
Peter Thiel’s Politics Become a Deal-Killer in Silicon Valley - rkb555
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-24/peter-thiel-s-politics-become-a-deal-killer-in-silicon-valley
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benjohnson
My opinion: The people that bailed on Peter Thiel would have been potential
flighty partners for other reasons later on.

If someone can't abide by a business partner having a different political view
then that could indicate a rather rigid mindset - and given the fluid nature
of business, that could become a liability at some point in future.

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MBCook
There is a big difference between a different political view and the words and
actions of Donald Trump.

If it was Romney or Cruz or Rubio or almost anyone else I don't think you'd
see any of this happen.

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ashark
There's also a big difference between supporting a candidate the way a normal
person does—donate a little money, stuff some envelopes at their local
campaign office, that kind of thing—and lending them your substantial business
reputation very publicly, and donating large amounts of money to their
campaign. Said reputation and the fortune backing those donations become fair
game in the field of politics when you do something like that. Acting the part
of the big-money political oligarch-influencer draws heat and has
consequences, and it _ought_ to.

The notion that you can throw in with a campaign in this manner and expect
people to act like this is somehow disconnected from every other part of your
life, and _especially_ your business life, is absurd. They're obviously
tightly linked. It reminds me of the outrage a kid expresses when they think
they've found a way to be a jerk and not get in trouble for it, then get
called out on it by an adult.

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random_upvoter
> that kind of thing—and lending them your substantial business reputation
> very publicly, and donating large amounts of money to their campaign.

To me this just seems part of democracy. Popular ideas will get a lot of
financial support, and unpopular ideas will not get a lot of support. Have you
considered the reach, the power and the wealth of the media establishment that
is railing against Trump? I highly doubt that a million dollar is more than a
drop in this contest. If Trump should not be allowed to get substantial
financial support, why don't we simply forbid Trump to run at all?

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goalieca
There is a saying that if someone says all of their exes are crazy then it is
not them but their exes. Likewise if all of the media has conspired against
trump them perhaps trump is to blame.

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grzm
That's _it 's not their exes, it's them_, isn't it?

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MorePowerToYou
I understand the separation between business/investment realtionships and
political affiliation. Most politicians actions are relatively benign. Hence,
overlooking the political affiliation of investors with said politicians is
easy. However, there's a point when a politician is advocating for something
so egregious that supporting said politician can no longer be ignored.

Currently, Trump is "just" advocating for racism, sexism, etc. Apparently
that's sufficiently benign to ignore the investors affiliations when their
investment is large enough (at least for YC).

But what if Trump was advocating for something more egregious? Like, say,
allowing domestic police to torture suspects. There's always a line. For some,
Trump's actions have crossed that line. For others, it hasn't happened yet.

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AKrumbach
> [T]here's a point when a politician is advocating for something so egregious
> that supporting said politician can no longer be ignored.

There are no words by which I can be sufficiently emphatic in my disagreement.

Politics [whether at the national level, or "mere" office politics] is the
process of making group decisions. Democratic politics are built upon a shared
group consensus. The only way this process can be valid -- that is, to have an
outcome which accurately reflects the communal beliefs of the group -- is if
the members can express themselves unhindered by fear of repercussion.

The only response in a democratic system to ideas with which you disagree is
to argue against and persuade their audience to no longer support them. To do
otherwise is to repudiate the very premises and processes upon which modern
representative government is built.

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MorePowerToYou
This works in theory, but not in the real, messy world we live in.

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paulpauper
tired of sensationalist headlines. The are only talking about one company,
Seed fund Backstage Capital , but the headline makes it seems like it's a much
more widespread occurrence. Most companies would do anything to get backing by
Thiel

