Musk's Actions are Unprecedented. What Can We Do About Them?

 

Elon is the Joker

I am certainly not the only person who did not have this on my bingo card.  When it became increasingly clear (certainly by late 2023) that there was a very real possibility of a second Trump term, and that we needed to make a Plan B for it, I tried to learn some lessons from the first Trump term.

A major lesson that I came away with is the political power in the United States is extremely diffuse and that there are many possible points of resistance.  For instance, the federal government does not have the resources to deport anything approaching 11 million people, so local law enforcement could largely obstruct the efforts by passively failing to cooperate.  And, on the other side of the equation, if the Trump Administration refused to prosecute Proud Boys, it could not prevent prosecution by state and local law enforcement.  

And the federal government seemed quite limited during the first Trump term.  During the shutdown, I got many calls, asking if the courts were still open, if the sheriff was still doing evictions, if they could record a deed or get a car title issued or order a birth certificate.  My answer to all these questions was yes -- only the federal government was shut down; these were state or local functions. COVID response took place almost entirely at the state level.  Response to riots was in the hands of local police, with governors deciding whether to mobilize the National Guard.  Elections were run by counties.  If the feds dragged their feet on prosecuting Trump's attempt to overturn the election, Fani Willis could charge the fake electors with impersonating pubic officials, falsifying official documents, and filing false statements.

At the same time, it was clear that the federal government had one trump card (so to speak) -- money.  The threat of withholding federal money seemed like a club to wield over any state or local government that did not toe the line.  So in attempting to figure out a Plan B my first thought was that every state, municipal, county government and every school district should be studying their budget and figuring out to respond to a loss of federal funds.*  But my assumption was that this would be done in a calculated, targeted manner to coerce recalcitrant governments.  The thought that cutoffs in funding might be completely random and meaningless never occurred to me.

And I think I can be excused for this oversight.  After all, we are witnessing something that has never been done before.  Up till now, coups have been carried out by security force.  Rebellions have been carried out by people in the streets.  But a coup by a few tech-savvy computer guys seizing control of the nation's funds and data and cutting off computer access by anyone who opposed them is some completely new.**

So, what do we do about it?  This question really has two parts.  The first part is, what do we, as Americans, do about it in the here and now.  And the second is, what is any world leader to do in the future to prevent such an outcome.

The answer for Americans in the here and now is clear enough.  Trump and Musk are violating Rule Number One for Smart Authoritarians.  They are taking unpopular actions before they have consolidated full power.  The top action for Trump opponents is to make these actions as unpopular as possible.  Get the word out, and not just to people on our side.  Get it out to everyone.  Fan out and go on all the Sunday talk shows.  Go on every news channel.  Go on Fox.  Go on Newsmax.  Go on Joe Rogan and every podcast that will have you.  Go on TikTok.  Go on every hub on social media.  Go on local radio stations, especially in Republican districts and talk about what is happening locally.

And don't focus on abstract issues like separation of powers or Congress's power of the purse or any laws that Musk and DOGE may be breaking.  Focus on concrete, specific things that affect people's everyday lives.  Focus on people who provide medical services at the VA.  (Healthcare to veterans is very popular).  Focus on people being shut out of cancer trials.  (Cancer research is also popular).  Focus on airline safety layoffs. National park layoffs -- well, okay, national parks are popular, but just not essential in the same way that veteran healthcare or cancer research or airline safety are seen as essential.  And go on local radio and focus on whatever is causing the  most local disruption.  

Once you have people upset about that, then you can start talking about Elon Musk have access to super private Social Security and tax information and who knows what he will do with it.  Once people are sufficiently upset about spending cuts and layoffs that have immediate, concrete effects, and about Musk getting hold of their private data, then maybe you can point out that Musk is also shutting down any agencies that might regulate his own businesses.  And then you can point how that no one elected Musk.  And that he is treating his baby mamas badly.  And then maybe -- maybe -- people might start to care about abstractions like the separation of powers and rule of law.  

Remember this important rule:

When a president is popular, nothing sticks and nothing matters. When a president is unpopular, every stupid, random thing is a catastrophe they have to answer for.

As for other countries -- well, this is a new kind of coup.  I don't know how likely it is to be repeated.  It seems a reasonable assumption that no other world leader is going to give some tech wiz the keys to the government computers and treasury for obvious reasons.  No leader with any modicum of sense will trust anyone else with that kind of power for fear they might go rogue.  No world leader, democratic or dictatorial, is going to want some rogue tech wiz taking over the treasury.

As for preventing some techies from seizing the government's computers and staging their own coup, I can only assume better security.  Tighter cyber security, placing each department of government on a separate system designed to thwart access.  Different security protocols for each system, so that nothing transfers over.  Security guards outside cutting off physical access.  In short, greater compartmentalization and tighter security, all that the cost cooperation and smooth operations.  

*Alas, I had no idea how to organize or get the word out or do anything to get this done, so my thoughts had no influence.

**Although I concede that seizing the treasury and cutting off funding has been part of a coup for a long time.