Protect Democracy at All Costs (Unless it Brings Trump Back on Twitter)
Elon Musk absolutely schooled the Left this weekend, and all it took was an Internet poll.
Recall the endless yammering about saving our precious “democracy,” which was going to die in darkness and now will presumably expire under Republican congressional control without your blue vote and Democrat donation. This latest outburst of woke hysteria was just that: another scam.
On Friday, new Twitter owner and acting CEO Elon Musk posted a simple, yes-or-no poll, captioned simply, “Reinstate former President Trump.” The tweet came 679 days after 45 was de-platformed by former executives at the company.
“Yes” won. POTUS is back. He hasn’t tweeted yet—and may not return at all so as not to cannibalize his own platform Truth Social—but he’s back.
But being able to once again see some of the Don’s greatest twitter hits, as well as his final few tweets that ever-so-perfectly upend the January 6th Committee’s loony accusations, makes the Left’s temper tantrum even sweeter.
The usual suspects are whining about Russian collusion. Speaking of usual suspects, CBS News took a brief hiatus due to “security concerns”—totally coincidental, I’m sure. By Sunday, “See B.S.” was back on board—their hiatus, one GOP Congressman quipped, lasted approximately “60 Minutes.”
Meanwhile, with all of Trump’s earlier tweets easily accessible again, the narrative surrounding Orange Man’s rhetoric has shifted from “inciting violence” to “threatening, implicitly.” They cannot stomach the idea that anyone’s opinion other than their own should be tolerated—ever.
Some of the non-woke on Twitter are suggesting the results of the poll prove Trump is more popular than Dementia Joe. Perhaps, or it might mean that those 7.8 million users who voted “Yes” believe in the First Amendment, or that they relish the occasional mean Tweet. Or maybe, just maybe, they have an affinity—not necessarily political—for 45.
I mean, he does have 87.5 million followers on Twitter, or did, compared to Brandon’s 36.4 million. Although maybe those numbers will change, when the next batch of mail-in ballots from Maricopa County arrives.
Whatever. For now, the people have spoken, and the account has been reinstated.
Beneath the poll, Musk added a second message: “Vox populi, vox Dei.” The voice of the people is the voice of God. Let’s nip that one in the bud, as Barney Fife would say. Musk is wrong about that. The people have been known to get it wrong. See, execution of Socrates, Salem witch trials, etc. ad infinitum.
Musk may actually believe vox populi, vox Dei—he’s had crazier ideas—but my hunch is that he knew the “self-selecting sample” would get under the anti-Trumpers’ skin. It would fit the rest of his epic platform pestering since the purchase.
Even those most ecstatic about the return of DJT should understand that the Musk poll proves pure democracy is a horrible idea. It is a very good thing we don’t have it in the United States—though it’s a common misconception that we do. A basic high-school civics class would fix that, but those have gone, how shall I put it, out of style.
Democracy means mob rule, governance by popularity contests. Pure democracy always reverts to tyranny (no wonder the liberals love it). The Left is under the impression that their bad takes are the consensus, and therefore, hijacking the culture under the euphemism of “saving democracy” has worked for them.
But thanks to Mr. Musk, they can’t always get what they want, something Mick Jagger could have told them a long time ago. But sometimes, you get what you need, and what we needed was a free Twitter.
Twitter functions like a virtual nation. Every user is a citizen. For years, it’s been under a more authoritarian regime of fact-checkers and the PC Posse’s misinformation squad. Luckily for lovers of freedom and comedy, Elon Musk has risen to power due to his extreme financial adroitness. And now he’s using his billions to begin draining the swamp.
But here’s where it gets risky: King Elon can run his state however he wants. With Trump’s reinstatement, Musk chose democracy. With the Kathie Griffin ban, he employed a sort of constitutional monarchy. (The move was in accordance with Twitter regulations, although a more benign sovereign might have, you know, continued the Griffin case without a finding, as judges often do in district courts.) Currently, Musk is on the right side. No one is forced to join the platform, and it functions as intended—like a public square.
However, as Musk gains more user information—your likes, your interactions, your billing information— things may change. With great power comes great responsibility. Tyranny may look a lot like democracy, so long as the tyrant allows it. But the Twitter tyrant can turn on a dime, at any moment.
For now, let’s grab some popcorn and bask in the media meltdowns and con-artist outrage.
Elon’s taking these clowns to the cleaners, and for now, the show is free.
