Musk And Democracy
Hell hath no fury like the deep state scorned. That’s become obvious from the over-the-top hysterics directed against Elon Musk as he turns over bureaucratic rocks and shines a light on what has been going on beneath them.
What he has already exposed should infuriate and alarm every American. Millions of taxpayer dollars covertly used to support attacks on the Democrats’ political opponents; millions more to support far left causes in this and other countries; millions of dollars that were supposed to defend Ukraine that instead vanished into the pockets of Ukrainian businessmen; millions more to fund the Wuhan Lab that unleashed Covid on the world; $15 million spent on condoms for the Taliban; millions more to support illegal aliens entering our country; still millions more on promoting leftist gender ideology around the world.
America is on the verge of bankruptcy, and yet the elitists within our government show no pangs of conscience as they hollow out the earnings of working Americans to fund their pet ideological causes. And instead of hanging their heads in shame, congressional Democrats actively defend this waste.
Congress never voted to spend money in this manner. Unelected bureaucrats within the sprawling federal labyrinth did, behind the backs not only of the American people, but of their elected representatives.
They say the most closely guarded state secrets are not those marked “Top Secret” but those considered “embarrassing.” By exposing this outrageous waste, Mr. Musk has embarrassed the Democrats, which is why they tried to bar him from opening the books for the American people to see. And now that those embarrassing secrets are being revealed, the left has reverted to its tired habits of personal attacks and character assassination.
The new boss hires an accountant. The accountant says, “Joe, let’s see your expense account receipts,” and suddenly it’s a threat to democracy and a constitutional crisis.
A threat to democracy? This is somewhat ironic coming from a party that just threw out a year’s worth of primary elections when they didn’t like the candidate their own voters selected.
Of course, it turned out their voters didn’t like their unelected nominee either, and they instead elected Donald Trump as President by an overwhelming majority. Note to Democrats: that’s called, “democracy.”
A constitutional crisis? Do they not understand that under our Constitution, “the executive powers shall be vested in a President of the United States?” All executive power flows from the President to his subordinates and advisers. That includes Elon Musk as well as every bureaucrat at USAID. Under our Constitution, there is no executive power that is independent of the President. The difference is that Elon Musk is carrying out the policies that the people elected this government to pursue, and the bureaucrats at USAID are not.
The Democrats tell us that it is undemocratic for the democratically elected president to question how the unelected bureaucracy is executing the laws – laws that the president is elected to uphold. But how can a president faithfully execute the laws if he and his deputies cannot see clearly and accurately where the public money is going and verify that it is being spent in accordance with the law – and put a stop to it when it is not?
The true threat to democracy is an entrenched ruling class that operates entirely outside the control of the duly elected representatives of the people. Once that takes root, elections become meaningless because the people’s decisions at the ballot box are no longer executed by their government. The federal bureaucracy increasingly acts independently and often in defiance of the people’s choices. That was the story of the first Trump Presidency. It must not be the story of the second – or of any future presidency – because it is the very definition of tyranny: a government operating outside the control of the people. This is what the Democrats are now advocating.
In his Gettysburg Address, Lincoln noted the great task remaining before us, and offered a prayer, really, “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” That remains the great question and the great challenge of our generation. And it is a destiny that we must fulfill.
Congressman Tom McClintock (R-CA) represents California’s 5th Congressional District.
