Mastodawn

Ed Brown Apr 13

People minimizing Orbán’s defeat in #Hungary through voting, and claiming that the same can’t be done to Donald Trump: Remember that Orbán was in power for SIXTEEN YEARS, that is, 2.5× LONGER than Trump. He had more than twice the time Trump has had to intimidate, corrupt, and destroy Hungary’s systems of voting. And yet, voting unseated him.

PLEASE do not preemptively give up on voting. Voting still works in the US, and it is quite likely that our voting infrastructure will far outlive Trump and his destructive party.

Authoritarians rely on a perceived popular mandate to continue their abuse. Voting can decisively deny them that mandate. Do not give up prematurely.

VOTE. VOTE. VOTE.

Vote in numbers too massive to ignore.

Check your registration well before Election Day to be sure you're still on the roll.

Bruce Mirken Apr 12

@drahardja True. Also true: Be prepared in case a desperate and cornered Trump tries something crazy and dangerous.

Orion Ussner kidder Apr 13

@drahardja Yes.

And then, once the Democrats are in power, do NOT let them sleep until they prosecute everyone anywhere near the Republican party who aided in Trump's lawbreaking and ban the party itself.

Otherwise, they will just run again in the next election. It's not over until you show them they can't do this again.

Magnus Ahltorp Apr 13

@OrionKidder @drahardja Yes, every elected person is just a starting point for the activism.

The activism is easier with a better (or less bad) candidate, but it is still the activism that gets you there.

Running a marathon is much easier if you only need to run half of it, without lead weights, and if you only have to avoid a few death squads along the way instead of one every 100 metres. Heck, even half of the death squads would be nice.

@OrionKidder @drahardja Exactly. Follow-through is essential. Even better: make sure the Democrats are new ones, and/or DSA. With few exceptions the old ones have failed so badly they shouldn't be let anywhere near the levers of power; their hunger for the corporate teat, and ingrained tendency to appeasement, runs far too deep.

@OrionKidder @drahardja Have you noticed that Trump promised to prosecute a lot of Democrats going to back to Hillary "You'd be in jail" Clinton in 2016, and did not do it?

The Democrats might go after Trump and his family - they are outsiders and need to be punished for trespassing in the political club - but other club member Republicans are off limits just like club member Democrats were.

related:

https://mas.to/@Techaltar/116393412483853913

TechAltar (@[email protected])

Fidesz' massive defeat comes despite: - multiple active Russian disinformation campaigns - the US government actively supporting Fidesz - Fidesz owning the majority of TV & radio stations + newspapers - Fidesz having gerrymandered the crap out of the country - many documented cases of voter suppression & paying disinfrenchised voters for support - Fidesz pouring unprecedented $$$ into their campaign Feeling a little proud of my country for the first time in a while 🇭🇺

mas.to

Nicole Parsons Apr 13

In addition to voting, try to reduce the fascist fossil fuel funding that elevates goons like Fico, Orban, & Trump.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/01/politics/elon-musk-2024-election-spending-millions

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-rfk-billionaire-timothy-mellon-100-million-super-pacs-1235043814/

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/100-million-did-trump-accept-161713895.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/20/us/politics/koch-network-2024-election-trump.html

As with Assad & Yanukovych, follow the money and erode the financial corruption too.

Go after their tech proxies too.
Pop the AI bubble and soon.
Ditto cryptocurrency.

1/

Elon Musk spent more than $290 million on the 2024 election, year-end FEC filings show

Elon Musk spent a total of more than $290 million on the 2024 election, new federal filings show, boosting President Donald Trump and Republicans in a staggering effort that has helped to secure unprecedented access for the world’s richest person in the new administration.

CNN

Nicole Parsons Apr 13

2/

They all need investigation.

1. SpaceX $288,723,409
2. Adelson Clinic/Miriam Adelson $146,881,700
3. Uline Inc $146,027,201
4. Citadel LLC $108,669,316
5. Susquehanna International Group $101,468,362
6. Andreessen Horowitz $89,036,553
7. Empower Parents PAC $82,500,000
8. Coinbase $79,008,020
9. Elliott Management $68,846,510
10. Securing American Greatness $67,558,284
11. Senate Leadership Fund $67,445,300
12. Club for Growth $59,846,594
13. Koch Inc $49,092,685

Nicole Parsons Apr 13

3/

Focus attention on the public corruption of these entities.

14. Blackstone Group $48,609,890
15. Stand Together Chamber of Commerce $44,801,948
16. Restoration PAC $41,168,363
17. Crownquest Operating $35,752,512
18. Bigelow Aerospace $34,991,590
19. Building America's Future $33,670,000
20. Stephens Inc $27,343,518
21. British American Tobacco $26,175,838
22. American Prosperity Alliance $22,549,000
23. Manzanita Management Group $22,159,143

Nicole Parsons Apr 13

4/

These entities need to be outed.

24. America First Action/America First Policies $21,724,798
25. Mountaire Corp $21,375,080
26. Reyes Holdings $21,192,607
27. Energy Transfer LP $19,321,695
28. Hendricks Holding Co $19,306,538

https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/top-organizations

Who are the Biggest Organization Donors?

Who are the biggest organizations donors in the 2024 election cycle? See the details.

OpenSecrets

Nicole Parsons Apr 13

5/

Fund a Fascist & Find Out.

