MUST WATCH!
ELON MUSK DOES NOT HAVE SECURITY CLEARANCE...DUE TO SUSPICIONS
ABOUT SECURITY RISKS, AS WELL AS DRUG USE, HAS NOT REPORTED
MEETINGS WITH FOREIGN LEADERS & FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS...
Political commentator Jack Cocchiarella reacts to Rachel Maddow's takedown of Elon Musk.
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This installment of The David Pakman Show newsletter is free for everyone. I send these daily. If you’d like to receive it, join the newsletter today.
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The House Ethics Committee report accuses Matt Gaetz of paying for sex, using illegal drugs, and engaging in statutory rape with a 17-year-old. Gaetz denies the allegations, claiming he was never criminally charged and dismissing the report as biased. Testimonies suggest impaired consent due to drug use and detail payments for sex with minors. Despite his efforts to block the report, its findings should severely damage his reputation.
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Elon Musk’s growing influence within MAGA circles is creating tension as his positions sometimes clash with Donald Trump’s, confusing their shared followers. This dynamic was evident in the recent budget deal debate, where Musk took the lead while Trump appeared to play catch-up. As Musk appeals to younger, tech-savvy right-wingers, the inevitable clash between the two egos could destabilize the movement and force its followers to pick sides.
From yesterday’s show:
Before even taking office, Donald Trump faces resistance from Republicans, who joined Democrats to block his debt ceiling proposal. Divisions in the GOP, especially among fiscal conservatives, jeopardize his costly agenda, including mass deportations and tax cuts. With a slim House majority and waning loyalty, Trump’s plans face significant hurdles that could derail his presidency.
From yesterday’s show:
The Republican Party is facing growing divisions, with infighting even among MAGA supporters, as seen in a heated argument between Laura Loomer and Milo Yiannopoulos at AmericaFest over the weekend. Personal attacks and lack of cohesion make it difficult to govern effectively. These internal conflicts signal major challenges for the GOP moving forward.
More on the show:
-- Former Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz panics over the publication of his ethics report and sues to try to stop the release
-- President Joe Biden commutes 37 federal death sentences, equivalent to more than 92% of all sentences
-- Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez continues to hone her political instincts and communication skills
-- The Elon Musk plan to pay for his tax cut by cutting Social Security and Medicare
-- A deep dive into the MAGA culture war cash grab
-- An exploration of why red states struggle in every area compared to blue states, on average
-- Before the holiday break, David dives into the voicemail line as a reminder of why he stopped taking live calls
-- On the Bonus Show: Plans for The David Pakman Show in 2025
-- Become a Member: https://davidpakman.com/membership
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This week the interwebs are abuzz over Elon Musk single-handedly stalling a widely supported bipartisan funding bill. He accomplished this herculean feat via a tweetstorm of lies, anger, and vague threats to primary Republicans who supported the legislation.
The man whose company, Tesla, was rescued in 2009 by a $465 million Federal loan and who makes billions off the federal government, now apparently runs it. Fox & Friends was delighted to have Musk in charge, trumpeting that Musk is now “the center of the universe on Capitol Hill in a way that nobody has ever seen.”
A fact that will certainly help him navigate all the federal investigations into his misdeeds.
If we didn’t have enough evidence before, this makes it official: the United States is now an oligarchy. One man’s rage-tweeting is now more influential than everyone else in the country. After all, 75% of Americans believe that using a government shutdown as a negotiating tactic is wrong.
Musk’s take on a shutdown? The opposite of the American people. Who cares?! Not a big deal.
Except that I’ve lived through one at the Pentagon, and I know better.
NOTE: THIS WAS TRUMP'S GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN!
I was a Marine stationed at the Pentagon during the 2018-2019 shutdown. A lot of us were already working 10+ hours a day and not seeing our families enough or sometimes at all — and then, just as the holidays were coming up, we had to cover for furloughed civilian employees…
Service members at military facilities across the country had to deal with the same thing. The Coast Guard couldn't even fund two paychecks. But this was more than just needlessly letting politics punish military families.
No matter what DC politicians and Elon Musk tell you, the Pentagon and many facilities that are critical to our safety can't function properly without civilian employees — there just aren't enough service members to cover for them. That shutdown was a real threat to our national security, and so was this one.
But it shouldn't surprise anyone that Musk doesn't care about our national security. Shoot, the man’s under investigation for flouting security clearance rules and refusing to disclose his foreign contacts (like personal calls with Vladimir Putin!).
In fact, the real reason that Musk wanted to kill this bill had nothing to do with the amount of money that was in it or any of the complaints he made publicly.
No, his hatred for the deal was actually about national security, and his desire to put his business interests ahead of US security. You see, the original bill included provisions that increased scrutiny on investment in China — investment that Musk is heavily committed to and dependent upon.
I bet you can’t guess what was taken out of the final spending bill? A few red herrings like children’s cancer research and doctor bonuses, so that it wouldn't be obvious, and, of course, quietly the provisions against investment in China.
And suddenly Musk is cool with it.
Going hard on China is supposedly one of the major planks of the incoming Trump administration. So the fact that it was removed from this bill tells you everything you need to know about who is in charge.
