Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler has accused Elon Musk of felony vote buying and he has called for the billionaire's arrest if he comes to the state.
  • OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml
    67·
    2 days ago

    This is not an arrest warrant or anything. It’s a Democrat politician saying he should be arrested

    • peteyestee@feddit.orgEnglish
      36·
      2 days ago

      I hate “news” like this… It’s a waste of time.

      One person on Twitter saying something turns into “Twitter says…”

      Politician say x in normal pointless conversation and it turns into “democrats/politicians say…”

      And people feverishly eat it up.

      Our society is fucked.

  • Formfiller@lemmy.world
    38·
    2 days ago

    We need exercise our second amendment and the citizens need to arrest

    Elon Musk, Donald Trump, JD Vance, Pete Hegseth, Clarence Thomas, Big Balls and associated hacker coup, Peter Theil, Tulsi Gabbard, John Roberts, Jared Kushner, Steve Miller, Brett Kavanaugh and all January 6th rioters

    I think that would be a good start

  • Elkot@lemmy.world
    252·
    2 days ago

    Americans…why are you just allowing this to happen to your country, like what’s it going to take for you people to actually do something?

    • SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world
      25·
      2 days ago

      We’re slaves living paycheck to paycheck and nobody cares about each other.

      This system will collapse before we hold rich white men accountable

    • BeMoreCareful@lemmy.worldEnglish
      10·
      2 days ago

      We’re pretty conditioned to obey. Like, you can be a rebel and insult people or be racist or sexist or “anti-social,” but you go to work and pay your bills. We’re also, mostly, in debt up to our eyeballs the stress of which gives a powerful myopia. Average Americans are way poorer than tv would have you think.

      Thirty percent of the population doesn’t even bother to vote as they’ve basically given up, maybe for one of the reasons above or maybe because the government has little to do with day to day life, or maybe something else.

      There’s also like a third of the population that is super happy about these developments. It the most amazing thing to have a king again and get back to how things are supposed to be.

      There’s also a sort of general American optimism that is super persistent: if you do good, then it’ll be ok. We’re hyper individualized. Do the best you can with what you have. Don’t put anyone out, or depend on anyone else.

      Unfortunately, things will have to get a lot worse to motivate us.

    • Azal@pawb.social
      9·
      2 days ago

      I’ll express from someone living in a red state. The fuck am I going to do? I’m over half a thousand miles away from the state he’s fucking with, and he’s probably not there most of the time and again thousands of miles over, with all the power of money to get him wherever the fuck he wants to go vs my little car.

      So build up support. A third of this country voted for this, and a third of this country sat out. So you’ve got a third that’s actively angry about this, but scattered literal thousands of miles across the country. Kinda hard to gather to this. Sure we gather to protest but this administration isn’t going to give two shits about it, this entire situation is proving that. But gathering and protesting IS the power we have so we’re doing that. Unfortunately the cameras aren’t on that because the people supporting this are the ones with the media.

      As someone put it, most of us are slaves to our paychecks, living on the barest margin of survivability, and that’s been the way for decades. Y’all get to see the chest thumping “America is the greatest place!” but lets be honest, most of us are so disaffected that what we’re watching is the horror of a monster taking over, but the country we were raised in and told to love there will be very little sadness when its gone, just sadness for how evil it will become. But that living paycheck to paycheck means in order for me to go somewhere where I can maybe put up resistance because right now I’m surrounded by people who support this… and these are the people who have been arming up in ready for a war for years… would be to uproot completely, and even the bluest of blue states would happily let me die in a gutter if I don’t have job. So either I stay and support people who will be hurt when it gets worse, or I become at best a martyr, or at worst, another statistic that the news may not even bother reporting.

      The answers will vary, but why are we allowing this to happen? I’ll say my answer, some of us have been fighting this for years, over a decade since the Tea Party got mad that a black man was president, have been struggling to change the trajectory of this ship away from the iceberg. But I’ve seen the people of my country as a whole grab the wheel, lock the door and say it’s their god given right to drive into the iceberg. So at this point in the analogy I’m just gathering life preservers and making sure people have them on even as many of them will tell me the ship is unsinkable.