1. Elon Musk $291,482,587
2. Timothy Mellon $197,047,200
3. Miriam Adelson $148,304,900
4. Richard Uihlein $143,498,936
5. Ken Griffin $108,402,284
6. Jeff Yass $101,128,680
7. Paul E. Singer $66,800,800
8. Marc Andreessen $42,365,113
9. Stephen Schwarzman $40,202,039
10. Timothy Dunn $35,780,200
11. Rob Bigelow $34,991,500
12. Diane Hendricks $33,165,417
13. JJ Ricketts $32,273,650
14. Shirley W. Ryan $32,198,116

Nicole Parsons Apr 13

6/

These people fund sedition & coup attempts.

15. Warren A. Stephens $25,895,650
16. Isaac & Laura Perlmutter $25,344,890
17. Vince & Linda McMahon $23,961,659
18. Ronnie & Nina Cameron $21,372,500
19. Jan Koum $20,855,091
20. Thomas Klingenstein $17,410,263
21. Rob Walton $17,572,601
22. Janet J. Duchossois $16,306,033
23. Howard W. Lutnick $16,503,667
24. Kelcy L. Warren $16,151,105
25. Walter W. Buckley Jr. $15,522,500
26. Thomas Peterffy $14,305,900
27. Anthony Pratt $14,000,000

Nicole Parsons Apr 13

7/

28. Sherrilyn Fisher $13,299,894
29. David Millstone $13,413,486
30. Lynne Walton $13,037,750
31. Charles Schwab $12,801,600
32. Stephen Wynn $12,518,750
33. Anthony Lomangino $9,529,705
34. J. Christopher Reyes $9,536,425
35. Jay Winters Faison $9,084,324
36. James Davis $8,497,854
37. John W. Childs $8,694,286
38. Patricia Duggan $8,446,099
39. Richard G. Haworth $7,500,800
40. Marc J. Rowan $8,721,299
41. Jeffrey Specher, Kelly Loeffler $7,052,013
42. John L. Nau III $7,030,556

Nicole Parsons Apr 13

8/

43. John & Shannon V. Addison $6,757,065
44. Robert H. Book $6,986,387
45. Susan Fox $6,687,414
46. Patricia Perkins-Leone $6,606,600
47. Jeffrey Hildebrand $6,508,389
48. Bernard Marcus $9,397,150
49. Steve Brodie $6,481,298
50. Daniel Newlin $6,063,928
51. Trevor D. Rees-Jones $5,765,124
52. Ross & Sarah Perot $5,643,416
53. Harold C. Simmons $5,596,530
54. Kelly Navarro $5,373,100
55. Alice Walton $10,248,000
56. Rob Granieri $5,587,899

https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/biggest-donors

Who are the Biggest Donors?

Who are the biggest donors in the 2024 election cycle? See the details.

OpenSecrets

Chuck Darwin Apr 13

@Npars01
Who are the biggest doners?
@mastoreaderio unroll please

Masto Reader Apr 13

@cdarwin here's the unrolled thread: https://mastoreader.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fc.im%2F%40cdarwin%2F116394673361342000

Next time, kindly set the visibility to 'Mentioned people only' and mention only me (@mastoreaderio). This ensures we avoid spamming others' timelines and threads unless you intend for others to see the unrolled thread link as well.

Thank you!

Masto Reader

@drahardja A victory for Hungary and the EU, a lifeline for Ukraine, another nail in Trump's coffin and an overdue setback for Putin. Great news!

TheNovemberFella ✊🏳️‍🌈 🇺🇦☸️🛰️🚀Apr 13

@drahardja 👍💯👍

Evelyn Octavia Apr 13

@drahardja first, good job to hungarian people! Second, if they can do it, then the US citizens can as well. Good luck for the 3rd November midterm elections!

Sobri | Zoe (she/her)Apr 13

@drahardja he lost!! Lets go!!

Allan Svelmøe Hansen Apr 13

@drahardja It's a great example that voting matters.
If fewer people had showed up, I'm sure Orban would have been more reluctant to give up, if at all.

@drahardja Orbàn put a heck of a lot of structural obstacles in the way to try and stay in power. Those kinds of structures are very difficult to establish in the US: the voting system is local, not centralised. I recommend for disenchanted Americans to vote like their lives depend on it to prevent further attempts by Trump and his cronies. Don't give up when you have power. Vote in all elections.

(corrected typo)

Paul Healey Apr 13

@drahardja If fascists can turn two party democracies into authoritarian cults, why not ‘The people, …turn it into diverse interests having democratic rights? By that I mean take away fascists power so non-renewable military interests can no longer drive inequality and injustice. With that they will no longer have the means to threaten us with their ultra violent Empires and their death cults. As should now be clear, that only favours an ever diminishing few who get to live in obscene luxury. Republic Sovereignty is always greater than the antitrust monopolies of Corporate Sovereignty! #PhilosophyOfRight #Democracy #Philosophy #PeoplePower

llanciawn Apr 13

@drahardja Now we need to [Or]ban Putin, Trump, Netanyahu, and Edrogan.
Seek out and destroy fascism, and insist government be secular.

Burr Deming Apr 13

@drahardja
Thank you for this.

Daughter of Discord Apr 13

Peter Magyar is a genocidal Zionist. This is not a great accomplishment. Replacing a right-winger with a right-winger will only lead us farther down the road to fascism. Which is exactly what happened when we replaced Trump with a rightwing racist Dixiecrat who was in the Ku Klux Klan and who mass murdered poor people in America with his horrific economic policy and then funded and armed the worst genocide any of us have ever seen.

Voting has progressively made things absolutely worse with each new asshole we elect.

Burn it all down