Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Donald Trump

Peter Thiel Speaking at RNC in Cleveland Is Interesting and Weird. And Really Good.

There should have been about a dozen of him here if the GOP was serious about becoming a future-oriented party.

Nick Gillespie | 7.21.2016 9:33 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests
Wikimedia

So right now as I type the controversial tech billionaire Peter Thiel is killing it at the Cleveland RNC with a speech talking about the need for government to do less but do it better, getting rid of culture-war skirmishes, and building a culture that looks forward to the future. He also attacked American foreign policy, especially "stupid wars" in the Middle East.

It was a good speech, especially because he said he was proud to be gay, American, and from Cleveland. Without a doubt, there is a huge disconnect between much of Trump's actual words and positions and Thiel's vision. But it was great to hear what the PayPal co-founder, early investor in Facebook and Lyft, and other aspects of the most-interesting part of the U.S. economy.

If the GOP was serious about changing its slow march to irrelevance, there should have been 10 Thiels to every Joe Arpaio, rather than the other way around.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Peter Thiel, Radical Libertarian Futurist, Thinks Donald Trump Can Rebuild America

Nick Gillespie is an editor at large at Reason and host of The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie.

Donald TrumpRepublican Convention 2016
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Hide Comments (53)

Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.

  1. Wizard with a Woodchipper   9 years ago

    "There should have been about a dozen of him here if the GOP was serious about becoming a future-oriented party."

    To be fair that's largely a problem with the gays. Most of my gay friends love centralized big government.

    1. Sir Digby Chicken Caesar   9 years ago

      Plus, "future-oriented party"?

      it kinda smacks of:

      (a) Wrong side of History bullshit

      (b) an attempt to avoid saying "Progressive", but still talk in terms of progressive politics

      Whatevs...Nick's the writer, not me.

      1. Azathoth!!   9 years ago

        Whatevs...Nick's the progressive, not me.

        ftfy

  2. The Fusionist   9 years ago

    "getting rid of culture-war skirmishes"

    Is that why his own company pulled out of North Carolina in retaliation for HB 2? Because they were trying to get rid of culture-war skirmishes?

    1. The Fusionist   9 years ago

      If he disagrees with the actions of the company he founded, he should say so (I don't know how much he runs the company).

      He can't both support Paypal's actions *and* deplore culture-war politics.

      1. Crusty Juggler   9 years ago

        He doesn't own PayPal anymore, so I do not believe he has any direct influence over the company.

        1. The Fusionist   9 years ago

          Then he should disavow the monster he created.

          The CEO's pull-out statement said:

          "This decision reflects PayPal's deepest values and our strong belief that every person has the right to be treated equally, and with dignity and respect. These principles of fairness, inclusion and equality are at the heart of everything we seek to achieve and stand for as a company. And they compel us to take action to oppose discrimination."

          Does Thiel agree that the "deepest values" of the company he founded include fighting culture war battles and boycotting entire states?

          This is a point on which he ought to issue a clarification.

          Because when the company CEO talks about the company's "deepest values," that reflects on the founder.

          1. PapayaSF   9 years ago

            And yet I believe PayPal does business in countries where the penalty for homosexuality is death.

            1. Derpetologist   9 years ago

              Quiet you! Those are groovy brown people who can do no wrong!

          2. Crusty Juggler   9 years ago

            I believe he sold PayPal over a decade ago. I don't understand why you are hung up on that.

            1. The Fusionist   9 years ago

              A decade? Wow, I haven't been keeping up.

              I keep seeing "Peter Thiel, founder of Paypal," and thinking he has a more recent connection.

              If he's put that part of his life behind him, then by all means let him move on. Sorry.

              1. Crusty Juggler   9 years ago

                Focus your North Carolina outrage on the NBA.

                1. The Fusionist   9 years ago

                  Literally taking their ball and going home.

                  Yeah, well, they have to do *something* to distract the public from the criminal behavior of their athletes.

