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“Too Quiet for Comfort”: Did Silicon Valley Botch the Recall?

Chamath Palihapitiya at TechCrunch Disrupt 2013
Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for TechCrunch
Theodore Schleifer
September 2, 2021

When I last wrote about the rift in Silicon Valley over recalling Gavin Newsom, I predicted that the campaign would be a frivolous late-summer distraction, enabled by the toxic cocktail of a bored post-Trump media, a healthy dose of G.O.P. hubris, and the occasionally irresistible instinct of the Republic of California to lurch for the recall button. So let me begin this column with a big-hearted, old-fashioned, Mark Zuckerberg-style mea culpa: I promise to do better, Senator.

Back in June, Newsom seemed safe and secure, denying voters and donors much of a reason to worry about the race. But the calculus has since changed. The Delta variant has unleashed new waves of infection and misery, a charismatic challenger has emerged, and the Newsom campaign has been decidedly uninspiring. Some polling has Newsom sitting prettier than others, but Silicon Valley is belatedly nervous that the golden boy of San Francisco could be replaced by a Los Angeles shock jock, Larry Elder, bringing full blown Trumpism to California.