We saw over the last few years how AIPAC and then the crypto cartel bought Congress— to one extent of the other, both parties I’m afraid. Gee, that territory used to just be reserved for the Mafia, the Chamber of Commerce, the Koch Bros. And the NRA. And then the richest man on the planet, South African Nazi Elon Musk, big-footed into the game. There are virtually no Republicans in Congress who dare oppose him. And since he threatened to start spending big in Democratic Party primaries, there’s been a bit of a chill on that side of the aisle too, especially in swing districts and in districts where incumbents are already at risk from united spending campaigns by AIPAC’s united genocide campaign and from the crypto criminals.
Maybe you noticed how AOC and Musk have been haranguing each other. Last week during an Energy and Commerce hearing, she talked about how he had DOGE fire dozens of employees of the FDA’S medical devices department, which has been regulating his sketchy Neuralink company, reminding her colleagues that he “is not a scientist. He is not an engineer. He is a billionaire conman with a lot of money.” That’s for sure. And then, after he turned his sites against Social Security, she hit him again— hard:
In a look at what he called “a general collapse of America’s public morality,” Noah Smith was focussing on Trump and Vance yesterday but the shoe fits Musk as well: “It’s now clear that the U.S. has chosen a set of leaders who are deeply immoral, and who cannot be expected to obey any norms of common decency. U.S. foreign policy has changed dramatically from what it was from 1945 to 2024; the U.S. is now effectively a gangster state. It’s not clear whether this can ever durably revert back to the way it was. Trump’s meeting with Zelensky also emphasizes how clumsy his administration is, and how they’ve already started making mistakes… America’s abrupt turn from moral beacon and defender of the free world is unsurprising, given the fundamental immorality of the Trump administration. If you have the morality of a gangster, you will behave like a gangster.”
In terms of Musk buying up the government, his successful purchase of the Trump administration just seems to have whetted his appetite. His next target: Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court seat, where he’s spending at least 2 million dollars, probably much more, to buy the seat for the extreme right-wing candidate, Brad Schimel. Yesterday, David Smith reported that “Critics regard it as a statement of intent by Musk to expand his political power in America by playing an insidious role in key races across the country. ‘It’s one of the most significant threats to our democracy in the current moment,” said Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota. ‘You’ve got money and power in one person who’s been given access to the upper echelon of the federal government. He’s fused the power of the Oval Office with his almost unlimited amount of money to support Republicans, both at the state level and national level.’… The vote will decide whether liberals maintain a 4-3 majority with major cases dealing with abortion, union rights, election law and congressional redistricting already under consideration by the court or expected to be argued before it soon.”
The election is April 1 and “Musk’s America political action committee is spending $1m to back Schimel, a former state attorney general who attended Trump’s inauguration last month. Another group Musk has funded, Building America’s Future, is spending $1.6m on TV ads attacking Crawford, a Dane county circuit judge. It reportedly had to withdraw one social media ad after it featured a photo of a different woman named Susan Crawford. Crawford told a recent meeting of the Wisconsin Counties Association: ‘Elon Musk is trying to buy a seat on our supreme court so Brad Schimel can rubber-stamp his extreme agenda.’”
Schimel denies that money would affect his independence on the court. He told reporters: “I don’t have any agenda that I’m working alongside anyone. I’m grateful for our supporters, but they’re getting nothing except me following the law.”
But Musk has both business and political incentives to back him. Tesla… has a lawsuit pending in Wisconsin challenging the state’s decision blocking it from opening dealerships. The case could ultimately be decided by the Wisconsin supreme court and Schimel has not committed to stepping aside.
Furthermore, in the event of a disputed election in the crucial swing state in 2028, the supreme court could be decisive. Musk tweeted last month: “Very important to vote Republican for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to prevent voting fraud!” And as DOGE lays siege to the administrative state, the courts have provided the strongest pushback. Tilting them to the right could neutralise that opposition and work to Musk’s advantage.
Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic party of Wisconsin, said: “He is not the first far-right billionaire to pour money into a Wisconsin supreme court election but he is spending money hand over fist at the same time the whole world is wondering whether courts will ever be a check on the Musk/ Trump/GOP attack on the rule of law.
“While he’s firing veterans with disabilities in Wisconsin from the veterans administration, he’s also working to buy a supreme court majority that could eliminate any possibility of accountability to state law.”
