Oh, Hillary. She’s back with another episode of “The GOP is Ruining America, Sponsored by Elon Musk.” This time, she’s accusing Republicans of taking orders from the “world’s richest man” to engineer a government shutdown. Because apparently, in Hillaryland, Elon Musk has turned into some kind of shadowy overlord pulling the strings of Congress.
If you're just catching up: the Republican Party, taking orders from the world's richest man, is on course to shut down the government over the holidays, stopping paychecks for our troops and nutrition benefits for low-income families just in time for Christmas.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) December 19, 2024
Let’s unpack this. First, her accusation that Republicans are shutting down the government “over the holidays” isn’t a new scare tactic. Democrats love to trot this out every time there’s a budget standoff, as if the GOP is sitting around a table in evil lairs cackling about how to ruin Christmas. In reality, government shutdowns aren’t exactly new, and both sides have played chicken with the federal budget plenty of times. The difference is that Republicans are actually trying to tackle wasteful spending while Democrats seem to think the government’s wallet is bottomless.
Then there’s the Elon Musk connection. Clinton claims Republicans are Musk’s minions because, God forbid, he has opinions on government spending and isn’t shy about sharing them on X (formerly Twitter). Musk, now involved with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—a department that sounds like something out of a libertarian fever dream—is out here pressuring lawmakers to cut the fat from bloated spending bills. Good for him. If Musk’s influence means fewer trillion-dollar omnibus bills and more accountability, I say let him tweet away.
And let’s not ignore the delicious irony of Clinton’s complaint. This is the same woman who cozied up to Wall Street billionaires like it was an Olympic sport during her political heyday. Her sudden disdain for the influence of the super-rich is as believable as her email server explanations. Give me a break.
The cherry on top? Musk’s comments on X were spot on. He praised Speaker Mike Johnson for trimming the CR from a multi-pound monstrosity into a lightweight, efficient bill. Sounds like the kind of leadership we could use more of, doesn’t it? But instead of recognizing this as a step toward fiscal responsibility, Clinton would rather whip up a holiday-themed panic.
At the end of the day, Hillary’s post is just another attempt to paint Republicans as villains and distract from the real issue: a government addicted to spending money it doesn’t have. If Musk’s role in all this makes her nervous, maybe it’s because he’s doing something right.