Is Elon Musk’s “American Party” worth taking seriously?

In this week’s failure line column, Jon Allsop is filling out for Jay Caspian Kang.

In American history, there are several political groups called the American Party or similar ones. Perhaps most famously, it is the official name of Nothings, once secret society (members were told to deny knowledge and therefore “know nothing”), which developed an unwavering anti-immigration platform and became, and became according to Smithsonian Magazinethe country’s “first, major third party”. In the early days of the Nineteen Hunters, an American party in Utah opposed the Mormon Church. Over the next decade, supporters of William Sulzer formed a new state, a former governor who was tangled with Tammany Hall and impeached and convicted – until today, the only New York governor could maintain that distinction Andrew Cuomo Resign in time. (In New York at least, modern Suerzer people will not have luck; state laws now prohibit parties from using “America” ​​in their name.) More American parties have ties to KKK and George Wallace.

Steps to enter such an outstanding company Elon Muskhe announced last weekend that he intends to establish an “American Party” after a public dispute with the president (no “n”) Donald Trump and angry criticism of Republicans Large giants that are not enough to explore. (Trump suggests that Musk is actually angry with the bill to end electric vehicle policy, which benefits his car company Tesla – Musk has denied, somewhat denying the escalation of the conflict, and that Trump threatens to end all other government contracts to make all other government contracts comparable to Musk, not stand out from the name of the United States. Unity – Although Musk was not born in the United States, it is at least ironic, it is at least ironic, and I hope to expect something more creative from such a brilliant troll. (Maybe it isMars Partisan, “as Musk’s desire to make humanity a representative of multiple interstellar species, is also the abbreviation for “making America spend responsibly.” This language is the language you never had a label, a central group that tried but failed to propose third-party candidates in last year’s election. Express Interested in talking to Musk.

The bad news for Musk is that critical Americans don’t actually desire a moderate party to occupy the triangle lane between the Democrats and the Republicans: A study last year It was found that the “dissatisfied guerrilla parties” on both sides were as polarized as those who were dissatisfied. Recently, political scientist Lee Drutman Famous Even voters explain They often “hold many uneven policy perspectives.” The good news for Musk is that he is not really the “middle”. Whether you believe he paid tribute to the Nazis earlier this year, he endorsed the far-right parties in Europe, including Germany’s alternative Fordeschiran Party. This week, he has been posting and reposting on the risks of expanding the government’s budget on the social media platform X, which he owns, but also involves the Trump administration’s bias from conspiracy theories about the death of pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, a move that has angered numerous Trump fans. “Oh look, this hasn’t been tarrest-o’Clock anymore,” Musk Written on Mondayfalling into zero above the image of “Official Jeffrey Epstein Pedophilia Arrest Counter”.

Another bad news for Musk is that even yes The appetite for a new party with traits or right wing, he doesn’t look like the best figunhead. Harry Enten, chief data analyst at CNN, Calculated Only 4% of voters view Musk and the Republicans in favor, saying Musk’s third-party thrust “makes as meaningful as selling sand in the desert.” It’s unclear that Musk will follow his promise – he did not register his new party on the Federal Election Commission as required when writing – even if he does, he will face significant obstacles, especially when it comes to getting a vote (not only because of the New York election law). this era Summarize A few days ago, “It may be harder to set up a new national party in the United States than to send one person to Mars.”

However, this idea may be worth taking seriously. Even if a third party is usually a failed claim, Musk’s pure financial fire can give him a chance to make it work than most, especially if people have some understanding of his possible goals. And, whatever he is going to do next, his recent drills have pointed out some important facts about the American partisan front and their little significance.

Last year, I liked it very much (And written) Mini series from eight partsThe road to the present“, a history podcast that explores the stories of major third-party presidential candidates, John Bell, the little-known challengers of 1860, to Lincoln and Douglas, to Jill Stein and Gary Johnson, to explore the stories of major third-party presidential candidates, I was in 2016. Playing Bass Brothers Avit. While on the road, he would read books about Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan, and, after the band’s tour manager introduced him to a history professor named Ben Sawyer, he started the podcast in 2016. When we spoke this week, Crawford was in between tourism with Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan, and preparing to play at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

Crawford told me that the motivation for the miniseries is that the 2024 presidential contest (which made voters highly dissatisfied with the athletics that became competitive at the time) believes that since 1992, when businessman Ross Perot won nearly two-thirds of the vote, it seems likely to be significantly influenced by third-party candidates. Of course, no one broke down in the election. When I asked Crawford what he had gained from the history of such candidates, he replied: “Americans love third parties,” or at least, “they like the idea.” But “when pushing, when they enter the booth, it’s like they’re looking at black and white; Yang and Yang; Republican, Democrats. They just don’t want to pull leverage for third-party candidates at the end of the day.” And if such candidates do lay off employees on a specific issue – like Perot, talking about deficits in a non-Muskian way – one or both major parties tend to choose that.

