Watching MAGA and the Broligarchs collectively panic over the upcoming midterm elections is a treat. Especially Elon Musk’s spending spree, $366 million this cycle. The vast majority of that spend, $276 million, has come since this July. (You can track Musk’s last-minute independent expenditure donations, close to real time at Musk Money Watch.)
The Broligarchs are all in for MAGA, spending ungodly sums of money this cycle to dominate American politics and attempt to ensure that elected officials’ agenda is their own. A July report from Public Citizen covers the rise of what they’ve coined Corporate Supremacist Super PACs, and the numbers are staggering.
Corporations have already spent $517 million on the 2026 midterms, which breaks the 2024 record with weeks still to go. Most of it comes from crypto, AI, Big Tech, and online betting companies. Crypto alone accounts for $189 million, and Big Tech and AI firms account for another $60 million.
The closer we get to election day, the more it feels like wasted money. I’m famously shit at predicting elections, but the current mood is that Democrats will take back the House, and the Senate is very much in play. The Cook Political Report’s list of toss-up Senate races is wild! Texas, Kansas, and Alaska are all on the list. Meanwhile, Georgia and North Carolina are considered likely Democratic wins. I expect Democrats will make gains in state and local elections too, where fights over data centers are currently raging. It’s no wonder the Broligarchs are feeling desperate.
At this point, you don’t need me to remind you that politics and elections are just one lever of power where the Broligarchs are trying to control every aspect of our lives. As Mark Jacobs points out in Stop the Presses, the Broligarchs are attempting total ‘media capture.’ We saw this twice this weekend, when the No Kings Instagram account was suspended for a couple of hours during the nationwide protest event. Meta, of course, blamed an automation error. Meanwhile, TikTok, where Larry Ellison partly owns U.S. operations, permanently banned a promotional account for Musk and a scathing documentary about Elon. YouTube and Meta initially pulled ads for the film as well but reversed that decision. You’ll be shocked to learn that Meta also blamed an “error.”
The Broligarchs also continually push culture and workforce changes on us through AI platforms. They want control over everything from how we’re governed, to what information we consume, to how we use technology in our work and personal lives. We’re continually told all of this is inevitable, and we’ll just have to adapt to their whims. (But apparently in the post-AI-apocalypse world we get socialism and a 3-day workweek, things we arguably could have had all along.)
The Broligarchs believe that they should rule the world. This is well-documented and has been in the Silicon Valley ether for more than a decade. In just over two weeks, American voters have the opportunity to remind them that we have no interest in living in their fascist hellscape. I won’t pretend an election victory means we’ve won the war, because at this point we’re all battle-tested enough to know it isn’t. But I do think we can win big enough majorities, and hold our newly elected officials’ feet to the fire enough to make an actual dent in the Broligarchy agenda.
Next week, I plan to write about our vision for the future and highlight some folks leading that conversation. I’d love to hear your thoughts and who or what ideas are inspiring you right now. You can reply directly to this email, or leave a comment. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and aspirations.
Elon Musk has spent $276 million on this election since July. I’m not asking you to match him. I’m asking for $10 a month.
The Broligarchs are playing a long game, and they’ll still be at it after election day. So will CARD. Recurring support lets me keep following their money, name who they’re trying to buy, and keep that work free for anyone who needs it.
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ICYMI
Inside The Tragedy That Sent Natalie Harp And Her Brother Reeling Into Opposite Extremes (Liars’ Ledger)
How A Conspiracy Theory About James Talarico Raced Through The Right-Wing Internet (NBC News)
How to Destroy a Reputation in Hollywood, as Told in 5 Women’s Lawsuits (New York Times)
Coda
You can now follow CARD on Instagram. I’m not entirely sure how I’ll use the account yet, but I’m having fun playing around with it.
That’s all for this week. It feels good to be back, and I’m excited to do this again next Sunday.
“We may have democracy, or we may have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few. But we can't have both.”
— Louis Brandeis, 1940 (1856–1941; Supreme Court Justice, 1916–39)
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As for the South African neo-Nazi, soon after 20 Jan 2029, the matter of how he came to reside in the U.S. and subsequently become a citizen must be taken up. And if it is determined that he did so fraudulently, then his citizenship must be stripped and he himself repatriated to Canada (from which he had entered the U.S.).
And, as Musk's American companies would in effect be ill-gotten gains, they can be converted into public corporations and operated to the benefit of the American people.
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Elon Musk, enemy of ‘open borders,’ launched his career working illegally
— The Washington Post, 27 Oct 2024
https://wapo.st/4xRAvou [UNLOCKED]
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Could Elon Musk Be Deported For Immigration Violation?
— Newsweek, 1 Nov 2024
https://www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-immigration-status-1990s-donald-trump-twitter-2024-election-1978588