Monday, October 21, 2024

Elon Musk Veers Into Vote Buying

Elon Musk says on stage at a town hall that America PAC will be awarding $1 million every day until the election to a registered Pennsylvania voter who has signed his petition.

Posted by reinheitsgebot at 05:32 PM | 19 COMMENTS | permalink

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I'll sign a petition to strap that ------- idiot African to a Spacex booster and watch him roast.

#1 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2024-10-21 12:14 AM

I've always thought that the election itself should be a lottery. Give out a million dollar prize or some such. Would definitely raise the percentage of actual voters.

#2 | Posted by TFDNihilist at 2024-10-21 06:47 PM

... Elon Musk says on stage at a town hall that America PAC will be awarding $1 million every day until the election to a registered Pennsylvania voter who has signed his petition. ...

Well, Citizens United allowed the purchase of politicians.

So why not go the next step, and allow the purchase of votes?


#3 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-10-21 07:08 PM

The 2010 Supreme Court decision further tilted political influence toward wealthy donors and corporations. (2019)
www.brennancenter.org

... January 21, 2020 will mark a decade since the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a controversial decision that reversed century-old campaign finance restrictions and enabled corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited funds on elections.

While wealthy donors, corporations, and special interest groups have long had an outsized influence in elections, that sway has dramatically expanded since the Citizens United decision, with negative repercussions for American democracy and the fight against political corruption. ...



#4 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-10-21 07:10 PM

voter who has signed his petition. ...

Makes me wonder why? Of what use is this petition?

#5 | Posted by REDIAL at 2024-10-21 07:11 PM

@#5 ... Of what use is this petition? ...

Develop a mailing list?

Why wouldn't someone who has $200+billion want a mailing list of people in a swing state whose votes he may be able to purchase?


#6 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-10-21 07:23 PM

Merrick Garland asleep at the wheel

#7 | Posted by SpeakSoftly at 2024-10-21 07:32 PM

Develop a mailing list?

That's about all I can think of, but it would be cheaper just to buy the list.

#8 | Posted by REDIAL at 2024-10-21 07:40 PM

@#8 ... but it would be cheaper just to buy the list. ...

But just buying the list won't get the publicity.

So then, there seems to be that publicity aspect to consider also.

#9 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-10-21 07:45 PM

I read one item (not sure that I could find the link again) where there are some people who are actually questioning whether Musk really wants Trump to win. Now it's not that he would necessarily like to see Harris win, but that he wants to take control of the Republican party and the best way for him to do that it to have Trump lose and then he will be there to pick up the pieces, and while he himself can't run in 2028, he could be the king maker.

OCU

#10 | Posted by OCUser at 2024-10-21 07:47 PM

Another question...

If Mr Musk's ~contest~ is only for registered voters... is he effectively trying to pay people to register to vote?

If so, is that legal?

#11 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-10-21 07:55 PM

Elon Musk's PAC Is Paying $47 For Each Solicited Petition Signature From A Swing State Voter -- Here's Why It's Controversial
www.forbes.com

... Is It Legal To Pay Someone To Recruit Petition Signatures?

Yes. It is legal to compensate signature gatherers, or circulators, who collect petition signatures, though the exact laws vary by state. Some states, like Arizona, Florida and Utah, have made it illegal for campaigns or other employers to pay based on the number of signatures gathered"known as pay-per-signature compensation"but it is almost always legal to pay by the hour for time spent soliciting signatories. The America PAC is based in Texas, where there are no specific laws about pay-per-signature compensation. ...

Is It Legal To Pay Someone To Register To Vote?

No. Federal law prohibits anyone from paying or offering to pay someone to vote or register to vote, but, like paying petition circulators, it is legal to pay people to encourage others to do so. The America PAC, for instance, pays $30 per hour to people working to increase voter turnout. Earlier this year, the Biden Administration said it would pay college students to help register voters through the Federal Work-Study Program. ...



#12 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-10-21 08:02 PM

At least it's his own money. What are all the freebies that Kamala is promising if not bribes for votes?

#13 | Posted by visitor_ at 2024-10-21 08:38 PM

@#13 .. What are all the freebies that Kamala is promising if not bribes for votes? ...

From #12...

... Federal law prohibits anyone from paying or offering to pay someone to vote or register to vote ...

So, what's yer bot got?

Hey, I like that. It rhymes.

What's yer bot got?

I'm a poet, and don't know it.


:)



#14 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-10-21 08:47 PM

And people still buy Teslas.

#15 | Posted by Hughmass at 2024-10-22 07:18 AM

Three silicon valley billionaires (Musk, Thiel, and Sacks) who have their grubby little paws all over this election all were born in apartheid South Africa - before Nelson Mandela got out of prison and "screwed up the place" for the white minority.
They want the same kind of stratified society here - with those born to rule at the top - and the rest of us plebes down below.

#16 | Posted by anton at 2024-10-22 09:20 AM

What are all the freebies that Kamala is promising if not bribes for votes? ...

Even if your current lie is true that would just be Kamala following the law as interpreted by the Supreme Court.

Think Gratuities. Now if you're rich enough, says the SUPREMES, you can now pay off state and local officials (or any citizen) for acts that fit your policy preferences or advance your interests.

You CAN give them lavish gifts, you CAN send them on vacations, or you CAN simply cut them checks.

You CAN do all of this so long as the cash, gifts or other "gratuities" are provided AFTER the service, and not BEFORE" and so long as a plausible deniability of the meaning and intent of these "gratuities" is maintained.

Enjoy the NEW RULES that you maga maroons fought for.

I am gonna particularly enjoy the recent Presidential immunity interpretation after Kamala is elected and she moves to have Trumpy and his minions arrested and imprisoned for all his crimes.

#17 | Posted by donnerboy at 2024-10-22 11:22 AM

INCREDIBLY similar to paying off people's loans to get votes.

"Even if your current lie is true that would just be Kamala following the law as interpreted by the Supreme Court. "

Apropos to my statement above, the Supreme Court has stated that paying off loans isn't something the POTUS can do. So why are you sooooooooooooooooooo willing to look the other way when Dems do it but then make it an arguable point when Reps do it?

Again, just more hypocrisy by liberals.

#18 | Posted by humtake at 2024-10-22 12:50 PM

INCREDIBLY similar to paying off people's loans to get votes.

"Even if your current lie is true that would just be Kamala following the law as interpreted by the Supreme Court. "

Apropos to my statement above, the Supreme Court has stated that paying off loans isn't something the POTUS can do. So why are you sooooooooooooooooooo willing to look the other way when Dems do it but then make it an arguable point when Reps do it?

Again, just more hypocrisy by liberals.

#18 | Posted by humtake

You can't be this stupid...

#19 | Posted by Sycophant at 2024-10-22 01:15 PM

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