Dem Billionaire Wants Harris to Fire Lina Khan
Dem Billionaire Wants Harris to Fire Lina Khan
The donors start weighing in.
Well, what a surprise. A tech billionaire and major Democratic Party donor — Reid Hoffman by name — wants Lina Khan, the best FTC director since Reagan neutered the agency, fired and replaced.
From David Sirota’s Lever News:
As Microsoft faces intensifying federal scrutiny, one of the company’s billionaire Democratic donors is now pressuring the party’s presumptive presidential nominee Kamala Harris to fire the government’s top antitrust regulator. The consumer watchdog has been actively scrutinizing Big Tech and fighting mergers — including one between Microsoft and an AI giant the donor cofounded.
If Harris follows through with the request as president and fires Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, the move would run counter to polling from 2022 that highlights 44 percent of Americans want more regulations for Big Tech companies and other monopolies.
Harris has not yet detailed her plans for antitrust enforcement or consumer protection, and her record as California attorney general is mixed on reining in anticompetitive business practices.
Reid Hoffman is this guy:
Reid Hoffman, the billionaire co-founder of LinkedIn and a major Democratic donor, recently gave $250,000 to a super PAC supporting Ms. Haley, the former South Carolina governor who has gained momentum in recent weeks in the 2024 Republican primary race. The donation, which has not been previously reported, was confirmed by Dmitri Mehlhorn, a political adviser to Mr. Hoffman.
The pro-Haley super PAC, SFA Fund Inc., was asked specifically by Mr. Hoffman’s political team if it would take money from Mr. Hoffman, given that he is a Democrat who actively supports President Biden, Mr. Mehlhorn said. The super PAC, he added, said yes.
His advisor, Dimitri Mehlhorn, is the guy who said this about the recent attempted assassination of Trump: “I know I am prone to bias on this, but this is a classic Putin play and given the facts seems more plausible.”
Yes, Putin.
On the campaign trail I expect Harris will walk a fine line. But it will be interesting to see what she does, assuming she wins. In any case, one of the factions of Silicon Valley Money has laid down a marker.
Housekeeping Note
This week and next I’m on travel. Then starting the second week of August, another interruption. I hope all of you are enjoying the summer, hot as it is. I’m in Denver today and the highs got close to 100°F. Thank goodness we’re not yet rationing energy. Soon, but not yet.
Music
Can’t leave without music. From a guitarist friend, let me introduce David Russell, a marvelous player. Here he offers Bach’s Suite in E minor, BWV 996, written for lute and/or harpsichord.
The famous Bourrée starts at 12:41. Here’s the whole thing. Enjoy!
From donors to owners.
More neo free-market democracy, uh right?
This demand by Reid Hoffman that Lina Kahn be fired makes the argument for election reform easy.
Mr. Hoffman dislikes Ms. Kahn's job performance. That is his right. It is within his rights to petition elected officials to express his displeasure. My rights are the same.
Where Mr. Hoffman and I differ is in the magnitude of the amount of campaign contributions we have the capacity to make. Mr. Hoffman's campaign contributions give his opinion a sway that mine do not. Our respective opinions are not judged on merit, but weighed on a balance where money wins.
This is highly undemocratic and must be remedied.
There must be federal funding for federal offices and that must be the sole source for funds excepting a token $25 donation to a candidate per individual. This is not an unreasonable restraint especially if the campaigns do not last longer than 30 days in duration. Party platforms and candidate positions can be communicated on a federal election website.
Political action committees will no longer be necessary and must be make illegal. Any form of candidate funding outside these outlined mechanisms must be outlawed.
There is no hope of eliminating the grotesque wealth distribution in our country without reform of this nature.