The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com
Sandra Caron of Orono is a retired professor and recipient of the 2019 Distinguished Maine Professor Award, and the 2023 inductee into the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame. Brenda Power of Dedham is a retired professor and recipient of the 1999 Distinguished Maine Professor Award.
Picture this. It’s a cold February morning in Augusta. Dozens of state employees are hard at work in the treasury department — collecting tax payments, reconciling balances, and sending checks and invoices out to Mainers.
Suddenly a motley crew of six young men shows up. They explain they are there on the authority of a Maine billionaire. The staff is told to surrender all state databases, including Social Security and personal banking information. These strangers also demand access to the computer code that controls all payment systems.
The staff refuses, so someone calls Gov. Janet Mills. Mills informs the staff that they must comply or resign. She threatens to send in the state police if there is any insubordination. The crew then moves air mattresses and servers to a conference room so they can work round the clock. Half the group gets to work downloading state databases onto private servers; the other half starts revising computer code to reroute funds. When state employees ask for identification and to observe what is going on, the bros give first names only and lock staff out of the building.
Sounds ridiculous? It is, because this would never happen here. One reason is that we lucked out with Maine billionaires — we’re blessed with the Alfonds, who have spent decades giving away their largesse to communities across the state. Plus Janet Mills is a stickler for the rule of law after spending years defending it as governor and state attorney general.
But it’s important to imagine this scenario, as bizarre as it sounds. It is happening right now in Washington, D.C. Elon Musk and his wrecking crew of young coders are running wild through the Treasury Department, Veterans Affairs, and scores of other federal agencies. The crew barking orders includes 19-year-old Edward Coristine (who has nicknamed himself “Big Balls”) and others nearly as young and inexperienced.
These Musk proteges are rifling through your tax data, hacking Treasury programs that route federal payments, and firing or forcing the resignation of federal employees who defy them. As you read this, they have access to the Social Security numbers of countless Mainers. They’ve revised computer programs that disburse federal funds in unknown ways for unknown purposes.
This is such a failure of government, of our system of checks and balances, that it is hard to know how to respond. The truth is, there is not much Democrats can do about it. If Donald Trump and Musk have no respect for the rule of law, and Republicans blindly follow their lead, options to stop the destruction are limited. But there are options.
Last summer, in a column published in the Bangor Daily News, Rep. Jared Golden reassured us that “democracy would be just fine” if Trump was re-elected, because Golden as an elected official would “hold Trump accountable” and “defend our democracy.” To date, there has been little response by Golden to Musk and his lawless crew other than a couple odd comments on Musk’s platform X about Musk upstaging Trump. We expect better in the midst of a constitutional crisis.
Golden owes his constituents an explanation of what steps he is taking to ensure our federal data is secure and payments will not be interrupted. He needs to tell his constituents how Congress will re-assert its authority over funding. He may not be able to control what Republicans do, but he can raise awareness of the damage that is being done. He can and should share stories of Maine agencies and individuals harmed by what’s happening.
All elected officials take an oath to support and defend the constitution. Nothing should move forward in Congress — no legislation, no budgets, no debt ceiling negotiations — until Congress reclaims its place as a co-equal branch of government. At this point, the only check on Musk is the courts, and that isn’t enough.
We’re clear-eyed about the purpose of this assault on the rule of law. Musk is hellbent on taking control of government funds, and there are trillions of dollars at stake. The end goal likely is to transfer more wealth to the already wealthy. It’s likely this will happen whether we like it or not, because Republicans control all government branches. We can only hope it happens the quaint old-fashioned way, with a big tax cut for the rich authorized by Republicans in Congress later this year. Frankly, in a world of bad options, we’d prefer that to a 19-year-old nicknamed Big Balls rerouting our Social Security checks to Elon Musk.
Jared, it’s time to honor your oath and the country you’ve so proudly served. Say something. Do something. Mainers are depending on you.
