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Ron Conway pledges to oust senators who rejected background checks
by James Temple
Legendary tech investor and political mover Ron Conway has a stern warning for the 54 senators who rejected an amendment to expand background checks on firearms sales on Wednesday, a vote that flew in the face of public opinion.
“We will employ the most sophisticated social media campaign ever built to remove these people from office,” he said in an interview with The Chronicle.
“Mark my words,” he said. “It is shameful and the United States of America should be embarrassed by its Senate.”
Known as the godfather of Silicon Valley, Conway is a longtime angel investor who has plugged money into Google, Twitter, Square and countless other well-known companies. Increasingly, however, he has also been flexing political power in San Francisco and elsewhere.
He was a mover in the industry’s campaign to kill the much despised Stop Online Piracy Act in late 2011, considered a political coming of age moment for the tech sector.
In the interview, Conway pledged to help build a similar initiative behind gun control, one that would tap into the industry’s political power and social media prowess to ensure the senators who voted against the measure aren’t reelected. He noted that polls show 90 percent of the public supports background checks.
“Our Congress has ceased to be representative,” he said. “It is up to the citizens to remove those people who don’t represent them.”
Conway has been involved in several gun control efforts since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Connecticut late last year.
Earlier this year, he helped launch the Sandy Hook Promise campaign, an effort to promote new ideas on gun control and fast track investment in startups with the potential to reduce firearms violence.
He also serves on the board of Americans for Responsible Solutions, a political organization established by former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly. He said that body would be the vehicle for the forthcoming campaign, as it raises additional money and engages in grassroots organizing efforts.
“America should imagine, when they go to bed tonight, if they were a Sandy Hook parent,” he said. “How betrayed would you feel if you kid was gunned down and the U.S. Senate could care less?”
“How betrayed would you feel if you kid was gunned down and the U.S. Senate could care less?”
Posted By: James Temple ( Email , Twitter , Facebook ) | Apr 17 at 5:35 pm
Ron Conway pledges to oust senators who rejected background checks
by James Temple
Legendary tech investor and political mover Ron Conway has a stern warning for the 54 senators who rejected an amendment to expand background checks on firearms sales on Wednesday, a vote that flew in the face of public opinion.
“We will employ the most sophisticated social media campaign ever built to remove these people from office,” he said in an interview with The Chronicle.
“Mark my words,” he said. “It is shameful and the United States of America should be embarrassed by its Senate.”
Known as the godfather of Silicon Valley, Conway is a longtime angel investor who has plugged money into Google, Twitter, Square and countless other well-known companies. Increasingly, however, he has also been flexing political power in San Francisco and elsewhere.
He was a mover in the industry’s campaign to kill the much despised Stop Online Piracy Act in late 2011, considered a political coming of age moment for the tech sector.
In the interview, Conway pledged to help build a similar initiative behind gun control, one that would tap into the industry’s political power and social media prowess to ensure the senators who voted against the measure aren’t reelected. He noted that polls show 90 percent of the public supports background checks.
“Our Congress has ceased to be representative,” he said. “It is up to the citizens to remove those people who don’t represent them.”
Conway has been involved in several gun control efforts since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Connecticut late last year.
Earlier this year, he helped launch the Sandy Hook Promise campaign, an effort to promote new ideas on gun control and fast track investment in startups with the potential to reduce firearms violence.
He also serves on the board of Americans for Responsible Solutions, a political organization established by former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly. He said that body would be the vehicle for the forthcoming campaign, as it raises additional money and engages in grassroots organizing efforts.
“America should imagine, when they go to bed tonight, if they were a Sandy Hook parent,” he said. “How betrayed would you feel if you kid was gunned down and the U.S. Senate could care less?”
“How betrayed would you feel if you kid was gunned down and the U.S. Senate could care less?”
Posted By: James Temple ( Email , Twitter , Facebook ) | Apr 17 at 5:35 pm
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