The Democrats’ reaction to the Department of Government Efficiency’s necessary mission might seem a bit excessive. But it is understandable. Their taxpayer-funded slush fund has been exposed.
Rather than joining with Elon Musk, who is leading DOGE to root out federal waste and fraud, and improve the transparency of the murky federal leviathan, the Democrats are attacking him. At a rally a week ago outside the Capitol, Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley, chanted “Elon Musk must go” along with a rabble that seems eager to do harm to the South African billionaire.
There have been similar protests in other cities in which baying mobs demand that Musk be deported, sexually violated, even launched to Mars.
Meanwhile, the Congressional Progressive Caucus wants the Democrats to find a way to “fire” Musk. New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer has groused on X that “an unelected shadow government is conducting a hostile takeover of the federal government,” surely unaware that he’s implying that the permanent bureaucracy is a separate, unaccountable, untouchable and unconstitutional branch of the government. Harpy pundits swear Musk is carrying out a coup and is a threat to democracy, a frivolous slogan that the political left cannot resist using.
Other complaints against the DOGE operation included grousing that Musk’s team has access to sensitive Treasury data and is holding back important federal programs.
But the real reason the Democrats are so upset is because their racket at the U.S. Agency for International Aid has been exposed, and they fear it’s just the first of many similar duplicitous schemes throughout the government that will be uncovered. They’ve even been able to convince their core voters that Musk and his team, merely doing the job they were asked to do by the duly elected president, are pure evil that must be stopped.
What has to be stopped, though, is the Democrats’ five-star gravy train that funds, as described by Jeffrey Tucker of the Brownstone Institute, “deep-state operations, censorship, and NGO graft on a scale never before seen.” In this shell game, taxpayers’ dollars are funneled “through multiple layers, with various entities handling and redistributing it” to the right groups and people who back those who are directing the funds. It’s a virtuous rather than vicious cycle – or virtuous at least to its participants who reap the benefits.
There have been so many ways of describing the manipulations and maneuverings but none we’ve seen so far pierce quite so accurately and deeply as does the description from former Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass, who explains “why Democrats are so angry” so clearly that even a New York Times or Washington Post reporter could understand.
“For years, they’ve been getting paid with your money, a billion dollars a week of American tax dollars, and laughing at you as the United States faces a fiscal deficit and as you’ve pinched your pennies hoping to survive the Democrat Party’s 20% inflation, as their leftist allies were living large,” writes Kass. “They’ve been discovered. We see the hate and madness in their eyes directed at us for seeing the other side of their face. Now they’re screaming like scalded cats in a sack.”
Law professor and the Instapundit himself Glenn Reynolds also lays it out with clarity.
“With trillions of dollars passing through the federal government every year, there are a lot of opportunities for crooks and financial predators to siphon some off,” says Reynolds. “A cynic might even speculate that the people screaming the loudest about DOGE’s audits are the people most invested in the fraud.”
It really doesn’t take a cynic, though. A fair-minded person would see the same thing.
Which is why we’re where we are today, with Democrats re-enacting right in front of us Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” doing their best to direct attention away from their own misdeeds.
Issues & Insights was founded by seasoned journalists of the IBD Editorials page. Our mission is to provide timely, fact-based reporting and deeply informed analysis on the news of the day – without fear or favor.
Original article link
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. Trump Says He And Putin Expect To Meet, Probably In Saudi Arabia - Reuters
President Donald Trump said he did not think it was practical for Ukraine to join NATO and that it was unlikely Ukraine will get back all of its land.
Trump discussed the war in Ukraine on Wednesday in phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in the U.S. president’s first big step toward diplomacy in a conflict he has promised to end.
2. Ukraine Will 'Of Course' Take Part In Any Peace Talks, Russia Says - BBC
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Ukraine "will of course one way or another be taking part in the negotiations".
"There will be a bilateral Russian-American track of that dialogue, and a track that will be associated with the involvement of Ukraine," the TASS News agency quoted Peskov saying. Earlier, Trump said there was now a "good possibility" to bring the war to an end.
3. Returning Ukraine To Pre-2014 Borders 'Unrealistic,' Says U.S. Defense Secretary - UPI
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Hegseth made the comments in Brussels at the start of the 26th Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a coalition of more than 50 nations that support Ukraine's defense against the Russian invasion.
"We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine, but we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective," he said. "Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering."
