York Times)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Vermont senator said Musk has done “an exceptional job of demonstrating a point that we have made for years\u2014and that is the fact we live in an oligarchic society.”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

JAKE JOHNSON<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jul 17, 2024 (CommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders<\/a> on Tuesday took the unusual step of applauding Elon Musk\u2014but not for reasons that the Tesla CEO and world’s richest man would likely find flattering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the wake of reports<\/a> indicating that Musk plans to inject $45 million per month into a new super PAC supporting former President Donald Trump’s bid for another four years in the White House, Sanders (I-Vt.) thanked Musk for doing “an exceptional job of demonstrating a point that we have made for years\u2014and that is the fact we live in an oligarchic society in which billionaires dominate not only our economic life and the information we consume, but our politics as well.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“And let me be clear. While the size of Musk’s financial contribution is particularly egregious, he is not alone in attempting to buy this election to further his own needs,” Sanders continued. “Other billionaires are also playing a significant role\u2014in both political parties. Oh, I know… here goes Bernie Sanders again about Citizens United<\/a><\/em> and the role of money in politics. I have no shortage of critics who accuse me of being boring and of hammering away at the same themes year after year after year.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They’re probably right. I am repetitious, but that\u2019s because the problems we care about are only getting worse,” he added. “Let’s be clear. It has never made sense to me, then or now, that a tiny clique of people should have incredible wealth and power while most people have none.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“While people like Elon Musk try to buy elections for Donald Trump<\/a>, people who work for low wages, have no health insurance, can’t afford prescription drugs, and can’t find affordable housing are giving up on politics.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citing unnamed sources, The Wall Street Journal<\/a><\/em> and Bloomberg<\/a><\/em> reported earlier this week that Musk has pledged to donate $45 million per month to America PAC, whose founding donors<\/a> include ultra-rich tech investors who are part of Musk’s social circle. The New York Times<\/em>separately reported<\/a> that “one leader of America PAC told a friend that the group expected to have a major donor who would make donations in four batches, adding up to as much as $160 million over the course of the campaign.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Journal<\/em> and Bloomberg<\/em> stories\u2014which Musk denied with a meme<\/a> that included the words “fake gnus”\u2014followed reports<\/a> that Musk had already given the super PAC a substantial sum of money despite his March declaration<\/a> that he is “not donating money to either candidate for U.S. president.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musk formally endorsed<\/a> Trump on X\u2014the social media platform Musk owns\u2014following an assassination attempt against the former president this past weekend in Pennsylvania. Conspiracy theories about the attempt on Trump’s life proliferated rapidly on X, with the help of Musk himself<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tesla CEO’s name did not appear<\/a> on America PAC’s disclosure filings for June, which could mean that he donated to the PAC earlier this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musk, who is worth over $250 billion, is one of more than a dozen billionaires supporting Trump and his newly chosen running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio). Axios<\/a><\/em> and the Times<\/a><\/em> reported Tuesday that Musk personally lobbied Trump to make Vance his vice presidential pick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musk and other U.S. billionaires got $1 trillion richer<\/a> during Trump’s first four years in office, gains fueled by massive tax cuts<\/a> he signed into law in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why are billionaires like Peter Thiel, Rupert Murdoch, Stephen Schwartzman, and the owner of this website rallying behind Trump?

Yes, the tax cuts. But there's more.

The more Trump tears down democracy, the safer the oligarchy becomes.<\/p>— Robert Reich (@RBReich) July 16, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>