
Peter Thiel’s Embrace of Trump Has Silicon Valley Squirming - hvo
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/21/technology/peter-thiels-embrace-of-trump-has-silicon-valley-squirming.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=span-ab-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
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wturner
From Peter Thiels perspective its a smart move because he's the only one
willing to do something this crazy. This gives him a "monopoly" (as he likes
to say) on political access as it relates to the tech world if Trump wins. In
short it looks like a bet. Personally I find Trump an archetype of everything
I'm trying to get away from in life.... but that is not the point. Also this
is just my opinion and maybe their is no greater agenda and Peter Thiel just
likes him.

~~~
mark_l_watson
+1 good comment! I read Thiel's Zero to One book twice, and you might have
nailed the reason.

BTW, off topic, but this campaign is crazy. I don't like either Clinton or
Trump, and have mentioned to friends and family that I will leave the
presidential part of the ballot in November blank or vote for Jill Stein. It
just seems wrong to me to vote for someone I simply don't like. For this
honesty, I have several friends who are all over my case for 'wasting my
vote.'

~~~
Miner49er
Your vote actually counts for more, at least in non-swing states. If Stein
gets 5% of the popular vote (not electoral collage) the Green party gets
funding next election and more recognition as a party. It's the first step to
ending the two party system. You're right to vote who you like best, not who
you think actually has a chance to win.

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carsongross
There are quite a few Trump supporters in the Valley, but they simply stay
quiet because they will get 'racist' yelled at them and it will potentially
hurt their careers.

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pbreit
Don't you think being a Trump supporter =should= hurt most people's careers?
It's pretty poor judgment, for starters.

~~~
googlryas
Pat, that is a pretty disgusting thing to say. Please reconsider if political
viewpoints are worthy of career punishment.

~~~
serge2k
They aren't... but can we make an exception?

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jscott0918
This is interesting to me. The lack of diversity in the tech industry is
definitely something that will be harmful in the long run. Diversity is
necessary to improve the relevance of new ideas in tech and to promote them to
broader audiences from different cultures.

The trend towards making a pariah out of anyone with opposing points of view
can be equally harmful to promoting diversity of thought. Making people afraid
of speaking their minds can hardly help the flow of new ideas or positively
impact the industry. While I likely don't agree with the political ideology of
a speaker at the RNC, I definitely agree with the right of anyone to do so
without being held captive by the threat of activism at home. Boycotting and
protesting people with different political views may feel good in the short
run, but it is unhelpful to promoting freedom and equality in the long run.

If they can't say what I find reprehensible today, how do I know that views I
hold dear will be "allowed" in the future?

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rsmckinney
Wait. What does the relevance of a new idea have to do with the ethnic
composition of the people with the idea? Isn't that a racist statement?
Fascinating.

My favorite part about the liberal mind are its obvious contradictions and,
thus, the unintended consequences of its thought process.

~~~
rm_-rf_slash
Declaring a general fault in a <EntityType>'s mind isn't often the best way to
endear the neutral or opposed to your point of view.

~~~
rsmckinney
Anothet characteristic of the liberal mind: it cannot be endeared to an
alternate point of view.

------
anonymousguy
The Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson might set a record this year for
highest votes attained by a third party candidate.

~~~
harryh
Perot got 18.9% of the popular vote in 1992. Gonna be tough to beat.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_ele...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1992)

~~~
anonymousguy
He is at 13% now and needs only to be at 15% to enter the national spotlight
of increased media coverage and access to the general debates. His polling
numbers are increasing with a notable momentum as general support of the
Republican candidate and Democratic candidate are both at all time lows.

As long as the majority of voters think of Trump as a broke racist narcissist
and Clinton as an apathetic or unethical elitist he may well have a chance.