    • Eruanna@midwest.socialEnglish
      9·
      2 days ago

      I was surprised by the number of people who showed up to my local Tesla dealership to protest. It hurts his pocket book indirectly, but it’s something.

    • rabber@lemmy.caEnglish
      101·
      2 days ago

      Most people in US just stare at their phone all day so they’re probably fucked

        • boonhet@lemm.ee
          3·
          2 days ago

          The bread and circuses plan from Rome worked.

          Might get interesting when DOGE removes the bread for a lot of people.

        • rabber@lemmy.caEnglish
          2·
          2 days ago

          I would say it started with mass adoption of iPhone. When I go to states I’m amazed that literally everyone is just looking at their phone, big headphones on, hood up, XXL sweatpants. It’s like human interaction ain’t allowed anymore lmao

    • witten@lemmy.world
      4·
      2 days ago

      This take is so boring. There are protests and even direct action all across the States. We’re just getting started. You need to change your media sources if you’re not hearing about what’s going on.

    • Lucky_777@lemmy.world
      2·
      2 days ago

      Easier if the country was the size of something like France. But when you have to clear a thousand miles just to arrive at the halfway point in the US. It’s hard to show massive protests.

  • Formfiller@lemmy.world
    501·
    3 days ago

    A billionaire is never going to suffer a real consequence in America. That’s why we’re so screwed in the first place

  • sebastian@lemmy.ca
    9·
    2 days ago

    This situation has killed democracy in the world, showing it’s worst downside: It’s ability to self destroy.

    • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.caEnglish
      2·
      2 days ago

      IDK if it killed democracy because it can fail. Almost all systems of government have failed.

      The only one that hadn’t (yet) is democracy.

      Not sure why anyone would be surprised that democracy has a best before date…

  • Manticore@lemmy.nz
    70·
    3 days ago

    Feel like this title should’ve been Wisconsin Demands Arrest of… Because holy shit my heart skipped a beat to think something might change :(

      • boonhet@lemm.ee
        1·
        2 days ago

        You actually got me there, I had to google his mother’s name thinking this is the worst prank from the universe ever.

  • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    119·
    3 days ago

    Fucking do it already. His approval ratings are pretty low right now (billionaire approval ratings, fucking gross), so I feel like MAGA might not come to his defense this time.

    • argarath@lemmy.world
      7·
      3 days ago

      They’ll defend him because if he goes to prison that is now a can of worms they cannot close, the slippery slope they fear the most is society actually putting these people in prison

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
      181·
      3 days ago

      Fucking do it already

      Laws are for little people. Nobody in Wisconsin is going to green light this, because nobody has the chutzpah to inconvenience a billionaire.

      I feel like MAGA might not come to his defense this time

      MAGA isn’t the problem. Corporate media and the Trump AG are the problem.

        • filtoid@lemmy.ml
          51·
          3 days ago

          I often felt from context it was closer to “hubris”, as “cajones” might just mean brave.

          • damdy@lemm.eeEnglish
            9·
            3 days ago

            Hubris means ‘overvalued confidence’ I believe. Whereas cajones etc is just stubborn confidence. Similar, but importantly different.

            • filtoid@lemmy.ml
              21·
              3 days ago

              Would you mind explaining how chutzpah and hubris differ please? I’m not sure I get it.

                • filtoid@lemmy.ml
                  1·
                  2 days ago

                  Ah that’s interesting, I had thought of it more negatively. It’s not a common word where I am, so my knowledge has been gleaned from American media, mostly.

              • monotremata@lemmy.caEnglish
                91·
                3 days ago

                Hubris is a kind of boastful pride–like a sense of invulnerability. It also implies a kind of dramatic irony, that this sense of invulnerability will eventually prove false. (The term comes from ancient Greek theater, where it’s often the Heroic Flaw that will eventually be the undoing of the tragic hero.)

                Chutzpah is more…audacity, nerve, gall. A person with chutzpah doesn’t believe they can’t be harmed; they’re just willing to bald-face it out in the hopes you won’t actually call them on it. In English it can have a positive connotation, the way “cojones” tends to, but it can also have a negative connotation, like “cheek” or “gall.” It comes from Yiddish, where apparently it’s more uniformly negative. (Leave it to us Americans to interpret a condemnation of shameless effrontery as somehow laudatory.)

