Still sampling the wines of Bordeaux. In the meantime, from our archives: May 19, 2022:
“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” —Probably not Abraham Lincoln or Mark Twain. As you may have noticed, Elon Musk is tweeting again. Or, rather, still. The headline in the Washington Post captures our timeline: “Elon Musk, notorious Twitter troll, is now trolling Twitter itself.” The world’s richest man, embroiled in a complex, high-stakes takeover bid amid the falling share prices of his company, nevertheless takes time out for some social media lulz. And, of course he is, because we live in an age of sh*tposting billionaires — phallic-obsessed rocketeers, who have decided that they should transform themselves into divas of performative assholery. It’s good to be f-you rich in an age without guardrails or shame. The mega-rich can pose as populists, create memes, and even assume the personas of emotionally stunted adolescents. When you are a celebrity, they let you do anything, right? This is, of course, a choice. Billionaires can actually be anyone they want to be. They can be philanthropists, they can be thought leaders, they can measure their words carefully. They can stay silent. Or they can tweet things like this:
Musk has also brought his distinctive style to debates over tax policy:
The wit; it burns. But that’s not the point is it? Musk’s forays into juvenile dickishness were not isolated incidents. Vanity Fair reminds us of his online record:
Time magazine, which has it’s own journalistic kink for star-f***ing, proceeded to name him “Man of the Year.” This is American Greatness, circa 2022. The Florentines had the Medici. We get Elon Musk. ** Which brings us to Musk’s Twitter announcement that he was converting from Democrat to Republican. Given his recent activity that was wholly predictable, but what was striking was the way that he pre-emptively cast himself as a victim.
Poor Elon, who increasingly sounds like.. well, you know. ** Inevitably, I suppose, the guy who built this rocket also feels the need to up his trolling game.
Alamy Stock PhotoAs Jack Shafer writes in Politico, Jeff Bezos “has chosen to straddle the zone between junk mail from [Bill] Gates and Musk’s shitposting.”
But, Shafer asks the key question: Why? Bezos owns the Washington Post, and his company, Amazon, spends more on lobbying than any other tech company. He’s capable of engaging in long-form, serious thought. So why would he “feel the need to campaign for his business interests with the dumb brevity of Twitter that favors wisecracks over substance.”
But these are the times we live in. And these are the choices that men who can make any choice — any choice at all — are making. There was a time, not long ago, when politics was downstream from culture, but those lines have been obliterated, as we see the conjunction of cultural, political, and oligarchical dickishness. Politicians continue to take their cues from popular culture, but it also the works other way around. Almost inevitably, the unapologetic obnoxiousness of our politics has seeped into the world of business, or at least the world of celebrity business. And we are all dumber for it. The Humiliation of Kevin McCarthyThis one is from April 22, 2022: Watching Kevin McCarthy over the last 24 hours has been like peeling an onion of humiliation. And there is no reason to think we are anywhere close to being done. The story so far: In the wake of the January 6 Insurrection the GOP Leader had a spasm of conscience and a momentary sense of duty. It faded quickly. But, before it passed, McCarthy told colleagues that he was going to tell Donald Trump he would be impeached, and that the president should resign. Within days though, McCarthy had wrestled with his conscience — and won. The result, as you know, was this:
And for the last 16 months, it has been humiliation all the way down. McCarthy made the calculation that all of this groveling was worth it, if it got him the gavel. But last November, I ventured this question: “What will happen to a speaker who rose to power by shrinking himself? What sort of power will be wielded by a man who obtained it through displays of weakness?” Which brings us to yesterday’s rolling revelations, denial, and taped coup de grâce. The morning began with the bombshell report from the NYT”s Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin about the comments that McCarthy and GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell had made to colleagues about their disgust with Trump’s behavior, and their belief that he had to go. McConnell remained mum. But McCarthy understands that his speakership hangs by the thread of Trump’s favor, and he moved quickly to reassure his audience of one that he had never, ever said the things that the NYT claimed. By mid-day, McCarthy had issued a blanket denial, calling the report “totally false and wrong,” But, Lordy, there were tapes. And they showed him saying exactly what he had just denied saying.
On the tape, McCarthy says: “Now, this is one personal fear I have. I do not want to get into any conversation about Pence pardoning. Again, the only discussion I would have with him is that I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign.” The episode is, of course, filled with special irony, because he’s having this conversation with… Liz Cheney. As my colleague, Sarah Longwell tweeted last night, “Kevin McCarthy is casually discussing 25th Amendment, telling Trump to resign, and making sure Pence won’t pardon him…WITH LIZ CHENEY. Only to, weeks later, kick Cheney out of leadership for saying the same things he did.” So what happens now? Politico’s Playbook is asking: “Is Kevin McCarthy toast?”
But, if he is toast, it’s not because he has just been caught in a lie, because that’s not really a disqualification in today’s GOP. If his dreams of becoming speaker have been torched, it’s only because he’s seen as disloyal by Trump. And because he’s a cynical moron. Quick Hits1. Right-Wing Creeps Claim Bringing Brittney Griner Home Was Woke
2. The Democrats Have a Deeper Bench Than You Think
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