Musk, born in South Africa to non-Americans, is constitutionally prohibited from being the President, but, in an oligarchy, sometimes that power’s for sale.
How much did this presidential power cost Musk? An embarrassingly meager $250 million in campaign contributions. Well, that and I guess showing his commitment to the venture by potentially even committing election spending crimes with that money.
Which takes us back to another mark of an oligarchy: no accountability. Something we have talked about in previous posts. Whether it’s Big Tech destroying competition, Big Pharma getting people killed, or just about every billionaire in the country doing whatever they please, they all seem to get away with destroying our lives if they’re willing to pay for the right.
In this case, Musk really has nothing to worry about. Because he can just get a pardon.
Really, though, it’s not fair of me to say that President Musk’s office cost him a paltry $250 million. That doesn’t do the real price justice. There are thousands of people in our country that could and would take that power for $250 million. No, there is also the $44 billion it cost him to buy Twitter (alongside the Saudis, speaking of foreign entanglements) and his willingness to use his ownership of that platform to force feed everyone his thoughts and demands non-stop.
One sad thing here is that many, including the media, still use Twitter as their baseline for what is newsworthy. I learned that during my campaign. And it gives Musk and company a massive portal into conversations in our country and access to and presence with the media.
Many of you have mentioned concerns with the media and what is going on there in your comments, so coming up I will have a two-parter on the media. In part one, a special guest who is intimately familiar with both independent and mainstream media will give us his observations, and then in part two I’ll talk a little bit about some of my experiences with the media during the campaign.
Until then, please keep the comments and emails coming and please continue to share the Substack with anyone you think might be interested!
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— Lucas
 If this past week is any indication of how the next four years will go, our country's in trouble. Elon Musk, an unelected billionaire who seems to be calling the shots in Trump's Washington, saw some misinformation online about the bipartisan deal to keep our government open. So, with a barrage of tweets, he blew the deal up. One billionaire got to buy unlimited influence over our elected representatives and nearly forced a disastrous government shutdown – with delayed air travel and healthcare services, weakened environmental protections, and furloughed federal employees – right before the holidays. No deal is perfect, but the one reached earlier this week had broad support and would have funded the American people’s priorities. Musk killed several popular, bipartisan provisions from the final bill – successfully forcing Congress to bend to his whims. This is no way to run our country. SIGN THE PETITIONFor more information on how President-elect Trump, Elon Musk, and their cronies got us into this mess, you can read my message below from earlier this week. Original message sent 12/19/2024: Tell Congress: Don’t let Trump and unelected billionaires shut down the government >> We’re less than two days from a government shutdown. But instead of working to keep our government running, President-elect Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance, Elon Musk, and Vivek Ramaswamy just killed a bipartisan plan to keep the government funded and are now exploiting this can’t-miss deadline to force through massive spending cuts. [1] That’s right: the President-elect and these unelected billionaires pressured our elected representatives in Congress to abandon this commonsense government funding plan – sending us into chaos just days before Friday’s deadline to keep the government running. Missing this deadline means a disastrous government shutdown – with delayed air travel and healthcare, threats to our environment and safety, and furloughs for millions of federal workers without pay. [2] We simply cannot allow this to happen, especially during the holiday season. SIGN THE PETITIONThis is a huge mess – and it was entirely avoidable. Congress already reached a bipartisan agreement earlier this week to keep the government funded until next March and provide funding for critical disaster aid programs. [1] But then Elon Musk went on a tirade against it – launching over 100 tweets opposing the funding plan and spreading misleading and false claims about it. [3] Vivek Ramaswamy, who co-leads the proposed “Department of Government Efficiency” with Musk, joined in to voice his opposition, and the two of them had a private conversation with Speaker Mike Johnson to help kill the funding agreement. [4] It’s a disturbing preview of the incoming Trump administration – one where unelected billionaires can buy access to the most powerful levels of government, undermine our checks and balances, and call the shots on crucial government spending decisions. The Constitution is clear: Congress sets the budget – not the president, and certainly not private citizens like Musk or Ramaswamy. It’s time for Congress to assert its constitutional authority, side with We The People over power hungry billionaires, and reject this attempt to hold government funding hostage. Thanks for all you do, Aaron Scherb, Senior Director of Legislative Affairs [1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-house-vote-continuing-resolution/ | |
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THANK YOU REP. ERIC SWALWELL FOR SPEAKING OUT!
HEED THE COMMENTS ABOUT TRUMP NOMINEES & ENEMIES...
TRUMP THREATENS FREE PRESS...AS DOES TOADIE KASH PATEL
LET'S WORK TOGETHER TO RESTORE GOVERNANCE!
Senate Republicans have already rejected Donald Trump's demands multiple times. Now, House Republicans are following suit, rejecting Trump's demands to both refuse to fund (thereby shutting down) the federal government and lift the debt ceiling.
As Politico just reported: " Trump's wake-up call: Republicans are willing to defy him."
Additionally, Rep. Eric Swalwell just authored a piece titled, " I've faced Trump's crusade to punish his enemies. Congress can still stop him."
This video reviews both the new reporting regarding House Republicans telling Trump, hell, no, and the important new piece by Rep. Swalwell.
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