‘Twas the Day Before Shutdown

and all through the House

not a member was working

due to Elon, the louse.

The pork had been hung on the bill with care

in hopes that government still would be there.

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41 thoughts on “‘Twas the Day Before Shutdown”

  1. skip to 7:15 in for the “shadow prez” comments and more by jasmine, the intrepid rep from TX

    Rep. Jasmine Crockett talks with Alex Wagner about Elon Musk acting as a shadow president in leading Donald Trump to oppose Speaker Mike Johnson’s budget bill and increasing the likelihood of a federal government shutdown. Democrats are stepping back from bailing Johnson out of what is seen as a preview of the chaos Trump will bring to government operations as the infighting Republican majority is unable to govern.

  2. headlines that’ll certainly not make DOTUS-elect’s day:

    Musk Is ‘President-Elect’ After He Helped Tank Spending Plan: David Axelrod – Newsweek

    Congress in disarray and shutdown looms as Trump, Musk pan spending deal

    Dems Troll ‘Vice President’ Trump as Musk Meddles With Government Funding Bill

    Elon Musk leads charge to kill spending bill meant to avert government shutdown

    Bernie Sanders blasts ‘President Elon Musk’ for derailing spending deal

  3. so why be surprised? we were warned: remember, he circulated this back in august:

    In a viral moment that has taken social media by storm, Elon Musk shared an AI-generated video featuring himself and former President Donald Trump dancing to the Bee Gees’ classic hit “Stayin’ Alive.” With the playful caption, “Haters will say this is AI,” Musk embraces the humorous side of artificial intelligence while showing their groovy moves. The video, which has garnered millions of views, sparked a mix of laughter and debate about the implications of AI. Watch.

  5. well said last thread last night by trail friend BiD:

    If enough folks start whispering in Orange Adolf’s ear that Musk is actually in charge, he will be gone.  Adolf’s ego is bigger than Elon’s government-subsidized bank account.  

  6. certain inquiring minds want to know:

    is Musk a registered lobbyist (and if not shouldn’t he be) given his recent activity?

     

  7. on his way to take over the world?
    a muskier view from across the pond

    The Guardian view on Elon Musk and UK politics: interference in plain sight | Editorial | The Guardian

    Under most circumstances, a British politician seeking cash from a foreign oligarch would make the approach discreetly. Recipient and donor would worry about the relationship looking improper even if the deal could be done without breaching UK electoral law.
    Nigel Farage has no such qualms. The Reform leader has boasted of his recent meeting with Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. Nick Candy, a former Conservative donor and now the Reform party’s treasurer, was also present. Photographs and statements from the British visitors testify to their eagerness that the meeting – and the fact that money was discussed – attract maximum publicity.
    Mr Musk has denied reports that he is considering making a multimillion-pound donation to Reform. But he has a proven appetite for meddling in British politics. He has used his X platform to attack Sir Keir Starmer, amplify radical rightwing rhetoric and post inflammatory remarks, including a forecast of civil war in the aftermath of riots over the summer.
    It is inconceivable that a person of comparable influence from any country other than the US could intervene so blatantly in British politics without it being a matter of national scandal. If Mr Farage were not a possible beneficiary, and the interventions were not aligned with his prejudices, he would probably lead the outcry. He did not hesitate to denounce the then US president Barack Obama for encouraging British voters to vote to retain EU membership in the 2016 referendum.
    There is a significant difference between commentary that is perceived as meddling in another country’s politics and money that could make a material difference to election outcomes. There are rules prohibiting foreign donations, but they are not hard to circumvent. The UK-registered arm of Mr Musk’s business empire could legally contribute to Reform’s campaign coffers. There is also no limit on the amount that can be given. So it is quite feasible for a billionaire who is not resident in the UK or registered to vote in British elections to put a fat financial thumb on the scales of democracy.
    Labour’s election manifesto committed to “protect democracy by strengthening the rules around donations to political parties”, but what that means in practice has yet to be determined. No legislation to enact the pledge is being prepared. To the extent that there has been any public debate about foreign disruption of British democracy in recent years, it has dwelled on covert operations by hostile states. The volume of Russian disinformation is increasingly recognised as a hazard in online discourse. The recent scandal around Prince Andrew’s involvement with a Chinese businessman accused of espionage has drawn attention to the scale of efforts by Beijing to infiltrate UK institutions and influence policy.
    It doesn’t make sense to include open interventions from the US – a democracy and a close ally – in the same category as secret subterfuge by authoritarian regimes. But that doesn’t mean there is no issue with American money distorting and potentially corrupting British politics. Some traffic in policy and campaign styles from Washington to Westminster is inevitable, given the historical intimacy of the alliance and shared language. But cultural overlap does not equate to common jurisdiction. American billionaires throwing their rhetorical and financial weight behind political parties cannot, and must never, be accepted or normalised as part of the transatlantic political dialogue.

