“Our” government — and an assassin returns!

One of America’s most Democratic cities continues to show us who the government really works for

On Saturday we talked about how the President Musk situation is just the latest sign that America has devolved into oligarchy — after the man single-handedly killed a widely accepted bipartisan bill because it would have put our interests (US national security) ahead of his interests (business investment in China).

A big thanks to everyone who shared the piece and commented and e-mailed. It was a great response and I hope you’ll continue to share these with anyone you think might be interested!

Many are mocking Trump over this Musk situation, and joyfully pointing out that he’s made himself a tool of the billionaire class here. But, other than giving you that momentary “I told you so” rush, I don't think it's going to help anything and it’s certainly not going to give Democrats any sort of ground to take.

Yes, I do see the continued irony of people voting for Trump as if he’s going to work for anyone but the billionaire class. But I also see the irony of people thinking that Democrats have a strong position on this.

After all, one of the most Democratic cities in the country just spent the last two weeks showing us who that government works for — and it sure as hell isn’t everyday people.

A couple of weeks ago I pointed out what an assassin reveals about our politics, and how the response to his act — both by public officials and everyday people — gave us an opportunity to look at one thing Democrats could do to flip the narrative. Namely, stop being company men like so many politicians were after the UnitedHealth murder — wrap up your obligatory “murder is wrong” statement and start going after institutions that screw over everyday people for the elite class.

Since then, however, Democrats have instead used the situation to double down on showing the shareholder class how important they are compared to the rest of us.

In the wake of the UnitedHealth CEO’s murder, New York Governor Kathy Hochul proposed creating a special hotline for nervous CEOs to call if they felt unsafe. And to get input on the perks that this Amex Centurion exclusive 911 line should have, she held a massive meeting between her government team and 175 corporate representatives, state Homeland Security, counterterrorism officials, and private security teams.

The way we know about the meeting? Because Hochul went on MSNBC to outline her plan to dedicate more resources to making CEOs feel good.

As for the rest of us? Well, we still have regular 911, and I guess we should be thanking her because now we can also make funny TikTok videos pretending to be scared CEOs calling in to her concierge line. And we should also be grateful that more resources are being diverted from us in order to make the most heavily resourced people in the world feel warmer and fuzzier in their penthouses, estates, and luxury yachts. Because their comfort is certainly more important than anything we could want.

Hochul wasn’t the only New York Democrat diverting resources to make CEOs feel safer. Let’s turn to what another one was up to this week.

When the assassin, who we now know as Luigi Mangione, was extradited to New York he was escorted by more than two dozen NYPD officers, FBI agents, and, wildest of all, none other than the tough-talking (and indicted) Democratic Mayor of New York himself, whose statement on his unique personal involvement in a single murder case says it all:

“I wanted to send a strong message with the police commissioner that we are leading from the front,” Mayor Adams said during an interview. “I’m not going to just allow him to come into our city. I wanted to look him in the eye and state that, ‘You carried out this terrorist act in my city, the city that the people of New York love.’ And I wanted to be there to show the symbolism of that.”

He delivered a strong message alright. But it wasn’t for Luigi Mangione, or for any of us normal people. I mean, let’s face it, are any of us worried in the slightest that Luigi Mangione is going to harm us? I don’t think so.

In fact, if the Mayor wanted normal people to feel safer he would have pulled this stunt with the guy who knifed three random people to death in Manhattan a few weeks ago. But he didn't, did he?

Nope, instead the Mayor confronted Luigi Mangione with a message to the CEOs of New York, reminding them that they are special (they charged Luigi with terrorism, after all!) and that Democrat Eric Adams’ government remains dedicated to them in every way possible.

Don’t believe me yet? That these Democratic governments serve the billionaire class?

Well, at the same time, on the other side of town, NYPD officers were literally locking arms to protect billionaire Jeff Bezos’s supply lines from striking Amazon drivers who are tired of having to shit in bags on their delivery routes in order to meet his draconian quotas.

Bezos claims that his drivers, who wear Amazon emblazoned uniforms and drive Amazon trucks, aren’t employees and so they can’t organize and don’t have employee rights or protections. And you know what? The law and the government might even be on his side because our government has been writing laws for guys like Bezos for a generation.

And if the law isn’t exactly on his side? Our corporate judiciary, appointed by both parties, will make sure it is.

Our law and our government, at every level, have become tools to preserve the wealth of the shareholder class. Tools to help billionaires convert our wealth, our resources, our health, and labor into shareholder profits. It’s obviously not just blue cities like New York. I also saw it several years ago when I was in Bessemer, Alabama, where the local police ran the same playbook for Amazon by intimidating workers trying to organize at the Amazon warehouse there.

But aren’t Democrat-led governments supposed to be different? Isn’t that why everyone is making fun of Trump and mocking him and the Republican Congress for letting Elon Musk call the shots? Aren’t Democrats supposed to be for the little guy?

Actually, yes, they are. And one reason Democrats are getting crushed is because they don’t have that anymore. I mean, Hochul intentionally went on MSNBC to excitedly brag about her proactive response to the concerns of CEOs — but you’d be hard pressed to find clips of her talking about crime against everyday New Yorkers where she isn’t totally on the defensive.

Just this brief look at the last two weeks in liberal New York, where the CEOs and Jeff Bezos are calling the shots, sure takes the wind out of the sails of any “I told you so’s” around President Musk.

The American people are looking so hard for someone to change things. It’s why they voted for Obama. And then why they voted for Trump. There could very well be a post-Trump opportunity for Democrats similar to the post-Obama opportunity for Republicans and the post-Bush one for Democrats before that. But not if they stay the course.

When Democrats serve as company men, and when the party governs for CEOs instead of workers, it really doesn't have anything to offer anymore.

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Until next time.

— Lucas