After spending over 1 / 4 of a billion {dollars} on Donald Trump’s presidential election marketing campaign, Elon Musk is pouring cash right into a Supreme Courtroom election in Wisconsin. Musk has spent greater than $18 million to assist Trump-backed candidate Brad Schimel over liberal Susan Crawford and has been paying Wisconsin voters $100 to assist flip the state’s high court docket. This election may influence abortion rights, unions and Republicans’ capability to maintain gerrymandered districts in place to manage Congress. “The extent of corruption at play right here, the extent of cash at play right here, actually is a warning signal for what’s taking place to our democracy,” says Ari Berman, voting rights correspondent for Mom Jones journal.
TRANSCRIPT
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AMY GOODMAN: That is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman.
Not content material with spending greater than 1 / 4 of a billion {dollars} to elect Donald Trump, we glance now at how the richest man on this planet, senior adviser to President Trump, Elon Musk, is pouring cash into an election in Wisconsin. Musk has spent greater than $18 million to assist the Republican Brad Schimel over Democrat Susan Crawford and has been paying Wisconsin voters $100 every to assist flip the Wisconsin Supreme Courtroom. This may enable Republicans to maintain gerrymandered districts in place and management Congress. If Democrats retake the Home, they might examine Musk, DOGE and his thousands and thousands in authorities contracts.
For extra, we’re joined by Ari Berman, voting rights correspondent for Mom Jones journal, creator of Minority Rule: The Proper-Wing Assault on the Will of the Folks — and the Battle to Resist It. His current items are headlined “Elon Musk Revealed Why He’s Spending Millions to Flip the Wisconsin Supreme Court” and “The Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Is a Referendum on Elon Musk.”
A lot is going on with voting rights. Let’s begin in Wisconsin. Then we’ll transfer on from there. Ari, are you able to lay out what’s at stake, why Wisconsin is in regards to the nation, after which, in fact, will have an effect on the world?
ARI BERMAN: Nicely, good morning, Amy.
The Wisconsin Supreme Courtroom is vital in its personal proper, as a result of this election on April 1st will decide which get together and aspect controls the ideological majority of the court docket. And that can resolve issues just like the destiny of Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban, legal guidelines limiting labor rights, illegality of Wisconsin’s congressional maps, which may resolve management of Congress.
Nevertheless it’s taken on far more significance, as a result of Elon Musk is now spending over $20 million to attempt to flip the Wisconsin Supreme Courtroom, which is a document for any state judicial race within the historical past of america. And it actually has change into a check of whether or not Musk should purchase Wisconsin, like he purchased the White Home, and might prolong his plan for oligarchy to the states, or whether or not Democrats can struggle again and strike a tangible blow towards him, and whether or not there could be a response to all the issues that he’s achieved in Washington, that he’s now making an attempt to do to the states. And so, it’s an especially vital race within the state, in some of the vital swing states within the nation, however it actually has taken on an incredible quantity of nationwide significance since Musk acquired so concerned on this Wisconsin Supreme Courtroom race.
AMY GOODMAN: And clarify. What does paying $100 to voters imply? What’s that about?
ARI BERMAN: So, Musk is paying voters $100 a pop to signal a petition opposing, quote-unquote, “activist judges.” And I simply noticed that he has now given one million {dollars} to a supposedly random winner of the petition signing, which is only a staggering sum of money. And he’s going to maintain doing that each two days till the election. And that is only a loopy scheme in a state Supreme Courtroom race. Bear in mind, Amy, that is about electing judges. These are individuals which might be imagined to be neutral when it comes to how they rule.
And mainly, what Musk is doing is he’s taking the playbook that he used, which was very controversial, very legally suspect, definitely ethically doubtful, when it comes to getting Donald Trump again within the White Home, and he’s making an attempt to make use of it in a state Supreme Courtroom election in Wisconsin. And we’ve by no means seen this type of factor in a judicial race earlier than. We’ve by no means seen this type of cash in Wisconsin earlier than or every other state Supreme Courtroom race. We’ve by no means seen these sort of ways in a state Supreme Courtroom race earlier than. And so, simply the extent of corruption at play right here, the extent of cash at play right here, actually is a warning signal for what’s taking place to our democracy.
AMY GOODMAN: So, you’re a voting rights specialist journalist. And this comes amidst a slew of different election information. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Courtroom heard arguments towards Louisiana’s voting map that features two majority-Black districts, that would additionally assist form the steadiness of energy within the Home. And President Trump signed an govt order Tuesday to overtake U.S. elections and cease the counting of votes after Election Day, together with absentee ballots despatched by mail. And on Wednesday, Utah’s Republican Governor Spencer Cox signed legislation to finish the state’s well-liked common vote-by-mail election system. In case you may discuss all of that?
ARI BERMAN: Yeah, so, I feel essentially the most important of these three thus far is President Trump’s sweeping and actually unprecedented govt order, which might give the president the authority that he actually doesn’t have beneath the Structure. The Structure offers the states and Congress the facility to set the foundations for federal elections. Trump is making an attempt to take that energy for himself, in a extremely loopy voter suppression scheme that will make it more durable to vote in so many alternative methods. It will require proof of citizenship to register to vote, which may disenfranchise tens of thousands and thousands of Individuals who don’t have prepared entry to these paperwork, like a U.S. passport or doubtlessly beginning certificates or naturalization papers. It will hamper vote by mail by saying that if ballots are postmarked by Election Day, they gained’t depend in the event that they arrive after Election Day, which is at present the legislation in 18 states. It will put Elon Musk in command of looking voter rolls and trying to find suspected voter fraud, which may simply result in unimaginable abuse and additional entry of delicate voter data. So, actually, the president is making an attempt to do an unlawful energy seize that would offer voter suppression on steroids and take away a lot energy that’s at present reserved for the states and for Congress and make it a lot more durable for individuals to vote, at a time that we’re getting into a extremely essential election cycle.
That’s on high of the truth that earlier than the Louisiana Supreme Courtroom, white voters are mainly making an attempt to dismantle a second majority-Black district in that state to attempt to flip the Voting Rights Act on its head, take away illustration for Black voters. Republicans on the state stage are persevering with to make it more durable to vote, via issues like chipping away at mail voting, like in locations like Utah, the place it’s highly regarded and extensively used.
So, there’s a number of disturbing issues on the democracy entrance. And I feel this all actually suits collectively, which is that there’s simply this five-alarm fireplace for democracy taking place all around the nation, and it’s taking many, many kinds. One of the vital tangible kinds it’s taking is the try and attempt to limit participation in elections and to attempt to put in place a type of oligarchy as a substitute of a type of democracy. You see that in Wisconsin with Elon Musk making an attempt to purchase the Supreme Courtroom race. You see it in Washington with Trump issuing govt orders which might be clearly unconstitutional. You see it on the state stage with how Republicans are ripping away voting rights. So I see a via line to all of those completely different anti-democratic ways.
AMY GOODMAN: And, in fact, there’s Trump’s new govt order that will require proof of citizenship to register to vote. Ari Berman, I wish to thanks a lot for being with us, voting rights correspondent for Mom Jones journal.
Subsequent up, we have a look at the backgrounds of a few of Trump’s closest and strongest allies, the South African-born billionaires Peter Thiel [sic] and Elon Musk. Again in 30 seconds.
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