In an op-ed published Friday morning in Business Insider, former Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner likens Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kent.) to Apple, Inc.
Specifically, Weiner argues that Paul and Apple have the “same strategy” of appealing to young Americans using concerns about government snooping and privacy that have been heightened — especially among technology-savvy Millennials — since the NSA scandal.
“Apple is betting bipartisan concern about intrusive government snooping will help sell phones, and Paul is creating a pretty impressive presidential campaign based on the same play,” explains Weiner.
The former New York City mayoral candidate then outlines the “new default encryption technologies” that Apple and Google have put on their phones in order to make it impossible for customer communications to fall into unwanted hands — namely those of law enforcement.
These new technologies, he says, are part of the companies’ efforts to satisfy their young clientele.
Weiner goes on to say that the privacy fight isn’t only about cell phones. He explains that it could very well determine which Republican candidate wins in the primary ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
He suggests that, should young Americans continue to actively “really care about [the privacy] issue,” Rand Paul’s strategy of emphasizing his position on privacy in the age of technology “could put him in a great place in a Republican primary.”
“Paul is courting the same demographic Apple and Google aimed at with their new encrypted phones,” adds Weiner. “He’s looking to build a White House bid with his own new age coalition of privacy-concerned, party-non-aligned, previously non-voting, SOPA-hating, pot-tolerant youth.”