Well, history is not very good for Musk. But, my favorite “Road Now” miniseries show that even if third parties reliably lose their failures, the composition of the American partisan landscape has never been as static or stagnant as alternating bipartisan rules. As a British I always find these parties ridiculously broad and now, they are in the pain of a full-blown identity crisis. Zohran Mamdani The mayor’s main victory In New York, it can be seen as the latest iteration of a progressive liberal battle that is familiar globally, but due to the recent failure of the Democratic Party to the Obama era, and its leadership is snatch. (A symptom of this confusion: at least a few well-known Democrats have expressed openness to Musk’s proposal since he broke up with Trump, despite his cuts in public programs and far-right flirting and far-right flirting.) While the Republican Party seems to be more unified, Trump’s power may speak of the power of Islam, but has competed in a coalition, previously, previously explored, and previously explored in the scope of the past, which is a fact. this Pillar. (The recent Frankenstein Spending Act Monsters are certainly not the result of a coherent political project.) Trump’s administration contains a lot. His National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat who ran for president. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ran for independence in last year’s presidential election, had his ideas comparable to Trump’s movement, but is now responsible for their implementation as Secretary of Health and Public Services. In Europe, it is common for different political parties to control different government ministries in alliances, Maha The exercise (“make America healthy again”) may even be its own mini-party.

Musk’s Doge Perhaps the work can be viewed from a similar perspective, with a narrow focus on cutting government spending and distinguishing it from larger spending Magazine The Crusade, even if its ultimate success is Controversial. Musk’s main problem now may not be the lack of opportunities for new political forces targeting clear careers – I’m not sure how popular the modern rally calls are, because the “Deficit Eagles’ deficit” may be beyond the elves, and while the massive tax cuts on “large beautiful bills” will certainly make Musk a vacant – he essentially tries to go through RFK Maneuver’s third party in RFK Maneuver, which is his open attitude back Serve in government to show scars. When I last wrote about musk In this columnit is to say that although he once seemed to be as good at public attention as Trump, Doge The cuts really hurt him. Therefore, Musk seemed to be gradually disappearing at that time. Shortly thereafter, he returned to the middle stage by accusing Trump of being charged in Epstein’s archives, and now, of course, he’s winning the column for his American party idea. But continuing to push the news cycle sporadically does not alone give the popularity needed to make the latter work.

That is, even if Musk is unable to imitate the new party as a direct electoral force, it may still have political significance. He suggested that the U.S. party could limit itself to candidates for eight to ten key House games and two to three Senate games next year, and hopes that even some success would lend a lot of power to the legislative process, given the intense recent trend in Congress. (This approach may also have benefits, which can focus on other numbers, which makes Musk’s unpopularity less and less.) Even on this small scale, voting is a difficult task, and don’t mind actually winning. However, the prospect is not surprising to me, and as an observer Noted eraFor Musk, the “opportunity to be ignored” could be to convince current Republican lawmakers to defect and promise support if they run again. (Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie, who recently refused to win Trump’s praise from Musk, looks like a possible candidate.) This week, Musk Analog found Because his method is not in American history, but further afield: in the ancient Greek general Epaminondas, who defeated Leuctra’s ruler Spartans by “very concentrated in precise places.”

Ominously, Epaminondas’ success did not last (regardless, the “Spartans” might be a better adjective to Musk’s approach to government spending). But if his new party even causes trouble in the short term, whether through eating the Republican vote or raising concerns about what might be done, it would be very satisfying. When I talked to Crawford, he struggled with Musk’s prehistoric account (beyond, loose, Perot). Crawford said Musk “want to take revenge” and had more money than anyone seeking in the history of the country. “Usually, credible third parties are based on issues,” he added. But, despite his talk about the deficit, “I think Musk is saying, ‘Republican…I’ll hand you 2024. I’m starting with Doge. I created Doge. Now, thank you for cutting EV authorization and threatening my government contract? I’ll tell you who the boss is. ”♦