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[SlipperyFishes]

I would be very afraid. The Oligarchy begins to take shape more clearly than it has before.

Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley billionaire and outspoken Donald Trump supporter, is considering a 2018 bid for California governor, according to three Republicans familiar with his thinking.

Thiel, who co-founded PayPal and was an early investor in Facebook, has been discussing a prospective bid with a small circle of advisers, including Rob Morrow, who has emerged as his political consigliere.

Those who have been in touch with the 49-year-old entrepreneur are skeptical that he’ll enter the race. He is a deeply private figure, and California is unfriendly territory for a Republican – particularly a pro-Trump one. The president-elect won just over 30 percent of the vote there.

But they add that Thiel has conspicuously yet to rule out a bid and that those around him continue to discuss it.

Adding fuel to the speculation: Thiel raised eyebrows this week when he granted a rare interview to the New York Times’ Maureen Dowd. In the interview, he outlined his political worldview and explained his support for Trump.(At one point, Thiel said, perhaps jokingly, that he’d be “fine” with California seceding. “I think it would be good for California, good for the rest of the country. It would help Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign,” he added.)

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/peter-thiel-california-governor-bid-233632

Orthanc my personal life if old, but fucking hell this is bad!

 

[The Technomancer]

Lol good luck with that Peter

 

[sphagnum]

Good luck winning without the Hispanic vote.

 

[xxracerxx]

Dems better vote in that election.

 

[Frozenprince]

He gets crazier by the day.

 

[Geist-]

Let's just say I doubt it.

 

[CherryWoodFuton]

Lol no

California isn't Michigan or Pennsylvania. They won't vote for a Trump ball washer

 

[Hexa]

No chance in hell he can do well in politics. He's gay, which means he isn't going to get much enthusiastic support from Republicans, while also being pretty strongly Alt-Right and a Trump supporter, so no chance with Democrats either.
His only chance of getting into government is Trump giving him a position.

 

[Nafai1123]

Fuck off you piece of shit. We don't want you, period.

 

[titiklabingapat]

I hope he runs only so he can have the loser stink on him afterwards and he isn't relevant again, ever.

 

[Username1198]

Good luck pete, I mean gtfo with that secede bs

 

[avaya]

I hope he runs only so he can have the loser stink on him afterwards and he isn't relevant again, ever.

.

 

[sphagnum]

What if it ends up being Zuckerberg vs Thiel

Oh god

 

[hipbabboom]

Good luck winning without the Hispanic vote.

People like that are often successful when they can convince the general populous that a specific group is responsible for the very thing that's wrong. It doesn't have to be the Hispanic populace he'll need to focus on to get people on his side.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Hopefully 90% of the SV transplants who worship him aren't registered to vote in CA

 

[NYR]

While everyone is writing this off, just a reminder California, arguably one of the most liberal states in the US, has only had 3 democratic governors since 1967 and for those 50 years, Dems held power for just 17 including a recall on 1 of the 3 Dems.

Anything is possible in California.

 

[studyguy]

Thiel aligning with Trump would go over like a lead balloon here in CA.
Good fucking luck. Orange County of all places voted for a Dem president for the first time since like the great depression this past year thanks to Trump.

While everyone is writing this off, just a reminder California, arguably one of the most liberal states in the US, has only had 3 democratic governors since 1967 and for those 50 years, Dems held power for just 17 including a recall on 1 of the 3 Dems.

Anything is possible in California.

You're also forgetting that CA now holds a democratic supermajority. Polls have Newsom (democrat) taking basically a run away lead with Dems and Independents, that was before the election happened and shit went sideways likely making Republicans even more unfavorable. Faulconer (repub) is in second, but that's still off by a shitload and he won't endorse Trump but he's hasn't exactly been there beating the drums against him either. Again good fucking luck.

Trump is literally the kiss of death here in CA. Fullstop.

 

[excelsiorlef]

He'd totally win in his version of an alive and healthy democracy...


You know the one where women can't vote and welfare doesn't exist

While everyone is writing this off, just a reminder California, arguably one of the most liberal states in the US, has only had 3 democratic governors since 1967 and for those 50 years, Dems held power for just 17 including a recall on 1 of the 3 Dems.

Anything is possible in California.

California has fundamentally changed demographically speaking, they just rejected Trump in far beyond blowout fashion.

Maybe a moderate Republican could win now, but Thiel isn't a moderate anything.

 

[Cat Party]

I hope he runs only so he can have the loser stink on him afterwards and he isn't relevant again, ever.

Yup. Dude would get destroyed.

 

[avaya]

While everyone is writing this off, just a reminder California, arguably one of the most liberal states in the US, has only had 3 democratic governors since 1967 and for those 50 years, Dems held power for just 17 including a recall on 1 of the 3 Dems.

Anything is possible in California.

California was not a liberal state prior to 1992. Fairly solidly Republican actually.