  9. How much of that money was actually from government subsidies to the companies Elon bought with money he inherited. He invented nothing.  He is not a genius.  He is just evil.

    Also, government shutdowns don’t just hurt folks (which the soulless and unfeeling Elon cares nothing about), but shutdowns cost money.  They cost big money!

    When tRUMPsky shut down the government in 2018, it cost over $11 billion dollars.   Not very efficient!

  10. I tend to think sfb is going to let president ellen run the show so he can go off into the far depths of his alternate universe and not be bothered with the hassle of running a huge government.  He likes the title, and the airplane rides. Showing up is something he did not do the first time around, so having eager beaver ellen doing the showing up is fine with him.
     
    Will his super priv person tire of musk?  Yup, as he tires of all who bump into his bubble.  How long will it take? I am not sure, but no one lasts more than a few months.  Say about the time the snow is off the golf courses.

  11. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/28/government-shutdown-cost-us-economy-11bn

    “The shutdown triggered by a fight over funding for Donald Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico ended on Friday and was the longest in US history.”

    “The 35-day partial shutdown of the US government cost about $11bn and shaved 0.2% off the nation’s annual economic growth forecasts, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said on Monday.”

    “…$3b will never be recovered and the full impact of the closure – which left hundreds of thousands of federal workers and contractors without pay – may be larger.”
     

    *Second verse, same as the first…or maybe worse. 
     

  12. BB – Which is why social media needs to start pushing out stories and memes that Don-Old is a decaying, useless fart and Elon is the putrid brain ruining our country for Putin.  

  14. Son is waiting to see if he gets paid.  Fortunately, he has enough set aside to weather any but the longest storm.  Democrats need to be sure to blame any shutdown on President Elon and any musky scent arising from the garbage dump.  

  15. The big shutdown was fine  with me.  I had been working everyday for several years and needed the break.  All was good until a transformer powering the marina blew out and there was no power for the last couple weeks.  So it was pack up and go back to the house.
     
    I was very concerned about my young co-workers who did not have the money stored away to survive several months without pay.  I learned that back when Nixon was in the seat and we (military) were not sure we would get paid each month.  My co-workers survived, one had a spouse working outside the government influence, one had an extended family helping.  But, they did understand my suggestions about life on shutdown.

  16. https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/18/business/fdic-trump-bank-regulation/index.html

    “The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was created during the Great Depression to restore trust in a financial system shaken by the failure of thousands of banks.”
     
    “…allies of President-elect Donald Trump have discussed the possibility of dismantling the FDIC, giving Treasury oversight of deposit insurance, and allowing the federal government to substantially shrink or even close the rest of the agency.”

    “Former regulators and academics told CNN it makes little sense to shut the FDIC and Congress is not likely to greenlight such a plan.The FDIC’s operations, which also includes supervising and examining more than 5,000 banks and savings associations, do not receive congressional appropriations. Its deposit insurance fund, which insures trillions of dollars of deposits, is funded by charging premiums on banks, not by taxpayers. Sometimes, those costs can be transferred to bank customers in the form of fees.”
     
