Democrats want voters to believe they will make life more affordable if they win Congress in next week's midterm elections. The plan, according to a pair of Axios articles this week, is to expand welfare programs and punish Elon Musk.
The Axios pieces, flagged by conservative outlets including Lucianne.com, sketch out a Democratic agenda that focuses on government subsidies and direct payments rather than on the cost-of-living relief voters say they want. The party's message, in other words, is more government spending, not less.
At the same time, prominent left-wing figures are talking openly about going after Musk's companies because of his support for President Donald Trump. In a post on X, the account @TrumpDailyPosts wrote that former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich went on television and urged Democrats to "start laying the groundwork to nationalize Starlink and SpaceX." The post added: "Democrats are using the Communist playbook. They are publicly calling to nationalize Elon Musk's private businesses to punish him for supporting President Trump."
That is not a policy debate. It is a threat aimed at a private citizen because of his politics, and it is being treated seriously by people who once claimed to defend democracy.
The two threads fit together. Expanding welfare is how Democrats plan to spend money. Punishing Musk is how they plan to raise it, or at least how they plan to rally their base. Neither does anything to lower prices for groceries, gas, or housing.
The Axios reporting notes that Democrats are promising an "affordability" agenda if they take control of Congress. But the details focus on subsidies and government programs, the same approach that has driven prices up and added trillions to the national debt. Voters who are struggling to pay bills are not helped by more dependency on Washington. They are helped by lower taxes, less regulation, and cheaper energy.
Nationalizing Starlink and SpaceX would be a disaster on its own terms. SpaceX is the backbone of America's commercial space launch capacity and a key partner for NASA and the Defense Department. Starlink provides internet service in rural America and in war zones, including Ukraine. Seizing these companies because their founder backed Trump would be unprecedented and would send a chilling message to every entrepreneur in the country: succeed, and if you back the wrong party, the government will take your business.
It is not yet known whether any sitting Democratic member of Congress has endorsed the nationalization idea or whether it appears in any formal platform. But the fact that a former Cabinet secretary is floating it on television, and that it is spreading on social media, is enough to tell voters where the party's instincts are.
President Trump's administration has focused on deregulation, energy dominance, and border security, and Republicans say those policies are what will bring prices down. Democrats are countering with more welfare and a war on the wealthy. The contrast could not be clearer.
Our Take
Folks, this is the choice in plain sight. Democrats say they care about affordability, but their answer is to expand the welfare state and seize private companies from a man who helped build them. That is not affordability. That is control.
Elon Musk has built businesses that launch rockets, connect rural Americans to the internet, and compete with foreign adversaries. The left wants to nationalize them because he supported President Trump. If that does not scare you, it should. Every American who works for a business, owns a business, or hopes to start one is looking at a party that thinks your success is theirs to take.
And what about the welfare expansion? It is the same playbook that has kept people dependent on government for generations. Republicans have a plan to cut red tape and unleash American energy. Democrats have a plan to send you a check and then punish the people who create jobs.
Election Day is next week. Ask yourself which party is actually going to make your life more affordable. Then vote like your livelihood depends on it, because it does.
