[eesmith]

The CEO of Ford doesn't claim to be a socialist of any flavor. Nearly all of Hackett's contributions have gone to Republicans, with only a couple to Democrats. (According to opensecrets.org .)

It is indeed a fact that a company may donate to both Democrats and Republicans to garner influence with whomever wins. Quoting from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk : "Musk further stated, "in order to have your voice be heard in Washington, you have to make some little contribution"". Quoting from https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1018333202140680192 "a reasonable amount to maintain an open dialogue".

That may be true. If so, isn't it a sign of how the system is rigged in favor of rich? The complaint for decades has been that both major parties are in the pocket of large businesses and rich people - doesn't this support that view?

Who listens to those of us who can't drop tens of thousands dollars to participate in the dialogue?

FWIW, the Sierra Club number is more like 150x, not 20x - https://thinkprogress.org/elon-musk-house-gop-contributions-... says "Michael Brune, said on Twitter that Musk has donated $6 million to Sierra Club’s climate advocacy."

[mc32]

It seems to me this "purity" test many progressives are using is getting too close to the kinds of tests a few bad movements which destroyed millions of lives and put civilization behind a few decades.

Basically any deviation is labeled as "not being Marxist enough". They are following this similar path. It's not good. Mao, Stalin and to a degree mr Xi is doing this. It's as if progressives who demand this purity are completely unawares of this.

[eesmith]

Really? Do you have any solid basis for this hypothesis? Are you really calling me a supporter of totalitarian absolutism because I'm sympathetic with the expressed outrage against Musk?

To start, what does Marxism have to do with any of this?

Aren't there any number of closer equivalences you could have used, without the specter of government-run mass murder? What about RINO - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_In_Name_Only , or the other way, an appeal to the 'big tent'? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_tent ?

(The latter links to 'Multi-tendency', described as 'Multi-tendency political organisations, especially left-wing groups, accommodate members who are affiliated or identify with different political ideologies, agendas, interests or perspectives.' Odd, isn't it, that it highlights how left-wing groups are more accomodationist?)

Isn't it a pretty normal behavior to expect a higher standard from those one thinks are friends or allies?

Might it be that Musk's claims of being a socialist actually are based in a poor understanding of socialism, and that he makes a show of being left-leaning while his actions stay firmly in the middle of the Overton window?

It seems that any of those are a more likely interpretation than what you propose.