                I guess I would say the key difference is that someone with hubris thinks they are invulnerable, whereas a person with chutzpah is aware they are vulnerable and absolutely refusing to act like it.

                They’re definitely kind of related, but they just have really different feels to them

                • filtoid@lemmy.ml
                  1·
                  2 days ago

                  Thank you that’s good to know. I wasn’t aware of any positive affiliation with it. I’ll bear it in mind moving forward :)

    • MouldyCat@feddit.uk
      21·
      3 days ago

      I feel like MAGA might not come to his defense this time.

      Hope this isn’t wishful thinking. Trump thinks his son is a l33t hacker for being able to turn a laptop on. Musk on the other hand owns a major social media platform and has access to skilled technicians and programmers, as well as huge server farms which he doubtless uses to analyse voter behaviour and find the weak points where efforts should be focused in order to have most impact on electoral choices.

      Trump certainly understands how essential to the disinfo effort Musk is, even though it’s way beyond the grasp of your average MAGA. IMO Trump is not going to abandon Musk in a hurry.

      • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        12·
        3 days ago

        Maybe. But on the other hand, throwing anyone and everyone under the bus to save his own ass has been Trump’s MO for decades…

  • squeekers@lemm.ee
    57·
    3 days ago

    This!

    Then aggressively review his widely known to be fraudulently obtained American citizenship, seize his American assets including his companies, and send him back to South Africa.

  • courageousstep@lemm.eeEnglish
    3561·
    4 days ago

    If this arrest doesn’t happen, democracy is one step closer to the grave.

    A lot of shit has happened to destroy democracy so far (has anyone been keeping a list?), but if billionaires see that they can now buy votes, nothing will stop them from doing it over and over again. We will be Russia.

    • IninewCrow@lemmy.caEnglish
      1352·
      4 days ago

      and its becoming blatant and bold

      Muskrat isn’t doing this for any other reason other than to test and expand the boundaries. It’s challenging the American people … if he can go this far and allowed to get away with it, then it will become the norm. The fault won’t be that he is doing it … the fault will be the American people who put up with this crap.

      I’ve given up on trying to understand dumb American politicians … I’m completely disillusioned and lost hope in the American people.

      It’s not a small group of billionaires that will destroy democracy in America … it will be an entire nation of people who just stand aside and watch everything burn without saying or doing a thing about it.

      • drhodl@lemmy.world
        201·
        4 days ago

        I’ve given up on trying to understand dumb American politicians

        It’s easy. They are cowards, and they are for sale. If money doesn’t make them snap to attention, threats will. I also think a healthy percentage of them have been to Russia, and those are being blackmailed.

      • ReanuKeeves@lemm.eeEnglish
        8·
        4 days ago

        I’ll probably get called a commie but at it’s core, is this version of democracy working well? I’m all for equal rights but if the majority of people are incapable of understanding what it takes to run a nation, how do we trust them to vote someone in who will be a good leader?

        If it wasn’t evident enough during his first campaign that he has no interest in enriching the lives of the average american, his first 4 years in office should have proven he is not trying to help out the blue collar class, if Jan 6 wasn’t enough to show he is not a level headed leader then what will? If his second term starting off with trying to start trade wars wasn’t enough, then at what point are we going to realize an overwhelming amount of people are always going to vote for terrible candidates?

        I’m having trouble reasoning to myself that the current system is capable of bringing progress. It’s just constant flipping between a couple parties undoing what the previous administration did, how is this a good thing?

    • Jhex@lemmy.world
      452·
      4 days ago

      If this arrest doesn’t happen, democracy is one step closer to the grave.

      Worry not, most Americans are bravely waiting until they have no options left and literally living in squalor before considering any action

      In the last 8+ years I have seen the goal post for action moved so many times, I have lost all hope Americans will actually do something for themselves

      I guess you won’t make fun of French people anymore

      • courageousstep@lemm.eeEnglish
        20·
        4 days ago

        I have seen the goal post for action moved so many times

        Yes. I have too. I honestly think I’ve moved my own goal posts for action, as well. I think most of the people like me feel truly lost about what to do. We need a Martin Luther King, Jr figure to unite and direct.

