When the Magnificent Seven, America’s top tech companies, shed more than US$1 trillion in a single trading session, the usual question returned: is artificial intelligence (AI) a bubble? Yet as global headlines are transfixed by the personal and governance crises shaking Silicon Valley’s titan icons, that debate is already stale.
Separate technology from stock prices and a harder truth emerges: multitrillion-dollar empires cannot merely survive on founder mythology and self-policing. The public is asking who bears the risk, and who gets a say.
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| Wearing the Poppy scarf Jing bought me at the Australian War Memorial, this September |
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy.”
… ruin their estates, while enticing and corrupting the common people in every possible way. By which means when, in their senseless mania for reputation, they have made the populace ready and greedy to receive bribes, the virtue of democracy is destroyed… For the mob, habituated to feed at the expense of others, and to have its hopes of a livelihood in the property of its neighbours, as soon as it has got a leader sufficiently ambitious and daring… produces a reign of mere violence.
Dot-point summary of main points from Adam Carolla on Triggernometry (“The Winning Message in Politics Is Envy,” ~Nov 7 2026, post-midterms).
• Midterms outcome: Democrats won the House and Senate, erasing the broad Republican gains from Trump’s 2024 win (presidency + both chambers). Carolla sees the political environment as bleak.
• Winning message today is free stuff / envy: The most effective electoral pitch is “we’re going to get you a bunch of free shit” (free benefits, free bus rides, etc.) framed as dignity. Carolla argues this is insidious: it breeds dependency and envy rather than aspiration. Government support makes someone a “super loser” (worse than living off parents in your 30s). The old message of “work hard and you can be like the successful guy with the Mercedes” has flipped to “find a rock to throw at the Mercedes.”
• Old vs. current political messages: Previously the winning formula was tough on crime, lower taxes, better schools, secure borders, and jobs. Now it is free stuff, vague “freedom and dignity,” open-border/abolish-ICE style appeals, plus anti-Trump/anti-America sentiment. Public transit free rides are cited as an example of pointless handouts.
• Iran War is secondary: Carolla is ambivalent. He notes the long history of misguided foreign interventions and can’t fully tell what’s real. In principle it would be good if Iran were no longer a problem; a leader doing something necessary but unpopular (even at electoral cost) can be the heroic choice. However, if the necessity is unclear, that defense fails. He is not fully defending Trump.
• Economy is the bigger driver of Republican losses: “It’s the economy more than the war.” If grocery and everyday prices were lower, people would keep voting Republican. War costs hit ordinary people at the pump, grocery store, and restaurants and cannot be hidden. Other irritants include ICE raids, the Israel alliance, failure to end the Russia-Ukraine war, and perceived ambivalence on AI.
• Democratic pitch that works: Safety, free stuff, fear of AI and data centers, and an ever-expanding state. These sell better in the current climate than traditional competence or growth messages.
• Dignity, skills, and free stuff: Government “taking care of you” does not create dignity—it undermines it. Real dignity comes from practical skills, meaningful work, and accepting risk. Free-stuff policies have unintended consequences that erode that.
• Taxes, “fair share,” and redistribution: Discussion of who actually pays a fair share, wealth redistribution, and how envy of successful people shapes voter attitudes. Politicians stoke resentment rather than aspiration.
• Unintended consequences: Politicians should weigh the side effects of policies (dependency, eroded work ethic, etc.) instead of just the immediate electoral appeal.
The conversation is Carolla’s characteristic blunt, common-sense style applied to why “free stuff + envy” currently outperforms traditional conservative messaging, with the post-midterm losses attributed more to prices and everyday economic pain than any single foreign-policy decision.
U.S. — Democrats proudly announced that they had already delivered on their campaign promise to improve affordability, having made stock prices far, far cheaper in just a few days.
Only two days after the midterms, Democrats had succeeded in reducing the total cost of stocks by historic amounts, making good on their vows.
"This is what it looks like to deliver for the American people," said Representative Hakeem Jeffries, holding up a chart to show how much cheaper stocks are now. "In just 48 hours, we managed to cut the price of stocks by a collective $2.9 trillion. If we can do that in two days, just imagine what we can accomplish over the next four years. Promises made... promises kept!"
Millions of Americans cheered the landmark accomplishment, overjoyed that the Democratic Party had so quickly followed through on its campaign promise. "Finally, politicians who actually get things done," said local man Gregory Tharp, looking at the crashing market prices. "These are real results, ones you can actually see when you look at your retirement account. This is why America voted for change."
At publishing time, the New York Stock Exchange had temporarily halted trading to give Americans a chance to recover from all the savings.
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"Israel lives in a region where if they are not afraid of you, you must be afraid of them. We are surrounded by barbarians. None of which have had success anywhere near that of Israel. Israel does it by following its own judgment and being very wary of advice from elites in the West. The media, the academy, the politicians, continue to give Israel gratuitous, often palpably incorrect advice. If they do, we ignore it. We are not moved by an editorial in the New York Times.""We live in a region where they want to make war on Israel, but don't, because they can't afford to. They can't afford to because they know that if they attack Israel, they end up like Gaza. So if we did not do Gaza, we would be in more wars."
Says Andrew McCarthy.
You can tell yourself that Tuesday was all about the Iran war or the tariffs. The cold truth, however, is that American voters previously turned on Democrats because the Joe Biden they championed did not appear to be functioning as president — and they didn’t like it; and this week, they turned on Republicans because the Donald Trump they champion has turned the presidency into something they don’t recognize — and they don’t like it.
”The GOP’s Midterm Annihilation Comes Down to One Factor.”
Gotta say. Trump 47 was way crazier than Trump 45. And getting crazier.
So that even those who voted him on the “lesser of two evils” principle— less evil than a Democratic Party being driven jihadi-communists — were appalled by the shenanigans.
SEE ALSO:
The Bee Weekly Roundup.
The venerable conservative outlet National Review is full-on attacking Trump. His Tariffs, his Iran war, his Gas prices, his Corruption…
E.G.:
…from the Democratic landslide.
Thoughts from The Bee:
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| Every single Demo goes Bluer |
What to do about this Blue Wave? Here's some ideas, thanks to the Bee:
What To Do If Your Side Loses The Election
Look familiar?
Churchill: "Appeasement be like feeding the crocodile, hoping he'll eat you last...".
SACRAMENTO, CA — California Governor Gavin Newsom came out in support of Alaska senate candidate Mary Peltola, saying Democrats would never intentionally subvert the election process and also he had legally changed his name to Donald J. Trump.
"Unlike Donald J. Trump, Democrats don't try to undermine the integrity of our democracy by subverting the election process," Newsom said. "And by the way, I have changed my name to Donald J. Trump. It's a new me, for a new era."
According to "Mr. Trump", he just felt like it was time for a change. "Look, my tenure as California Governor is almost over. It's time for a new chapter — and a new name to go with it," he said.
When asked why he chose the name Donald J. Trump, he replied, "No reason."
Republicans pounced on the man formerly known as Gavin Newsom, accusing the governor of trying to confuse the American people. "We all know what this is really about: the presidency," said Vice President JD Vance. "Well, I have news for Donald J. Trump. I already called dibs and that's binding in court."
Trump hit back: "This isn't a case of Stella getting her groove back," he said. "This is my life. He's trying to steal my life, believe me. What a snake." To which Trump retorted that Trump has Trump Derangement Syndrome.
"I don't know what the big deal is," said Trump. "It's a completely different name. He's Donald John Trump and I'm Donald Jason Trump. Completely different."
At publishing time, to even things out, Donald Trump changed his name to Gavin Newscum.
H/t: The Bee