                  1. The Fusionist   9 years ago

                    NBA Crime Library - Complete database of all NBA arrests

                    1. Crusty Juggler   9 years ago

                      There you go

        2. SIV   9 years ago

          I've told Eddie this before. It doesn't do any good. He has a hardon for teh gays.

          1. The Fusionist   9 years ago

            So does Thiel, or so he says.

            1. The Fusionist   9 years ago

              Anyway, he founds a company, then sells it off, then the new guys go around making bold statements about the company's deepest values.

              This clearly implies that the company's action reflect the values he instilled in the company.

              If this is false, Thiel ought to disavow this slur against his good name

              1. The Fusionist   9 years ago

                (Maybe he signed a non-disparagement agreement? "If the new owners do something dumb or evil, I promise not to complain.")

                1. The Fusionist   9 years ago

                  OK, it's been 10 years, sorry Peter old boy, I didn't realize you'd so definitively moved on.

    2. Acosmist   9 years ago

      Indeed - it takes two to Culture War.

  3. SIV   9 years ago

    there should have been 10 Thiels to every Joe Arpaio, rather than the other way around.

    Englism majors...

    By my calculations there was one Joe Arpaio to one Peter Thiel.

  4. egould310   9 years ago

    Dinner tonight: everybody gets their own 12 oz, grass-fed ribeye steak; fried on the griddle in bacon fat. A mountain of steamed broccoli, slathered in bacon hollandaise. Vodka crans on tap. Later tonight, strawberry milkshakes.

    Fuck it's hot.

    1. Krabappel   9 years ago

      What's the address? Medium rare, please.

    2. PapayaSF   9 years ago

      Nice.

    3. Sir Digby Chicken Caesar   9 years ago

      Well, you've been warned...

      1. egould310   9 years ago

        That's why it's slathered in bacon hollandaise!

    4. Hamster of Doom   9 years ago

      Yes, please, I'll take one of everything.

      We did chicken cordon bleu, at the husband's request. Spaghetti with garlic, browned butter and sage. Sourdough potato rolls, wedge salad with olives, green beans with bacon fat, sliced peaches with whipped cream.

      A vodka cranberry would hit the spot right about now.

      1. egould310   9 years ago

        You eat good. 🙂

    5. DenverJ   9 years ago

      Everybody? I like mine medium, and thanks, that's very white of you.

  5. Winston   9 years ago

    getting rid of culture-war skirmishes

    What does this mean exactly? Do whatever the SJWs want?

    Also passing any sort of law or regulations on bathrooms is "engaging in a culture war" no matter which side you are on.

    1. Heroic Mulatto   9 years ago

      THE LINE MUST BE DRAW HE-YA! THIS FAR, NO FURTHER!

      1. Winston   9 years ago

        So standing athwart history and yelling stop?

        Well as soon as you fight against an SJW you are engaging in culture war stuff. And the same when complaining about redneck retarded socons...

        1. Heroic Mulatto   9 years ago

          Of course.

          The personal is political and all that jazz, yeah?

          1. Winston   9 years ago

            Apparently "the personal is the political" is bad for Reason except when it is isn't.

            http://reason.com/blog/2016/06.....r-politics

            1. Heroic Mulatto   9 years ago

              I'm not Reason.

              I'm also not Charlie Hebo, in case you were wondering.

              1. Heroic Mulatto   9 years ago

                Hebdo, even.

  6. Winston   9 years ago

    Also isn't gun control a culture war issue? What do libertarians advocate then? Also "social liberals" support gun control.

  7. dajjal   9 years ago

    Thiel is a hypocrite and liar. Why would you believe a word he says? He just wants to usher in an uber-police state to sell his privacy-busting monitoring software to.

  8. Derpetologist   9 years ago

    Most absurd campaign ad of the season:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrX3Ql31URA

    Yeah, I'm sure children watch lots of presidential debates and Hillary Clinton is such a *great* role model.

    In other news, Chris Matthews AKA The Vanilla Leg Thrilla dropped a truth bomb: "Americans don't like terrorism".

    He makes about $5 million a year.

