Tag: businessmen
Billionaire Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and MAGA businessman Vivek Ramaswamy

Loomer And Bannon Spitting MAGA Vitriol At Musk And Ramaswamy

Billionaire Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and MAGA businessman Vivek Ramaswamy were aggressive supporters of Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential race, and the president-elect has tapped them to head a new advisory commission that he has proposed: the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Although Ramaswamy ran against Trump in the GOP presidential primary, his criticism of him was mild; Ramaswamy was much more forceful in his attacks on former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, another primary candidate. And he ended up dropping out of the race and giving Trump a glowing endorsement.

Musk was a more than generous donor to Trump's campaign. But Musk and Ramaswamy, in late 2024, have been drawing vehement criticism from other MAGA Republicans after voicing their support for the use of immigrant workers in the tech sector.

The Atlantic's Ari Breland, in an article published on December 30, details the rage that MAGA nativists have been expressing against Trump's picks to lead DOGE.

That rage, according to Breland, has been coming from MAGA firebrand Laura Loomer, "War Room" host Steve Bannon and others.

"Elon Musk spent Christmas Day online, in the thick of a particularly venomous culture war — one that would lead him to later make the un-Christmas-like demand of his critics to 'take a big step back and F--K YOURSELF in the face," Breland explains. "Donald Trump had ignited this war by appointing the venture-capitalist Sriram Krishnan to be his senior AI-policy adviser. Encouraged by the MAGA acolyte and expert troll Laura Loomer, parts of the far-right internet melted down, arguing that Krishnan's appointment symbolized a betrayal of the principles of the 'America First' movement."

Breland adds, "Krishnan is an Indian immigrant and a U.S. citizen who, by virtue of his heritage, became a totem for the MAGA right to argue about H-1B visas, which allow certain skilled immigrants to work in the United States."

Meanwhile, Ramaswamy has infuriated nativists by praising the strong work ethic of immigrant tech experts.

"The tech right and nationalist right are separate but overlapping factions that operated in tandem to help get Trump reelected," Breland reports. "Now, they are at odds. For possibly the first time since Trump's victory, the racial animus and nativism that galvanized the nationalist right cannot immediately be reconciled with the tech right's desire to effectively conquer the world — and cosmos, in Musk's case — using any possible advantage. After winning the election together, one side was going to have to lose."

This MAGA "skirmish," according to Breland, "is a preview of how tension between the tech right and the nationalist right may play out once Trump takes office."

"The nationalists will likely get most of what they want," Breland predicts. "Trump has already promised mass deportations, to their delight. But when they butt heads with Silicon Valley, Trump will likely defer to his wealthiest friends."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

How A Refreshing ‘Business Candidate’ Succeeds Where Many Others Failed

How A Refreshing ‘Business Candidate’ Succeeds Where Many Others Failed

Tom Wolf is not the typical businessman-turned-politician.

By most accounts, the previously little-known executive from York, Pennsylvania, is going to win the upcoming Democratic gubernatorial primary and cruise to victory over embattled GOP governor Tom Corbett in the November general election. That prospect alone separates him from other businessmen and women who seek public office — most of whom fail, badly.

So what’s behind his successful campaign?

Wolf’s appeal as a candidate seems to lie in his upbeat campaign, which ultimately has roots in his previous career as CEO of a building products distributing firm, The Wolf Organization Inc. His sophisticated understanding of how government should function was also shaped by his time in the private sector.

Unlike other politicians (such as Mitt Romney) who tout their business acumen as a primary rationale for holding public office, Wolf fully acknowledges that running a business and running a state government are two completely different jobs.

“Government has the task of doing things, a lot of things, that businesses don’t have to do, like ensure a good public education for every child in Pennsylvania; roads and bridges; providing a safe environment; providing a legal system,” Wolf told the Central Penn Business Journal last August. “These are public goods that by definition are outside the purview of private enterprise, so the mission of government is very different from business.”

While the two jobs are very different, for Wolf, their paths necessarily cross — and that’s not a bad thing. Warming to this theme, Wolf explained later in the interview why he views government as a necessary and beneficial force in the private sector.

“I’ve been running a business, and I depend on a lot of things that government needs to deliver on. I depend on employees who are products of a really first-rate education system,” he said. “I depend on good roads, I depend on bridges that are not falling down, I depend on communities that are safe and are places where my employees, my customers and my vendors want to live.”

With his poll numbers through the roof, it’s fair to say that Wolf’s positive campaign message has resonated with Pennsylvania Democrats.

But there are more obvious benefits to being a prosperous businessman when running for public office. Wolf’s advertising, for example, is so far unmatched by primary opponents who cannot pour the same amount of their own money into the race. He’s dumped $10 million of his personal cash into the campaign so far, $4.5 million of which was secured through a personal loan.

That loan has been seized upon by Wolf’s detractors. Republican strategist Ray Zaborney is convinced that the loan controversy will have lasting effects. As Zaborney told National Journal,  “The danger for Wolf and Democrats is the question of whether this is just scratching the surface, or is there more to come. Will Democrats be able to sort it out in five weeks? Probably not.”

Before the mudslinging began, Wolf explained why his self-funded blitz really worked to his advantage.

Like business and government, name recognition through advertising and an inspiring campaign narrative do not work well without each other, the Democrat told Ben Jacobs of The Daily Beast.

“Usually people take a look at people who do [self-fund], say ‘Now you’ve got name recognition but I don’t like your story,’” Wolf said. “But people seem like to like what I did.”

 Photo: Tom Wolf via Flickr

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