MESSAGE
| DATE | 2015-11-27 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout-NYLXS] Sil;licon Valley Republicans
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How Republicans could win back Silicon Valley
08/20/2014 06:10 AM
Silicon Valley, the economic engine of the deep blue state of
California, may be revving up for the GOP.
Last month, news surfaced that tech billionaire Sean Parker, of Napster
and Facebook fame, was writing checks to Republican candidates across
the country. The donations marked a strategic departure for Parker, who
has largely backed Democrats in the past. This isn't a blip — it's part
of a worrying trend for progressives, as Silicon Valley entrepreneurs
show an increased willingness to put aside liberal idealism not only to
side with libertarians when it comes to government snooping and
regulations in the digital world, but also to reach across party lines
to pursue their business interests in Washington. As Joel Kotkin, a
fellow in urban studies at Chapman University, puts it, "They may wear
T-shirts to work, but the tycoons of Silicon Valley are, in some
respects, J.P. Morgan's true heirs."
Silicon Valley is still widely considered a lock for Democrats. In 2012,
Obama won 84 percent of the vote in nearby San Francisco, and his
campaign relied on a team of developers and engineers to build an
effective data mining strategy to target voters. The Democratic Party is
viewed as a natural fit for techies, who tend to fall very liberal on
social issues, like same-sex marriage, and environmental causes, like
addressing climate change. But it wasn't always this way — during the
1970s and '80s, Silicon Valley regularly elected moderate GOPers. Ronald
Reagan beat Jimmy Carter in most of the counties that make up the Bay
Area in 1980.
And there's evidence that some members of Silicon Valley are reaching
out to the right again. Craig Montuori, who designed data systems for
the Chris Christie campaign in 2009 and worked in the field for Obama in
2012, and now runs a political consultancy advocating for startup
issues, says that until recently, the newest generation of startups and
tech companies viewed Washington as unrelated to their businesses, and
were happy to get caught up in idealism. But lawmakers' attempt to pass
the Stop Online Pirating Act (SOPA) in 2011 — widely seen as curbing
internet freedom — as well as aggressive Federal Trade Commission
investigations into new startups like Snapchat, are changing that view.
"Startups increasingly see that the government can and will be a
threat," Montuori says.
And that could be good news for Republicans. Mike Hudome, a conservative
media consultant who worked on John McCain's presidential campaign, says
that, "tech entrepreneurs are like any other entrepreneurs: the majority
want an environment with less government regulation." And indeed, tech
companies are strategically reaching out to GOPers on common-ground
issues like immigration and surveillance. Last year, Facebook CEO Mark
Zuckerberg co-founded FWD.us, a lobbying group that aims to pass
immigration reform that makes it easier for skilled workers to obtain
H-1B visas, among other goals. The group is backed by notable Obama
supporters, including Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and Yahoo
CEO Marissa Mayer. But FWD.us is making a concerted effort to appeal to
conservatives. Not surprisingly, progressives have slammed the group for
its tactics, which include using its subsidiary to run ads that support
the Keystone XL Pipeline and drilling in the Arctic.
Tech entrepreneurs are also finding common ground with conservatives on
government surveillance. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has met privately with
Zuckerberg and Parker, according to New York, and he was the keynote
speaker last month at an event in San Francisco hosted by Lincoln Labs.
"Paul has been leading in rallying support around 4th Amendment and NSA
issues, and he's built up quite a bit of good will in Silicon Valley
because of it," says Garrett Johnson, Lincoln Labs' co-founder.
Johnson, who worked on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee before
co-founding his own startup, launched Lincoln Labs last fall to build a
community for conservatives and libertarians in Silicon Valley. The
organization has held events sponsored by a number of major tech
companies, as well as conservative organizations like the Charles Koch
Institute. They've also been contacted by most of the expected GOP
presidential contenders. "If conservatives consider Silicon Valley
completely out of reach, they'll get what they expect," Johnson says,
adding, "The expectation can't be that you can chain a techie to a desk
during campaign season to do menial tasks. You have to engage and build
excitement about where the conservative and libertarian movement is going."
If the GOP wants to translate this momentum into votes and talent come
2016, the party will, of course, need to actually reach out to
conservative-leaning members of the tech community. (Johnson says
outside an engaged local political operation helping GOP candidates in
California, this isn't happening yet.) Candidates also need to take
guidance from tech enthusiasts like Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who
demonstrate that they care about startups and speak the language of the
digital world. And the party will need to take a page out of Paul's book
and emphasize less government intervention — not draconian drug and
marriage regulations.
"The base Republican platform on social issues remains out of line with
the views of most in the tech entrepreneurship," Montuori points out.
"At the least, the GOP will need to accept a bigger tent and be less
activist in trying to use the government to force their social views on
the country."
--
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://www.mrbrklyn.com
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/resources - Unpublished Archive
http://www.coinhangout.com - coins!
http://www.brooklyn-living.com
Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and and extermination camps,
but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
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