Let's face it. Silicon Valley has hit the big time. The sheer size of our industry coupled with the impact it has on everyday non-technical citizens means we are a political force to be reckoned with. Monetarily speaking, we're not quite as powerful as, for instance, oil and defense, but we more than make up for that in the respect we generally afforded by the population. However, the industry's rhetoric and attitudes haven't caught up to that fact, hence these sort of blunt political statements.