Would The Democratic Party Establishment Sell The Party To Musk? How Much Would They Charge?

Courting Elmo Is Worse Than A Losing Strategy— It’s A Moral Collapse

Yesterday, when Mike Sacks saw the Holly Otterbein/Lisa Kashinsky  Politico story about some Democrats wanting to hop right into bed with Elon Musk, he posted about starting a Backbone Caucus. If the Democratic Party wants to be the party of workers— rather than warlords and oligarchs— it needs to stop offering redemption arcs to fascist billionaires. Musk doesn’t need a “dialogue.” He needs regulation, accountability, and distance from power— starting with the Democratic Party. I nominate Iowa progressive Travis Terrell for Sacks’ caucus. “The Democratic Party doesn’t need a billionaire savior. It needs to scrape off the billionaire filth it’s already covered in. Least of all Elon Musk, who turns on anyone the second they don’t kiss his boots. Even suggesting we find common ground with him is a slap in the face to every working American just trying to get by. This is the guy who crushed unions, ripped healthcare from his workers and used DOGE to sabotage our country, costing people their jobs, their savings and eventually, their lives. I’ll pass on Trump’s castoffs. The Democratic Party keeps asking why it lost the working class. Floating Musk’s name as a possible ally might as well be Exhibit A. The working class deserves better than hand-me-down oligarchs.” Want to help Mike and Travis oust GOP incumbents and win their races? Here.

Otterbein and Kashinsky wrote that the “Democrats’ portrayal of Musk as a chainsaw-wielding, bureaucracy-breaking villain may be more complicated now— with some saying they should give him another chance. After all, Musk said he voted for former President Joe Biden in 2020 and gave a tour of SpaceX to then-President Barack Obama. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who represents Silicon Valley and has known Musk for over a decade, said Democrats should ‘be in a dialogue’ with Musk, given their shared opposition to the GOP’s megabill. ‘We should ultimately be trying to convince him that the Democratic Party has more of the values that he agrees with,’ Khanna said. ‘A commitment to science funding, a commitment to clean technology, a commitment to seeing international students like him.’ Other Democrats are warming back up to Musk as he leaves the White House and starts to break with his former boss in ways that could benefit the opposition. ‘I’m a believer in redemption, and he is telling the truth about the legislation,’ said Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY). But, he added, Musk has ‘done an enormous amount of damage’ and ‘there are Democrats who see his decimation of the federal workforce and the federal government as an unforgivable sin.’ Liam Kerr, co-founder of the group behind the centrist Democrats’ WelcomeFest meeting this week in Washington, said ‘of course’ Democrats should open the door if Musk wants back into the party.

Leave it to Politico to float one of the worst trial balloons of the cycle— an invitation for Elon Musk to join polite Democratic society. In their breathless effort to frame Musk’s latest tantrum as a “redemptive arc,” the article reads more like an op-ed from the New Democrat Coalition’s press office than serious political reporting. Never, never forget, Musk didn’t “break” with Trump because of principle. He broke with Trump because he didn’t get his way. After throwing a fit over the GOP’s grotesque “big beautiful bill” that slashes the federal workforce in favor of authoritarian privatization, Musk lashed out— on ketamine and Twitter, as usual. That’s not courage. That’s a tantrum from an oligarch whose political loyalties shift with his business interests.

But rather than treat him as the dangerous, megalomaniacal destabilizer he is, some Democrats are eagerly holding the door open. Enter Ro Khanna, who really should know better. He’s spent years cultivating a reputation as a bridge between progressives and Silicon Valley, but there’s a difference between building bridges and laying down like a doormat. “We should be in dialogue with Musk,” he said… as though Musk is some confused college student instead of a reactionary billionaire who’s helped normalize fascism, bust unions, platform white supremacists, and actively undermine trust in democracy. Come on, Ro! This makes sense for Torres, not for someone hoping to get progressive support for a presidential run.

Yeah, Torres! He’s selling redemption— one of the most transparently corporate figures in the Democratic caucus— a tool of AIPAC, a reliable ally of the crypto-cartel and a walking billboard for the party’s neoliberal rot. His “belief in redemption” is just a polite way of saying: let’s keep the billionaire class comfy as they switch parties depending on the wind and the tax rate.

The kind of thinking Politico is pushing is politically naive and suicidal for a party that depends on grassroots enthusiasm, volunteer labor and small-dollar donations from people Musk despises. Any move to normalize or absorb Musk into the Democratic orbit— under the banner of “dialogue” or “pragmatism”— would be a disaster for the party’s activist base. The same base that fought tooth and nail to unseat Trump the first time. The same base Musk has ridiculed, vilified, and helped suppress.

Democrats have to make a choice. Do they stand with the people who knock doors, register voters and defend civil rights—or do they make space for ketamine-fueled oligarchs and the members of Congress who carry water for them? The grassroots already knows the answer. It’s time party leadership figured it out too— before they sell out what little credibility they have left.

Emily Berge, the progressive running for the congressional seat in western Wisconsin, has already figured it out. “While some Democrats seem eager to align themselves with Elon Musk, I’m not here to kiss the ring of a billionaire whose whims shape headlines more than they help working people. My campaign isn’t about currying favor with tech oligarchs, it’s about standing up for everyday Americans, investing in communities, and building a future where power isn't concentrated in the hands of a few, but shared by many.”

On the other side of the state, Randy Bryce is taking on Trump ally Bryan Steil. “If Elon really wanted to make the world a better place,” said Bryce, “he would have done so already. There isn’t enough money in the world to wash the Trump stink off of him. He’s shown us who he is. Anyone who kisses his ring deserves exactly what they get. If he’ll turn on Donald— they’ll be a bug stain when he decides he’s had enough. Just look at how he treats the mothers of his children.”