How to Hack a Party Line: The Democrats and Silicon Valley / Edition 1

by Sara Miles

Overview

A look at the political awakening that occurred in America's Silicon Valley in the late 1990s, this text offers analyses of, among other things, the digital divide and the nuances of party subdivisions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520233409
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	04/08/2002
Edition description:	First Edition, Updated with a New Afterword
Pages:	262
Sales rank:	683,100
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

Sara Miles is a journalist who has covered the politics of Silicon Valley for the New York Times Magazine, Wired, and Wired News. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including the New Yorker, the New York Times, Mother Jones, and Out magazine.

Table of Contents

PART ONE: WIRING THE NETWORK
PART TWO: BUGS
PART THREE: WORKAROUNDS
PART FOUR: SYSTEM CRASH
PART FIVE: TECH POLITICS 3.0
AFTERWORD
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INDEX

Editorial Reviews

With billions in revenues and little political affiliation, Silicon Valley in the early 1990s was a jewel waiting to be snatched by either major party. The Democrats acted first, due largely to the efforts of Wade Randlett, the main figure in Miles's lively, firsthand account of the awakening of Silicon Valley's political consciousness and the wrangling that ensued. Randlett, an independent fundraiser and democratic political consultant, saw a chance to become an important player on Vice-President Al Gore's team by serving as the primary conduit between the Valley and Washington. Miles shows how Randlett, with significant backing from the powerful venture capitalist John Doerr, organized the mostly apolitical business and technical leaders of the Valley in a successful effort to defeat California's Proposition 211, designed to allow for shareholder lawsuits against California executives. Following the proposition's defeat in 1996, Randlett and Doerr formed TechNet, the first major political action committee to represent the interests of the Valley's high-tech companies. With Randlett's party ties and Gore's eagerness to be associated with the New Economy, TechNet tended to favor New Democrats. But as thoroughly as Miles charts the dynamics that tied the Valley to Washington, she writes in something of a vacuum. Though Gore's relationship to Silicon Valley is a major focus, Miles refers only passingly to his nomination in 2000 and fails to discuss the Valley's role in his campaign. She also overlooks the possible effects of the New Economy's crash on Silicon Valley's political influence. Given the current postelection turmoil, Miles's book is the victim of events happening at Internet-speed. (Feb.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

This unique title in the bloated literature on Silicon Valley discusses the relationship between politics and the new millionaires in the high-tech industry. Miles, who has covered the Valley's political scene for Wired and Wired News, focuses on the role of these millionaires in presidential elections. The Democratic Party is the beneficiary of the increasingly politically active Silicon Valley magnates, who had a major influence on the campaigns of Bill Clinton and Al Gore. The author uses case studies to describe this recent trend. For example, Wade Randlett's major role in TechNet, a political action committee representing Silicon Valley, is discussed. Also described are Randlett' s fundraising activities for the Democratic Party and his lobbying efforts, including rallying against California's Proposition 211 (which would have allowed stockholders to sue executives). Miles relates the reaction of Silicon Valley to the Microsoft antitrust case and to the Clinton impeachment hearings. A fascinating study of two worlds and their complex interrelationship, this is recommended for public and academic libraries.--Lucy Heckman, St. John's Univ. Lib., Jamaica, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

A journalist specializing in the politics of Silicon Valley, Miles reveals how powerbrokers from Washington, DC and high-tech hustlers from California have been interacting over the past few years as one side smelled millions in campaign contributions and the other smelled political clout. Her star player is New Democrat Wade Randlett. She provides neither index nor bibliography. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

It's a witty, character-rich piece of reportage that charts the parallel rise of high tech in Caligornia and pro-business New Democrats in Washingron, DC. This happy (if sometimes stormy) covergence, Miles writes, has altered the landscape of national politics.
—Wired

Dickinson

Miles writes with a fast-paced, engaging style. She offers succinct, intelligent background informationon Democratic Party machinations without getting bogged down in dry political theory. The result is an important exploration of Silicon Valley's political influence with a narrative thread rivaling that of many novels.

Business 2.0

The chronicle of a farcically troubled marriage between two rich, hubristic West Coast techies and their e-mail–challenged D.C. counterparts. Miles (who's covered politics for Wired) has spent the past four years—the height of the dot.com era—with New Economy wunderkinds and Washington powerbrokers. Her star player is the self-appointed kingmaker Wade Randlett, a former fundraiser and centrist"New Democrat" who fashioned himself as the go-between for politicos (for whom the Internet was not much more than a breeding ground for Matt Drudge) and technocrats (who were, at best, apolitical and, at worst,"naïve libertarians"). In 1996 Randlett found common ground with legendary venture capitalist John Doerr and enlisted him in a sort of grassroots campaign for millionaires to undo California's controversial Proposition 211 (which would have facilitated shareholder lawsuits against company executives). The subsequent defeat of 211 landed Randlett in the center of what would become Silicon Valley's impressive, if easily retractable, access to the White House and Congress. The political-economic back-and-forth was a windfall for the technos (in terms of legislation) and for the pols (in terms of money)—an arrangement that would soon settle into a common special-interest quid pro quo. But before Miles's account wonders off into the sunset, her fly-on-the-wall reporting proves breathtaking. In particular, she has fun with the culture clash between the ancien régime and the Young Turks: in one raucous instance, Doerr (with little grasp or concern for proper senatorial gravitas) lectures an incredulous Senator Jay Rockefeller on how things willbedone,causing one onlooker to quip,"Get me a camera... . That's old money versus new money right there." In between anti-Microsoft conspiracy rumors and cameos from Bezos et al., Miles offers trenchant analyses of, among other things, the"digital divide" and the nuances of party subdivisions. A sweeping debut not only for the author but also for this branch of American poli-sci, with color on every page and a hacker's gift for cutting through the blather.

Kirkus Reviews