By all accounts the 2016 conventions were historic for both the Democratic and Republican Parties. And Silicon Valley had representatives at both.
Representing the constituents of California’s 17th Congressional district was civil rights and progressive champion, Rep. Mike Honda (D). Besides addressing the California delegation, he also spoke at the Native American Caucus and the LGBTQ Caucus. At the LGBTQ Caucus he was greeted with a standing ovation and was recognized for his tireless work on LGBTQ issues.
Despite Silicon Valley companies like Apple and Hewlett-Packard withholding support from the Republican convention, Facebook board member, Peter Thiel vowed to represent American business at the convention. Facebook was quick to distance itself from the Libertarian …Pirate …”proud Republican.” Besides being a Trump delegate, Thiel is also a maxed-out donor* to Rep. Honda’s opponent, Ro Khanna.
* Warning: According to the Khanna campaign it is considered a “vicious attack” to point out the right-wing billionaire funders of his campaign. I apologize to anybody I might have offended.
The Democratic Party’s convention showcased the nomination of Hillary Clinton, the nation’s first female Presidential nominee from a major party and a smart bet to win in November. The Democrats also ratified a party platform that has been declared by many as the most progressive platform ever. Included in the platform: $15 minimum wage, expanding Social Security, improved civil rights protections for the LGBTQ community, ending corporate tax loopholes, banning private prisons, on and on.
Bordering on horrifying, the Republican convention was historically bad, with its cheesy fog machines and blatant plagiarism. The plagiarism was revealed to be irony-fortified as parts of Melania Trump’s speech were stolen directly from the Republican’s reviled foe, Michelle Obama. The Donald struggled to even find people to fill the speaking slots. Of course there was Ted Cruz who spoke, but he refused to actually endorse Trump.
It’s hard to come up with the right words to describe the Republican Party’s new platform, but extremist, regressive, and extremely repugnant is a good start. They vow to ban abortions with no exceptions, implement Bible lessons in schools, and declare coal “clean” energy. And if you are female, Muslim, Mexican, or LGBTQ, you might as well get out while you can. Even the Log Cabin Republicans called the platform, “the most anti-LGBT platform in the Party’s 162-year history.”
The Honda campaign questioned Khanna’s taking money from a Trump delegate who claimed the downfall of “capitalist democracy” was the fault of women earning the right to vote, and wondered if freedom could even survive democracy. Khanna shot back that Thiel, who gives almost exclusively to Republican candidates and Super PACs also gave to Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Sean Eldridge (D-NY). But really, the reason for Thiel’s support of Newsom and Eldridge is obvious to all except Khanna. Newsom and Eldridge may both be Dems, but they are also leaders in the LGBTQ rights movement. As a gay man himself, it wouldn’t be unexpected to see Thiel support their courage and leadership. Since Khanna is not known as a leader in the LGBTQ movement, it would be safe to assume Thiel is funding him for the same reasons Khanna is the #1 congressional candidate in the entire country with Wall Street donors.
If you are thinking about holding your breath until Ro Khanna returns Thiel’s money or publicly denounces Trump’s misogynistic and bigoted rhetoric, you may want to consider… Khanna still takes money from Guy Gecht, who was fined by the Labor Department after he was caught paying some of his workers as little as $1.21 an hour. And Dr. Kali Chaudhuri who specializes in hostile takeovers that caused physicians to accuse him of “fraud, racketeering and corruption," which threatened the health care of thousands of patients. Or the Koch connected, Stephen Schwarzman. Do I really need to go on?
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