Silicon Valley Politics

I really can't call this a "centrist" story, but it's about people who would appear to most of the country as moderates, in a confusing sort of way. This article by Churchill Club founder Rich Karlgaard in today's Opinion Journal profiles the unique politics of Silicon Valley. I would say that he has it pretty accurately. Valley politics doesn't fit into the neat boxes that most use to categorize political thought, so I guess it does relate to my idea of centrism, which is driven by a sense that the old labels are obsolete. Most astutely Karlgaard observes that the driving force in Valley culture, disruption of the old paradigm, is also the common element in Valley politics, where the incumbent is always wrong.

Silicon Valley has not changed. It's a mistake to make much of its politics. True enough, the Valley can mimic a respectable political language--if only to snag Davos invitations or to keep Washington off its back. In their souls, Valley businesspeople are wild libertarian crazies who want nothing more than to forget the Beltway even exists. The news is full of talk about the great divide between political left and right. Silicon Valley could care less. The axis that counts here is incumbent vs. disrupter.

Incumbents are the bad guys. They are Microsoft, Gray Davis, Hollywood studios, telephone companies, big pharma and Social Security. Disrupters are Google, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Napster, WiFi, biotech and personal savings accounts. Incumbents are big, slow, rude and authoritarian. Disrupters are nimble, new, cute and libertarian.

I was personally pleased to see his mention of Former California Congressman Ed Zschau, who was a personal favorite of mine. I got very involved and enthusiastic about this candidate and was seriously shaken when the State Republicans blundered away his Senate bid (Then they did it again six years later with Tom Campbell.) Perhaps my Radical Centrism is a hope that the politics of the Valley will finally get some traction.

As a bonus, here's a treat from Karlgaard's "10-point primer on Valley politics":

In Washington, Republicans are the daddy party and Democrats are the mommy party. But out here, Republicans are the hardware party and Democrats are the software party. Intel's Mr. Barrett and Cisco's John Chambers sell gadgets and vote Republican. Google's Eric Schmidt and Oracle's Larry Ellison sell vapor and vote Democrat.

There's some truth in that, although some exceptions as well. Another way to look at it. Hardware is "old money" and software is "new money."