WASHINGTON, D.C. -- "To High-Tech Leaders: Make Money, Not Laws," T. J. Rodgers’ "Managers’ Journal" column in Monday’s Wall Street Journal, is not to be missed. It won’t win him any friends in Washington or the media, though we suspect that much of Silicon Valley is privately cheering him on.

Rodgers sets his sights on the efforts Silicon Valley is making to win friends and influence people in the
political world. He names names and organizations behind this effort, and he thinks they are being fools.
He argues powerfully that Silicon Valley’s venture capitalists and industry leaders accomplish more for
the world’s betterment through technological innovation than they can ever hope to achieve through politics.

Of course, the Conventional Wisdom sees Silicon Valley’s new political consciousness as a sign that
high technology is becoming a "mature" industry, ready to take its place as a responsible civic player in the
great dance of American politics, right next to the oil, real estate, finance, auto, and manufacturing
behemoths that long ago became a settled presence in Washington. Such signs of "maturity" not only get you
lots of visits from grasping politicians of both parties, but also win the plaudits of the media, whose
own institutional interest is in the expansion of political conflict in society. Sticking to business
won’t get you featured in the Washington Post’s coveted "Style" section.

Washington long ago perfected the technique first developed by burly guys named Guido and Luca several decades ago: Washington pols come to your business and say: "Nice little industry you have here. Shame if something happened to it."

This analogy exaggerates only slightly. Most industries are in some position to want a deal with the government
to fatten their profits--oil and real estate want favorable tax treatment and access to public lands, autos and manufacturers love protection from foreign competition, regulatory relief, and labor law reforms--so they are more than willing to become "players" in Washington. But if ever there were a group that should want to keep politicians a continent away, it is the high technology industry. To be sure, there are many public policy changes that high technology companies would like to see--especially tort reform, immigration reform, and the elimination of the capital gains tax--but the changes it desires are the kind of changes that would benefit all kinds of commerce, and not just their narrow industry interest. (This fact speaks volumes about the nature and significance of the tech sector, but that’s a subject for another day.)

My old friend and mentor M. Stanton Evans once remarked that the trouble with conservatives is that too many of them come to Washington thinking they are going to drain the swamp, only to discover that Washington is a
hot tub. Likewise, too many firms open political offices to lobby for the company in Washington, only to
discover that their political offices have become lobbies for Washington in the company. Silicon Valley should heed Rodgers’ advice, lest Capitol Hill comes to tower over Silicon Valley.

--By Steven Hayward