    1. egould310   9 years ago

      The Vanilla Leg Thrilla...

      Ok. I'm done for the evening. Thanks!

      1. Derpetologist   9 years ago

        I hope that moment haunts him forever:
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pZb12hhdpU

  9. PapayaSF   9 years ago

    From Trump's speech:

    Excessive regulation is costing our country as much as $2 trillion a year, and we will end it. We are going to lift the restrictions on the production of American energy. This will produce more than $20 trillion in job creating economic activity over the next four decades.

    Truly this man is an enemy of everything libertarians believe.

    1. SoCal Deathmarch   9 years ago

      I'm in the energy industry and the recent regulation insanity of both the EPA and California has me seriously contemplating a career change. If anyone ever delivered on the promise of deregulation I would lose my shit in a fit of joy.

  10. Winston   9 years ago

    future-oriented party

    So is this code "be libertarian become the Libertarian Moment is upon us because I say so!" or some Whiggish/Marxist inevitability of progress/end of history?

    1. Winston   9 years ago

      I should point out that the original Whigs supported religious tests and used a conspiracy theory touted by a gay guy to execute innocent people and religious bigotry to provoke riots for political expediency and participated in the slave trade.

      1. DenverJ   9 years ago

        You should also point out that the issue of slavery killed the Whigs and gave rise to the Republican party.

        1. The Fusionist   9 years ago

          Winston was going back to the 17th-Century *English* Whigs.

          They broke up the Royal African Company, the slaving monopoly, because it excluded the plucky start-up slavers. They published many tracts on the evils of that monopoly.

          So Parliament ended the Royal African Company monopoly and let "independent [slave] traders" set up in competition for a fee - and the number of slaves taken from Africa to the Americas skyrocketed.

          1. Winston   9 years ago

            I was specifically referring to Shaftesbury who was one of the founders of the Carolinas.

            I'm teh disappointed you didn't bring up my references to the Test Act or the Popish Plot...

            1. The Fusionist   9 years ago

              Why? You brought them up.

  11. Rebel Scum   9 years ago

    There should have been about a dozen of him here if the GOP was serious about becoming a future-oriented party.

    Because the future is gay?

  12. LibertarianTreehugger   9 years ago

    Thiel was probably the most rational guy there, but I'm still confused as to why he's stumping for Trump, who is no more an advocate of liberty than Clinton.

  13. lukashik   8 years ago

    We can even create playlists of them so it will be very easy to find our videos which we like. We can also download those videos and can watch them offline. Showbox for pc

Please log in to post comments

Mute this user?

  • Mute User
  • Cancel

Ban this user?

  • Ban User
  • Cancel

Un-ban this user?

  • Un-ban User
  • Cancel

Nuke this user?

  • Nuke User
  • Cancel

Un-nuke this user?

  • Un-nuke User
  • Cancel

Flag this comment?

  • Flag Comment
  • Cancel

Un-flag this comment?

  • Un-flag Comment
  • Cancel

Latest

Can Schools Ban This 'There Are Only Two Genders' Shirt? Supreme Court Declines To Hear Free Speech Case

Billy Binion | 5.28.2025 5:21 PM

RFK Jr. Denigrates Privately Funded Medical Research

Joe Lancaster | 5.28.2025 3:55 PM

Can Trump Yank Harvard's Remaining Federal Funding?

Emma Camp | 5.28.2025 3:30 PM

A Federal Judge Lists 8 Ways That Trump Violated the Constitution by Punishing a Disfavored Law Firm

Jacob Sullum | 5.28.2025 3:15 PM

Elon Musk Is Right. The 'Big Beautiful Bill' Is a Bad Deal.

Eric Boehm | 5.28.2025 1:00 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2024 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

r

Do you care about free minds and free markets? Sign up to get the biggest stories from Reason in your inbox every afternoon.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

This modal will close in 10

Reason Plus

Special Offer!

  • Full digital edition access
  • No ads
  • Commenting privileges

Just $25 per year

Join Today!