[NARROWLY DEFEATED] VIRGINIA SENATE CANDIDATE ED GILLESPIE:

In my remarks, I talked about the dangerous path down which President Obama and his policies are taking us. It’s a transformation from an information economy, where what you know matters most, to an influence economy, where WHO you know is all that counts.

Here are some excerpts from my speech, printed in The Wall Street Journal (12/8/14):

“We can see an influence economy starting to take shape. CEOs are becoming less concerned about inventing the right products, targeting the right markets and hiring the right people in hopes of making a respectable profit for investors—and more concerned about getting the right lobbyists, retaining the right lawyers and attending the right fundraisers in hopes of getting a hefty subsidy from taxpayers.”

“Making the right campaign contributions are becoming as important to a company as its research and development budget, and federal-compliance lawyers will soon outnumber patent lawyers.”

“Fully implemented, Obama ’s influence economy will be one where ordinary Americans must get permission from a government agency or department before they can buy, build, invest or hire. It’s an economy rooted in mandates and waivers, tax credits and targeted subsidies, Federal grants and government loan guarantees.”

From my email.