Politics does indeed make for strange bedfellows. Sometimes the strangest. But even in these unprecedented times, some expressions of support for a Trump administration initiative, like the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), are enough to make one's eyebrows toboggan right off the top of one's skull.

Like an expression of support from Ben & Jerry's co-founder, Bernie Sanders supporter and uber-liberal Ben Cohen. 

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen threw his support behind Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with the launch of a new meme contest on Monday.

On the day of President Donald Trump’s inauguration and the establishment of DOGE, Cohen posted on X that he would be launching the "DOGE vs. Blob" website as a way of backing the department.

"Pentagon bureaucrats torch $2 million of taxpayer money every minute. In honor of @DOGE, I'm launching @dogevsblob, a meme contest highlighting the biggest gov't spender + waster. We're giving away 1,000 @dogecoin a day. If anyone can slash the Pentagon budget, @elonmusk can. Let's support him," Cohen wrote.

When I first saw this, I could only think, "Is this real?" Well, it sure looks real.

Pentagon bureaucrats torch $2 million of taxpayer money every minute. In honor of @DOGE, I'm launching @dogevsblob, a meme contest highlighting the biggest gov't spender + waster. We're giving away 1,000 @dogecoin a day. If anyone can slash the Pentagon budget, @elonmusk can.… pic.twitter.com/aHPiaiOU0f

— Ben Cohen (@YoBenCohen) January 20, 2025

Like my black-sheep maternal uncle used to say, "Well, ain't that a hell of a thing."

Ben Cohen isn't the kind of guy you'd normally expect to have anything to do with anything in the Trump administration, and granted his support of the DOGE effort seems mostly focused on Pentagon spending. It's not as though there isn't wasteful spending at the Pentagon, of course. It's just that seeing Ben Cohen working at joint purposes with Elon Musk and Pete Hegseth is remarkable, at the very least. This is a guy who has continually supported far-left political candidates, from onetime presidential candidate former  congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and here he is making common cause with Elon Musk.

These are the strangest of all possible strange bedfellows.

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Here's what's really remarkable: It's unusual in the extreme for anyone on the left to make a statement of, well, principle, but that looks like what Ben Cohen is shooting for.

In a comment to Fox Business, Cohen said, "I'm supporting an issue and I'm happy to work together with anyone else who supports that issue… I think the key to get anything done in the country is to work with people of any political persuasion where you have common ground. And that's what I'm looking to do."

Cohen and his company have often supported progressive politicians and causes, such as Ben & Jerry’s controversial July 4th tweet in 2023 calling for the U.S. to return "stolen Indigenous land."

However, Cohen has also previously voiced his disdain for U.S. involvement in Ukraine’s war with Russia and called for peace negotiations, which Musk has endorsed.

It remains to be seen what, if anything, will come out of Ben Cohen's support, but if I had Elon Musk's ear, I'd counsel caution; the old parable of the frog and the scorpion would seem to apply. If Cohen really supports the DOGE, even with limits, let him support it - from the outside. Don't give him any substantive role.

As for me, I favor our local Fred Meyer store-brand ice cream, and I'll keep on buying that. Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Ben Cohen's DOGE support aside, can remain on the shelf, thanks.