It’s the Corruption, Stupid

To fight a billionaire blitzkrieg Democrats need a message that works—and the spines to back it up

By Alex Aronson

Over the weekend, the world’s richest person and his lackeys hijacked the federal government, gaining unauthorized access to sensitive—and immensely valuable—data. Musk and his “DOGE” team ransacked the Treasury Department, the Office of Personnel Management, the General Services Administration, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, triggering widespread chaos and alarm.

Days earlier, official tallies on 2024 campaign spending came in from the FEC, showing that Musk donated nearly $300 million to thrust President Trump, MAGA Republicans, and himself into power. Of course, that’s “peanuts” to someone like Musk, and it gave him quite the return on investment to boot: Musk’s net worth soared from a paltry $264 billion to a high of $486 billion after Trump’s win. The keys to our federal government, and all our public data, are just the icing on top.

Musk’s weekend coup followed Trump’s two-week Project 2025 blitzkrieg on the American people, which has left Democrats flat-footed, casting about for a “message.” In a weekend interview, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described Senator John Thune, his Trump-enabling Republican counterpart, as an “honorable guy,” advising Democrats, as Semafor put it, to “just wait.”

With Musk poised to raid coffers to fund billionaire tax cuts that could make him the world’s first trillionaire, Democrats gesturing vaguely at tomato prices and assuring us of the decency of MAGA adherents isn’t going to cut it.

So, what is the “message”?

It’s the corruption, stupid.

That’s not just common sense—the party trusted to take on corruption has won every election since 2016, according to anti-corruption nonprofit End Citizens United. It’s also the clear upshot of the House battleground survey our organization conducted with partners on the cusp of Trump’s inauguration. The results were far from pretty. But they do point a clear path forward.

Here’s (some of) the battleground survey’s bad news for Democrats:

· Trump entered office with all-time high favorability ratings (51-47 overall; a jarring 57-39 among Independents)—though his approval ratings are historically low judged against anyone but himself, and his MAGA Republican agenda is well underwater.

· 69% believe “government waste” is to blame for the federal government not working for people, showcasing the devastating effectiveness of DOGE’s bad-faith “government efficiency” framework.

· Even though Americans overwhelmingly see Republicans as “serv[ing] the wealthy,” they also see them as far more “willing to tell it like it is,” and more likely “to hold people accountable.”

· Neither party has an advantage when it comes to “taking on corruption.”

Even for all the achievements they delivered under Biden, these bleak results shouldn’t surprise Democrats. After four years of abuse of power by Trump and his MAGA Republican accomplices, Democrats were largely content to let bygones be bygones. Invoking “institutional norms” and the “rule of law” with one hand, they worked across the aisle. They demonstrated none of the backbone that could have infused those abstract principles with meaning. At the end of the day, people can’t eat norms.

Perhaps no failing better distills this shortsighted appeasement strategy than former Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin’s capitulation to the MAGA oligarchy’s weaponization of the Supreme Court. During Durbin’s tenure, the Roberts Majority justices delivered win after win for the reactionary billionaires, theocrats, and Republican partisans who installed them in power. They stripped women of their fundamental right to abortion, delivered death blows to the agencies that protect Americans against corporate abuses, and handed Trump immunity and a glide path back to the throne.

Amid this, Durbin was gifted with the biggest Supreme Court corruption scandal in U.S. history—replete with billionaire-funded yacht trips and insurrectionist flag-waving imagery out of a scriptwriter’s fantasy. Just imagine what Jim Jordan would do with that kind of material. Durbin’s response? One milquetoast hearing on “ethics,” a few sternly worded letters, and a quiet deal with Clarence Thomas’s sugar daddy, real-estate magnate Harlan Crow. Zero accountability for the justices themselves.

This week, with congressional phones ringing non-stop following Musk’s hostile weekend takeover, Democrats are finally showing signs of life, drawing news cameras by railing against corruption outside USAID and Treasury headquarters. If Democrats want to win in 2026, they need to keep that up, following a playbook like the one our polling suggests will work, confronting corrupt actors head-on, loudly and relentlessly, and standing up to protect the American people with every tool available.

What does that look like in practice? A few key takeaways from our poll:

Don’t defend “the Government” at all costs. Many Americans understandably believe government is badly broken and harbor deep resentment toward institutional bureaucracy. MAGA, meanwhile, has successfully cast Democrats as defenders of a rotten status quo. As Trump and his cronies take a wrecking ball to our government, Democrats can’t keep reflexively defending it as if it’s working. They must acknowledge government dysfunction and offer a vision to make it accountable and responsive to everyday people.

Communicate on corruption early and often, showing how MAGA billionaires are poised to use taxpayer dollars to line their already bulging pockets. With neither party currently trusted on corruption, Democrats need to get out early and aggressively to claim the upper hand. It is not enough just to villainize billionaires like Musk for their wealth. It’s essential to highlight how these actors are using their outsized influence.

Most importantly, show how MAGA’s corruption harms Americans. In an environment where voters assume most politicians are corrupt, simply describing corruption and self-dealing only goes so far. Democrats need to show how Republican corruption is harming Americans, through cuts to vital programs, weakened regulations, and higher costs of living. Then fight like hell to defend them.

Corruption isn’t just a winning message. It’s the winning message—one with clear connections to the rising costs of living that have driven voters toward despondency. But for Democrats to credibly claim it, voters need to see them fighting for the people in earnest—not pretending that institutions will save us, agreeing to fast-track confirmations for Trump's loyalist cabinet members, or telling us that Trump’s bootlickers are “honorable guys.”

This isn’t just about Elon Musk. It’s about whether Democrats are willing to stand up and defend the American people—or whether they’ll let a billionaire-bought GOP gut the government and hand over the keys to the highest bidder.

The choice is clear. For all our sakes, let’s hope Democrats are willing to make it.

Alex Aronson is the Executive Director of Court Accountability Action. The organization’s newsletter can be found at Tilted Scales.