     
    “This idea would pose an enormous risk of terrifying Americans about the safety of their deposits and triggering bank runs,” said Patricia McCoy, a law professor at Boston College and former federal regulator.”

    “Sources told CNN that Trump allies have also discussed other efforts to streamline the authority of bank regulators, including transferring the non-monetary authority of the Federal Reserve to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and reorganizing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the brainchild of Sen. Elizabeth Warren.”

    “Warren is not a fan of blowing up the FDIC.
    “When rumors take off that banks may not have enough money to cover all their deposits, people rush to withdraw their money. The FDIC’s deposit insurance was designed to reassure Americans that their money is safe,” Warren said in a statement to CNN. “I don’t know why anyone would want to create uncertainty around the FDIC’s commitment to financial stability or undermine a cop on the beat protecting Americans from another financial crash.”

    *The chaos monsters will destroy this country if not stopped, but by whom? Congress will do whatever President-Elect Muskrat tells them to do.

  17. The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled Thursday to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from President-elect Trump’s state 2020 election interference case over a conflict of interest.

    Instead of this exotic Rico mess she should have just prosecuted the damn phone call years ago and be done with it.

  21. Neil Cavuto, last honest host at Fox, is leaving. Never will forget how he shut down live feed of Trump’s then-press secretary Kayleigh Mcenany as she was lying about 2020 “rigged” election.

  22. A friend in media tells me newsrooms are buzzing with rumor Trump is talking up Elon for Speaker. It could happen, but as an immigrant he would be skipped in line of succession. 

  24. Earlier today I read that vance was working the House members over something (really does not matter), which means someone with half a brain is still around the transition team room.  He at least has some concept of how the Congress functions. 
     
    If sfb does do the room temperature anytime soon all that ellen has been working on might be flushed down the golden commode. As creepy as vance is I can see him breaking from the pence mode and try to be a president.  Not one we would like, but still function like one.  And, kick musk out of the WH.  (pure speculation)

  27. Poobah’s comments about the Willis kerfuffle and RICO case complication are dead on.  If you want to screw up a simple case, allege RICO.  It complicates the shit out of otherwise fairly straightforward corruption and conspiracy cases.

  28. Musk for Speaker? Cool.
    LOL, 
    In a caucus that has a slim majority, ain’t gonna happen.
    But the newsroom speculation explains a lot about the state of the nation’s newsrooms.  Good gummies?
    Jack

  29. Muskrat isn’t an elected member of the HOR, so how can he become SOTH?  We are already operating in a post-constitutional era?

  30. Does Biden have anything via EOs up his sleeve, waiting for the 11th hour?  

    If there were a deep state, would it want to save our democracy?

  31. “President Elmo/Ellen/elon (one of those)” was trending on twit.  No more.  Eloon must have had it removed.  Too bad, it speaks the truth.
     
    This is one of those rare, very rare, moments in my life where I would like to be roaming the marble halls listening in on repub/magat talks.  Especially the Speakers suite.  Except for the eloonatics most of the repub/magats know, even if from campfire scary story nights, that shutting the government down at Christmas and New Years is a terrible idea.  They did it before and the results were not good for them.  That is why a statute was passed to pay back all employees for the days of shutdown.   I am sure there must be some fascinating love talks going on.

  35. Uh, isn’t Rand a senator?
    It is amazing what a couple of billion dollars can buy you. I wonder if Elon is the source of those gummies being consumed in the newsroom.
    Jack

  36. I am trying to remember when outside antagonists influenced U.S. policy in such a blatant manner.  Roughly one hundred years ago I think of Tea Pot Dome under President Harding.  He did sell off a lot of influence.

  37. Bronx

    In both cases Teapot Dome and now, sources of energy and wealth generated were at the base of corruption.  Rachel Marrow has a book on the global political corruption and the poverty created.  Blowout is a good if terrifying read.

  40. Mike Lee is the 2nd RW senator I’ve heard tonight suggesting a non representative speaker of the House. Takes a lot of courage to suggest who the leader of the OTHER house of Congress should w. 🙄

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