 

[CherryWoodFuton]

I'm down for a Musk governorship

 

[Slayven]

He is gay and he rides with the Alt Right and the GOP? Damn

 

[zashga]

Dems better vote in that election.

California dems did vote this year; that's a big part of why Trump lost the popular vote so hard. Thiel has no chance here.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

He'd totally win in his version of an alive and healthy democracy...


You know the one where women can't vote and welfare doesn't exist

Don't forget he also hates any form of libel.

 

[QuiteWhittle]

He should go ahead. I love when these ultrawealthy conservatives burn their money away in liberal states just to lose badly.

 

[sphagnum]

He is gay and he rides with the Alt Right and the GOP? Damn

The alt right is where a lot of gay Republicans seem to end up.

 

[Chichikov]

While everyone is writing this off, just a reminder California, arguably one of the most liberal states in the US, has only had 3 democratic governors since 1967 and for those 50 years, Dems held power for just 17 including a recall on 1 of the 3 Dems.

Anything is possible in California.

Just a reminder, the GOP hadn't won a statewide election since 2006. I'm not saying it's impossible, certainly not after this election, but it's going to be very hard to pull. I also think that Trump's presidency is not going to make a whole lot of Californians who voted D yearn for someone who supported him.

Hopefully 90% of the SV transplants who worship him aren't registered to vote in CA

It's not that many people. And while Silicon Valley certainly got a libertarian streak to it, in my experience, this is not as prevalent in the rank and file engineers as some people think.

 

[RPGCrazied]

Hah, no.

California would be the last state to ever turn red. Its not happening.

 

[Knuckle Sandwich]

Good luck? Democrats control everything here. Maybe if he was a celebrity.

 

[Opto]

I mean, post-2016, you gotta take these things seriously.

 

[Frozenprince]

He is gay and he rides with the Alt Right and the GOP? Damn

Self hate is real.

 

[RPGCrazied]

Self hate is real.

He is also a billionaire, most of those are Republicans. That should tell you something. Greed before anything else.

 

[Hsieh]

Thiel doesn't really have a chance in California where Trump lost 61% to 32%. This would basically a repeat of Meg Whitman's run for governor.

 

[studyguy]

Thiel doesn't really have a chance in California where Trump lost 61% to 32%. This would basically a repeat of Meg Whitman's run for governor.

Meg 'I spent $180m to lose CA' Whitman.
A lot of people were worried that she would be able to outright buy the election here through funding but god damn did that fear get sidelined.
Mind you, Jerry Brown raised something like less than 1/4th of that sum iirc all totaled up.

 

[Blader]

I suppose anything is possible, but a close Trump adviser running for governor in the most fervently anti-Trump state in the country seems like a fairly tall task. And for someone who gives so few public interviews, he has said plenty of shit that would be turned into easy attack lines for any Dem.

 

[Moonkeis]

CA, please make sure to vote.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

I can't imagine someone this close to Trump would have much of a chance in California.

 

[Angry Grimace]

I guess we've reached he point where random people with no experience get to be voted into higher office.

 

[Linkura]

LOL. That's all that needs to be said.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

How about fuck off

 

[Sweeney Tom]

California I love you, but you're our last hope

Stop him. PLEASE

 

[Byakuya769]

Lol. Go for it.

 

[RPGCrazied]

California I love you, but you're our last hope

Stop him. PLEASE

He has no chance there, like at all, even with Trump's help. California is like the most liberal out of all the states, plus don't forget Hollywood which for the most part is liberal.

 

[Officerrob]

Being a huge Trump guy is the kiss of death in a statewide race in Cali

 

[norm9]

Good luck winning without the Hispanic vote.

Prop 187 passed, so anything's possible in California.

 

[titiklabingapat]

BTW, if he runs, another billionaire will be against Thiel even if he himself isn't on the ballot: Tom Steyer. Him and his Super-PAC have been at it against Trump throughout the election cycle and continue to air ads against him.

 

[minor effort]

Hah, no.

California would be the last state to ever turn red. Its not happening.

Well, California has had plenty of Republican governors. Reagan and Schwarzenegger most famously. But this guy has way too much association wth Trump that will hurt him here.

 

[studyguy]

Prop 187 passed, so anything's possible in California.

That was in 1994 my man, the law hit an injunction not days afterwards and has never formally been enforced. Moreover we're standing in a time where we literally just issued statements that sanctuary cities will stand in the face of the Trump administration. Basically complete 180 of what that law was proposing we do for undocumented immigrants. Also we formally dismantled 187 like 3 years ago as an added fuck you to the times way back when despite the fact that we didn't even need to.

 

[Ithil]

Well, California has had plenty of Republican governors. Reagan and Schwarzenegger most famously. But this guy has way too much association wth Trump that will hurt him here.

California was a very different state when Reagan was governor.

 

[Got]

That'll be a nice boost to the economy. Thanks for the free money shitbag,