Musk exploded onto the political stage last year, spending nearly $300m supporting Republican campaigns, according to Federal Election Commission filings. While most of his efforts went toward electing Trump, a super political action committee he founded also spent millions of dollars on House of Representatives races to keep Republicans in control.
Musk also dabbled in state politics in Texas, where he had moved several of his businesses. In 2024, he gave $1m to a tort reform group supporting Republicans in state legislative races and $2m to a political action committee that campaigned to elect Republican judges in the state.
Wikler believes there is more to come. “There’s been a question about whether Musk would follow Trump in only caring about elections when Trump is on the ballot. The answer is now clearly no. Musk wants control over every level of government at the same time as he takes control of people’s personal tax information and treasury payments that keep childcare centres open in Wisconsin,” he said.
He added: “Musk is trying to execute a uniquely and profoundly grotesque perversion of justice by buying the court system while defying the constitution in order to rip off the poor and the middle class to enrich himself.”
Not even Republicans are safe from the world’s richest man, whose fortune is estimated at $426 billion. Musk threatened to fund primary election challengers to members of Congress who failed to back Trump’s cabinet picks and legislative priorities.
Charlie Sykes, a conservative political commentator based in Wisconsin, said: “Elon Musk’s money is the bullets in the chamber aimed at wavering Republicans: ‘You don’t support us, Elon Musk will come into your state or your district [and] he will spend more money than God has to defeat you in a primary.’”
Musk’s control of [Twitter] gives him profound influence over online discourse and the flow of information. His own feed, with 219 million followers, has become like a running commentary on the Trump administration.
He has even sought to flex his muscles abroad, backing Germany’s far-right And [Nazi] part, calling for Nigel Farage to quit as leader of Britain’s Reform UK party and pushing false claims that white people are persecuted in South Africa.
But while he currently appears omnipotent— a Time magazine cover depicted him sitting behind the Resolute desk like a president— there are signs of growing public discontent.
In a Washington Post-Ipsos opinion poll, 34% of respondents said they approved of how Musk was handling his job, compared with 49% disapproving and 14% not sure. Protests against the tech oligarch have been held across the country and congressional Republicans have faced the backlash at raucous town halls.
Sykes questions how long Musk’s political honeymoon can last: “He’s signalling that, at least for now, he’s going to be Trump’s enforcer and he’s going to be the force multiplier for the right wing. But as he does so, he’s also establishing himself as an independent force. The dilemma for Trump is that Musk is useful until he’s not but he’s not easy to get rid of.
“In the end, there can only be one. The dilemma right now is it’s important to keep the focus on what Elon Musk is doing but not forget that the only reason he’s been empowered to do it is because of Donald Trump.”
Still, the unprecedented kind of money he’s willing to throw around can buy a lot of honeymoon. Randy “Iron Stache” Bryce may run for the congressional seat Bryan Steil is wasting in the southeast corner of the state. Bernie asked him to speak at his Kenosha rally on Friday. Randy doesn’t seem thrilled about Musk sticking his nose into the Wisconsin judicial race. “So now,” he told me last night, “not only does Elon want to wreck the entire United States but he wants to do it state by state.”
He remembered that “During Act 10 the Wisconsin Supreme Court leaned right. That enabled any anti-worker bs law to be considered ‘constitutional.’ I knew right there that future significant labor fights would depend on judges. Recently it’s been made known that Elon Musk has contributed more than two million dollars to the upcoming state Supreme Court race coming up in a month. He probably can’t even find Wisconsin on a map. You always have to follow the money. (although they’re making it harder to follow) and then ask what’s in it for them It’s about control. It’s about controlling you. We need to show them that we can’t be bought which means we need those who are running FOR people as opposed to passing legislation separating them. You know who you are. See you in the streets.”
Madison-based Mark Pocan is the most high-profile member of Congress from Wisconsin. “There’s no question that Elon Musk feels empowered after buying Donald Trump the election,” he told us. “After being Trump‘s biggest donor, he’s now getting involved in elections in places like Wisconsin and races like the Supreme Court. It should be no surprise that he’s suing Wisconsin while trying to buy a Supreme Court Justice; Elon Musk is as toxic to state and regional politics as he is to the national level. We can’t let him buy more politicians, especially in swing states like Wisconsin.”