Boehner Treks to Calif. to Sway Silicon Valley to GOP

The entrepreneurs and money people of Silicon Valley traditionally have supported Democrats, and they came out in force to back President Barack Obama in 2008 — with money and votes. House Speaker John Boehner is doing his best to narrow that gap, attending a GOP fundraiser in Silicon Valley Tuesday, Politico reports.

Valley operatives say Boehner must present the GOP’s moderate agenda: conservative stewardship of the economy without an emphasis on social issues like abortion and gay marriage.

Tim Draper, a founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, one of the Valley’s top venture capital firms, generally backs Republicans. He recommends that GOP candidates seeking support in the Northern California tech corridor start with the following pledge: “I promise to leave your innovative businesses alone to grow, create jobs and wealth, and to change the world for the better.”