      • Damage@feddit.it
        8·
        4 days ago

        I guess you won’t make fun of French people anymore

        It’s stupid now but it was already stupid when they did it before, so I don’t why that would change

      • barneypiccolo@lemm.eeEnglish
        8·
        4 days ago

        A lot of people strongly believe that God will protect them from whatever terrible Biblical punishments are going to befall the Liberals, Minorities, and Gays. They seem to forget that the Divine Retribution they are praying for so hard always carries enormous collateral damage. SEE: Ark, Noah’s, also Sodom/Gommorah, also Plagues, Egyptian, etc.

        • drhodl@lemmy.world
          7·
          4 days ago

          Also, the people who think like this, are actually being evil, so their belief brings their own doom. TLDR: If you’re a cunt who sits back and revels in the suffering of those you don’t like, you aint going to heaven…

    • Donkter@lemmy.world
      17·
      4 days ago

      I’m at the point where I know he won’t face consequences because he’s rich. But an arrest and trial would at least be sanity.

    • zephorah@lemm.ee
      161·
      4 days ago

      Trump already announced he plans to prosecute anyone trying to enforce the Hatch Act.

      The Hatch Act is what makes this illegal.

    • Karyoplasma@discuss.tchncs.de
      10·
      4 days ago

      It isn’t gonna happen. Nothing happened to Trump, nothing will happen to Musk. Too rich, too powerful. Justice is only for the pariahs.

      • courageousstep@lemm.eeEnglish
        2·
        3 days ago

        Brilliant! I’d love to see the finished list when it’s done.

        I mean, I’d love for it not to have to exist, but here we are.

    • Nightwatch Admin@feddit.nl
      4·
      4 days ago

      Democracy is not a step closer to the grave, it’s already dead, just not buried and so now it’s lying on the street , smelling funny and a tad off-colour.

        • LeninOnAPrayer@lemm.eeEnglish
          31·
          4 days ago

          Won’t happen. While I think all this institutional resistance is good. All of the lawsuits and judge rulings should only be seen as a way meant to delay. Fascism is here. You don’t unravel it using the existing institutions and systems.

          Delay and prepare. Learn who all your neighbors are. Make sure you can contact all of them quickly and that they can contact you. Your neighbors and your coworkers are who you should be organizing with. Talk to them. Find out who might be a target by ICE. Find out which one of them you can’t trust. And of course. Arm yourself.

          Elons not getting arrested but we don’t have to let them arrest us either. If there is no justice for Elon we can’t allow anymore injustice to us.

          • tacobellhop@midwest.socialEnglish
            16·
            4 days ago

            He’s actively this second openly buying a Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin. I mean obviously nows the time to do it or never do it.

            Nows the time to throw all the knives in the air.

            • LeninOnAPrayer@lemm.eeEnglish
              7·
              4 days ago

              Absolutely. And it has my full support. But he won’t ever see any consequences. The system made to empower oligarchs isn’t going to somehow tear down Oligarchs. But they are still absolutely worth doing as a form of resistance. I just don’t yhink people should be naive to think that that is the only part of resistance. It’s simply a method of delay to give us more time to organize.

              There is only one thing throughout history that has brought people in Elon’s class position to justice.

              https://youtu.be/acT_PSAZ7BQ

              • barneypiccolo@lemm.eeEnglish
                1·
                3 days ago

                He can always use his money and connections to run away, and leave America, and never return. I strongly encourage him to do that.

                Then we can turn on Big Ballz and the Boys and take care of them next.

      • xor@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        10·
        4 days ago

        drumpf can’t pardon state felonies, and wisconsin can have musk extradited from any other state….
        this has teeth, but of course, he’ll just bribe and blackmail the right people and the prosecutors will decide although a law was broken, it’s best not to prosecute because musk is too cute or some bullshit….
        at any rate, it’s pretty good….

    • cannedtuna@lemmy.world
      5·
      4 days ago

      Right??? I had to start over after the first couple words, look at the thumbnail, then start reading again. Fucking hell.

  • pelespirit@sh.itjust.works
    108·
    4 days ago

    Seriously, who would arrest a billionaire? It seems like he has a suit of armor made of money that everyone won’t touch. If anyone else walked into the federal agencies and did what he did, they would have been arrested.