[http://heatst.com/politics/gary-johnsons-polling-numbers-
rea...](http://heatst.com/politics/gary-johnsons-polling-numbers-reach-all-
time-high/)

~~~
harryh
13% huh? That's a bit better than I thought. Definitely sounds like he has a
shot of making it to 15%. I'm all for it. I'd love to have him in the debates.
I really liked this ad they made:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHEpTh3kqR8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHEpTh3kqR8)

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sudokoheck
Shame on Thiel. Robert Reich - "

Yesterday, Trump argued that the United States should investigate every
American who practices Islam. "We really have to look at profiling," Trump
told CBS's "Face the Nation." And that the government should investigate
mosques in the U.S.

Never before has a major party’s presumptive nominee for president of the
United States urged that an entire religion be singled out for investigation.
Each day, it seems, Trump comes closer to the fascism America went to war
against in 1941. Why doesn’t Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, and every Republican
leader withdraw their endorsement of him and disavow this hatefulness? To
nominate this bigot for the highest office in America is a slap in the face of
American values, constitutional rights, and the pluralism America stands for.
Trump must be dumped. "

" One by one, Republican leaders are falling in line behind a man who says
undocumented workers “bring drugs, crime, they’re rapists;” who claimed
“thousands and thousands” of Muslims in New Jersey celebrated the Twin Towers
collapsing; who says black criminals are responsible for 81 percent of
homicides against whites, which turns out to be a racist myth from white
supremacist website; who tells a Jewish group "I'm a negotiator, like you
folks;" who bullies, humiliates, and threatens his opponents, including a
federal judge now hearing a case against one of his businesses; who suggested
President Obama wasn’t born in the United States, that childhood vaccinations
cause autism, and that human-caused climate change is a hoax; and whose
hateful and demeaning attitude toward women is best summed up in an interview
where he said “women, you have to treat them like shit.”

By falling into line behind Trump, Republican leaders are lending legitimacy
to such hatefulness, bigotry, and lies. Shame on them. "

~~~
mark_l_watson
I don't disagree with you (I refuse to vote for Trump or Clinton).

It was interesting to hear the the Muslim speaker at the republican convention
last night. I didn't think that his speech was so good but later he made some
nice points on a CNN interview. Anyway, I was surprised to see him as a
speaker.

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xiaoma
"Courage is in even shorter supply than genius."

-Peter Thiel

~~~
Apocryphon
"A witty saying proves nothing." \- Voltaire

~~~
xiaoma
That's why Peter Thiel not only speaks intelligently but also takes action.
While I have serious misgivings about the move, I stand in awe of the courage
he has. I suspect it comes from the same reservoir he drew from to invest in
SpaceX over a decade ago when it looked _insane_ to people, or to start
Paypal. I don't always agree with the man, but I have tremendous respect for
both his genius _and_ his courage.

~~~
Apocryphon
Sure. But those accomplishments have nothing to do with his pro-Trump views.

~~~
xiaoma
It's not about having a given view.

Doing what you believe when most your peers agree with you is easy. It's about
having a view, knowing it's unpopular and _still_ having the courage to
publicly state it and face the mob that is extraordinary.

People who do that sometimes change the world (and other times get burnt at
the stake).

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intopieces
Given the libertarian/Randian streak that runs through silicon valley, support
for Trump doesn't seem too outlandish. Especially when you consider his non-
dedication to the typical right-wing 'family values' that aren't really
popular in that region of California.

~~~
maratd
> Given the libertarian/Randian streak that runs through silicon valley,
> support for Trump doesn't seem too outlandish.

What? Exactly what libertarian values does Trump espouse?

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goodcitizen147
Decreased regulation, meritocratic systems, and property rights

Why is this being downvoted?

~~~
api
When he says things like "I will force company X to do Y" I find it hard to
take him seriously as a small government or pro-property-rights candidate.

My personal prediction is that if elected he will grow the size of government
dramatically, quite likely more than Sanders would have if elected and
certainly more than Clinton (who is the "conservative" candidate in this
election if that means status quo). He will also grow the _power_ of
government, which is more important and significant.

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spraak
> After that, he suggested, things went south because, among other things,
> women were given the right to vote.

Wow, does Peter Thiel really think that women shouldn't be allowed to vote?

~~~
oh_sigh
That doesn't necessarily follow, but I'm curious to hear the answer. You can
think people should be allowed to do something, but that them doing that thing
is harmful.

For example, look at all the people that lamented the fact that plebs voted
for Brexit. A lot of anti-democracy talk around the time of that vote.