4. China Says ‘Gaza Belongs To The Palestinians,’ Opposes ‘Forced Displacement’ - AFP
China reiterated its opposition to what it called “forced displacement” of Palestinians when asked about President Donald Trump’s plan to move Gaza’s inhabitants elsewhere.
“Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and is an integral part of the Palestinian territory... We oppose the forced displacement of the people of Gaza,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular press briefing.
5. China Tracks U.S. Navy Transit Through Taiwan Strait - UPI
The U.S. Navy sent two vessels to transit the Taiwan Strait for the first time since President Donald Trump took office, and China tracked their progress through the disputed seaway.
The two vessels are the destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the survey ship USNS Bowditch, which sailed through the Taiwan Strait on a north-to-south voyage lasting from Monday through Wednesday, USNI News reported.
6. China's 2024 Coal Projects Threaten Climate Goals: Report - AFP
China last year began construction on projects with the greatest combined coal power capacity since 2015, jeopardising the country's goal to peak carbon emissions by 2030, according to a report published.
According to a report from the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM) in the United States, China began construction on 94.5 gigawatts of coal power projects in 2024 – 93 percent of the global total.
7. Chinese Authorities Play Cash-Giving Cupid To Boost Marriage Rates - AFP
The city of Luliang in northern Shanxi province is one of many places in China where local authorities are offering a slew of inducements to coax couples into tying the knot.
The 1,500-yuan ($205) reward is part of official efforts to boost the country's population, which fell for the third straight year in 2024. The sum is half a month's average wage for Luliang's urban population – and more than the monthly average wage for its rural citizens, according to official data. The former mining city is also offering subsidies and medical insurance contributions for registering newborns.
8. Thousands Sign Petition For Denmark To Buy California - D.W.
A parody online petition is pushing for Denmark to take control of California and "bring bike lanes to Beverly Hills."
The spoof web campaign comes amid renewed interest from Donald Trump in buying Greenland — or even taking the vast Arctic island by force. The petition calling for Denmark to buy the most populous U.S. state had gathered more than 200,000 signatures on Wednesday, promising to "Make California Great Again."
9. N. Korea Destroys Meeting Place For War-Separated Families - D.W.
North Korea is destroying a facility at its Mount Kumgang resort used for gatherings between families separated after the Korean War, South Korea said.
"The demolition of the Mount Kumgang Reunion Center is an inhumane act that tramples on the earnest wishes of separated families,” South Korea’s unification ministry said. The separated families that meet at the Mount Kumgang Reunion Center are victims of a decades-long gridlock dating back to the 1950-53 war, which ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
10. Honda, Nissan Scrap Merger Plan As Negotiations Collapse - Kyodo News
But Honda and Nissan, Japan's second- and third-largest automakers, will continue their strategic partnership in electric vehicles and other fields along with Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Nissan's alliance partner, they said.
The failure of the tie-up plan, intended to keep the companies competitive in the global market, will force them to reassess their survival strategies and is expected to influence the auto industry's realignment. If the merger had gone through, it would made it the new entity would have become the world's third-biggest auto group by volume.
11. Bitcoin Could See A Crash, Says Foundation Devices CEO - TheStreet
Zack Herbert, CEO of Foundation Devices, a company building Bitcoin-centric tools believes Bitcoin follows clear cycles, shaped by the halving event every four years.
While some long-time holders believe Bitcoin could enter a "supercycle," Herbert remains skeptical. "I know a lot of the OGs believe this could be some kind of super cycle. I’m not actually a believer in that theory. I think we’re going to see the exact same patterns that we’ve seen for the last decade," he said.
12. Wyoming Highway Workers' Union Plans To Put Bitcoin On Balance Sheets - TheStreet
The plan is part of the “Get Off Zero” initiative from Proof of Workforce, an organization that offers Bitcoin education to labor unions and pension funds, among other groups.
Last month, Wyoming also introduced a proposal for a strategic Bitcoin reserve that would invest up to 3% of state funds in the world’s leading cryptocurrency.
13. Diabetes Can Drive Antibiotic Resistance To Staph, Study Finds - UPI Health
People with diabetes are more prone to developing Staphylococcus aureus, a leading cause of infections and death associated with resistance to antibiotics, a new study has found.
Staph is the most widespread bacterial infection among individuals with type 2 diabetes. Staph thrives on high sugar levels, enabling it to multiply more quickly. Once a resistant mutant appears in a diabetic infection, it speedily takes over the population, recruiting the excess glucose to power speedy growth.
