21 Comments
User's avatar
тна Return to thread
Tigercourse's avatar

I have to say it's... Interesting that Trump decided to make his most serious run at an office because Obama stood up to him and Musk might have turned on Biden because he didn't get that invite. Standing up to bullies doesn't always turn out great.

Expand full comment
Ethan (KingofSpades)'s avatar

Yeah, sometimes you gotta let the baby have his bottle, so to speak.

Expand full comment
Avedee Eikew's avatar

Musk seemed to be on his path by 2020.

Expand full comment
Henrik's avatar

Musk seems like a casualty of sitting at home rotting his brain during COVID and eventually breaking

Like so many millions around the world sadlt

Expand full comment
michaelflutist's avatar

You're talking about a billionaire nazi. Hitler had a diseased brain, too. I believe that talking about that is missing the point and the threat.

Expand full comment
Avedee Eikew's avatar

"The social media mind virus"

Expand full comment
Toiler On the Sea's avatar

Yes he was always susceptible to kooky ideas but he was one of the many people who spent WAY too much time online reading conspiracy shit online during Covid and the rational part of his brain melted away during that timespan.

Expand full comment
michaelflutist's avatar

That's not a good reason not to do it. The U.S. is in any case in a period that will lead to its downfall, because no-one will consider agreements or alliances with it to be worth the paper they're printed on, but either way, we need a new Teddy Roosevelt to bust today's huge trusts, just like that was needed at the turn of the 20th century.

Expand full comment
James Trout's avatar

Although TR was far from perfect on breaking up large corporations. Ironically his falling out with Taft occurred because Taft broke up a large corporation which TR considered a "good trust."

Expand full comment
michaelflutist's avatar

Which one?

Expand full comment
James Trout's avatar

US Steel.

Expand full comment
michaelflutist's avatar

Strange. But US Steel did continue to exist. Why did he think they were a good trust?

Expand full comment
Tigercourse's avatar

TR is such a fascinating figure. I think someone else on this site called Trump a very Sui Generous figure a few weeks back and that certainly also fits Roosevelt to a T.

Expand full comment
Ethan (KingofSpades)'s avatar

He didn't break up many trusts, he mostly put in regulations.

Expand full comment
michaelflutist's avatar

But at least he faced down some very powerful, rich people and got the ball rolling.

Expand full comment
Zero Cool's avatar

I recall years ago that the late John McCain was a fan of Teddy Roosevelt.

Expand full comment
michaelflutist's avatar

OK, and he was a sane senator who showed occasional independence. Did he ever try to bust a trust, though? He was one of the Keating Five, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keating_Five.

Expand full comment
Zero Cool's avatar

I'm just pointing out what McCain believed. By contrast to today's GOP, McCain had more in common with Teddy Roosevelt as far as being a conservationist and pro-environment (although even McCain's environmental voting record while better to most in the GOP today was more mixed).

If I am able to find more of what was mentioned in this article about this topic, I'll share in this comment or a separate one.

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/us/politics/13mccain.html

Expand full comment
Zero Cool's avatar

I just got more from the NY Times article, which was published on July 13th, over a month before the 2008 RNC Convention:

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/us/politics/13mccain.html

---------------------------------------------------------------------------HUDSON, Wis.

Senator John McCain in a wide-ranging interview called for a government that is frugal but more active than many conservatives might prefer. He said government should play an important role in areas like addressing climate change, regulating campaign finance and taking care of тАЬthose in America who cannot take care of themselves.тАЭ

тАЬI count myself as a conservative Republican, yet I view it to a large degree in the Theodore Roosevelt mold,тАЭ Mr. McCain said, referring to RooseveltтАЩs reputation for reform, environmentalism and tough foreign policy.

.

.

.

Mr. McCain has long admired Roosevelt, and in the interview he identified with him as a fellow reformer and environmentalist and also touched on his assertive foreign policy. The choice might to some extent be an indication of how Mr. McCain would like to position himself now that he has moved from the primary to the general election.

тАЬI believe less governance is the best governance, and that government should not do what the free enterprise and private enterprise and individual entrepreneurship and the states can do, but I also believe there is a role for government,тАЭ Mr. McCain said. He added: тАЬGovernment should take care of those in America who can not take care of themselves.тАЭ

Expand full comment
michaelflutist's avatar

Cool. He waffled a lot on stuff like that, but at least he was not an extremist and thought for himself.

Expand full comment
Zero Cool's avatar

Funny thing is, TrumpтАЩs 2016 presidential campaign mirrored Pat BuchananтАЩs. In fact, Buchanan himself ran in the Reform Party to (according to Jesse Ventura, who was Governor of Minnesota at the time) infiltrate it for his own needs such as paying off campaign debts.

Obama though was the тАЬfinal strawтАЭ for Trump although per Howard Stern, Trump ran for POTUS as a publicity stunt in response to the ratings of the Apprentice.

Expand full comment