~~~
crusso
That's a good point about Brexit because I noted even here on HN a great deal
of overt resentment toward people who are older who largely voted #leave - as
though their votes were less valid because of their age.

~~~
sevenless
That is a reasonable point if you consider Brexit is a hard-to-reverse
decision. Older voters have to live with the consequence of their vote for
much less long, and unlike an ordinary political vote, the outcome can't be
reversed in another five years. Older voters have a different balance of
interests between "Stick it up the bureaucrats to blow steam off" and
"Irreversibly change the UK's relationship with Europe" than younger voters.

Maybe we should've weighted votes by projected life expectancy...

On the other hand, the vote also affects people who can't vote or aren't even
born yet, and there's no weighting system that can deal with that. Maybe
that's a reason not to have referenda on these sorts of questions.

~~~
crusso
If older people make voting decisions based upon a decreased impact in long-
term consequences, how does that square with the statistically provable
riskier behavior engaged in by younger people? If anything, I find that older
people care more about the long term because they tend to think in terms of
impacts on their progeny. It's just as likely that older people have decades
of experience from when the UK was not a member of the EU and have relevant
experience that tells them that the UK will be just fine without the EU. There
are dozens of ways to spin it and show that older people might have a better
perspective on a given issue.

But this is exactly the kind of cherry-picking arguing that healthy societies
shouldn't indulge in. Women have the basic human right of being able to vote.
As do old people. We respect everyone's right to vote despite the fact that
people tend to vote in their self-interests and aren't always that logical in
doing so.

 _Maybe we should 've weighted votes by projected life expectancy..._

Is that a joke? I'm hoping that's a joke.

~~~
serge2k
> If anything, I find that older people care more about the long term because
> they tend to think in terms of impacts on their progeny

That's why Millenials are currently thriving and have such immense gratitude
to the boomer generation for forward thinking policies that ensured prosperity
going forward.

Or not.

~~~
oh_sigh
100% agreed. Everything is someone else's fault. Nothing is ever my fault.

Because someone had it easy by a fluke of luck, I deserve to have it easy too,
and if I don't, that is that persons fault.

------
joesmo
Maybe he's betting on Trump bringing Palantir more business with the
concentration camps Trump plans to build. Or he might just be a stupid, racist
asshole who can relate to Trump and enjoys others' suffering. Who knows what
makes scumbags like this tick?

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a2tech
They're uncomfortable with him supporting Trump but fine with him using his
billions to underwrite legal campaigns against people he doesn't like?

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tc313
I would think that if any major voting bloc were to turn against Silicon
Valley, it'd be Trump's populist base.

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heifetz
why is he even considering supporting a party that views homosexuality as a
sin?

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goodcitizen147
> Mr. Thiel will have a direct line to a chief executive who hints at a
> penchant for making big things happen for his supporters.

Look at this masterfully subtle insinuation that Trump will be corrupt.

The NY Times never fails to impress.

> This year there was an opportunity for a Republican to make overtures to
> tech — but with Mr. Trump, that chance seems to have passed.

>[...]

>it almost seems like he’s gone out of his way to smite Silicon Valley leaders
on the issues they care about,

Yes, like bringing in scores of cheap H1Bs as veritable indentured servants
(their right to reside in the country is is tied to their employer). This
drives down wages – of course SV VCs and founders want this.

Of course the NY Times does not elaborate at all on this point

> “As a black guy in Silicon Valley, I just find it very hard to support a
> candidate who has been called racist,” Mr. Johnson said.

Oh my god

~~~
crispyambulance
Well, it is not surprising why Thiel supports Trump: SELF INTEREST. It _has_
to be.

Thiel seems like a remarkably smart guy who would never fall for the fool BS
coming out "The Donald's" mouth. He must be in it for the influence he can
leverage out of the orangutan-man from being a delegate, an influential SV
player and and sizable donor.

What will really be interesting is the (what I expect to be) PURE pandering
baloney he gives during his speech at the RNC. Obviously, he can't just say
"the real reason" he supports Trump.

Pass the popcorn, its going to be interesting.

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James001
He's not a murderer, unlike the other option

~~~
dang
Please don't do this here.

We detached this comment from
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12130976](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12130976)
and marked it off-topic.

~~~
davidw
Probably, any thread with 'Trump' or 'Hillary' is going to get bad, fast.
Everyone has an opinion on them.

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daveqr
Good.

~~~
Apocryphon
Why?

