LOS ANGELES—Jan. 22, 2024 PRNewswire/ — On January 10, 2024, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) gave official approval to 11 Financial Institutions to create a “spot bitcoin ETF” (Exchange-Traded Fund). This long-awaited and controversial government approval basically allows these 11 Financial Institutions to now offer to the public the opportunity to buy “bitcoin” easily and safely as if it were simply a stock in a mutual fund on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, or Chicago Board of Trade, instead of investors still having to figure out how to buy it on a “Crypto Exchange” (e.g. Coinbase) as a “mysterious” and “dangerous” cryptocurrency.
This approval is recognized worldwide as the biggest event in the history of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. It finally adds legitimacy to Bitcoin as an Asset Class, and it has opened a floodgate of new investors causing the price of bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies in general to ultimately increase substantially. Bitcoin has gone mainstream.
So, how does this financial world news impact the highly contested U.S. Congressional Race CA 32 in Los Angeles, California? Well, in addition to Californians now being able to buy bitcoin easily just like every other person in the United States, it also shines a bright light on long-time, crypto-hater Rep. Brad Sherman (D) of CA 32, who has been (and still is today) the biggest opponent of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in Washington, D.C., calling them a “Garden of Snakes for investors who are thieves, felons, drug dealers, money launderers, sex traffickers, and those attempting to evade taxes.”
Sherman, who serves on the House Committee on Financial Services and is the Chair of the Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets, has been fighting for over 15 years to not regulate or even ban bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, but to “outlaw” them. Sherman is supported by big banks and financial institutions.
Larry Thompson, veteran entertainment attorney, acclaimed talent manager and film producer, plus long-time crypto advocate and investor is strongly challenging Sherman and has received the very valuable, unanimous endorsement of the California Republican Party.
Thompson also received this past week the additional endorsements of both Brock Pierce and Perianne Boring.
Pierce is the Chairman of The Bitcoin Foundation, the longest established Bitcoin advocacy organization in the world. He is also a Venture Philanthropist who has been credited with pioneering the market for digital currency and has raised more than $5B for companies he has founded. “You’ve supported this community and industry,” says Pierce to Thompson, “long before you chose to run for office. I would hope that a lot of people see you as the tip of the spear, and an agent of change to help enable the future where we can have regulatory clarity and certainty, where America can stay the capital of innovation. Thank you for stepping up in this very important race.”
Perianne Boring is Founder and CEO of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, which is the world’s largest trade association representing the blockchain industry. When offering from Washington her endorsement to Thompson she claimed enthusiastically, “count me in.”
So, what is it about Thompson that is giving such new hope and excitement to the California GOP and the world crypto community?
Thompson believes “traditional banking institutions are flawed, and technology, cryptos, and Bitcoin, can help advance our financial futures.” He advocates that “technology is amoral; it knows not right from wrong; it can be used for good or bad depending on the user. We should carefully move into the future with it and not try, as Sherman has, to put the technology genie back in the bottle.
“New forward-thinking leaders with Common Sense will now bring back national pride and ‘sanity.’ I want everyone to stop, think, and simply use Common Sense with Common Civility to find Common Ground to solve our Common Issues. Let’s start a fresh, bipartisan conversation to finally end the fighting, regain our ‘sanity,’ and get something done. I’m the ‘Sanity Man.”
“I am also running for Congress to awaken, organize, and lead the silenced, conservative Republican and dissatisfied Democratic voters. No longer should they feel alone, confused, defeated, and scared. I offer them an opportunity to regain their courage, stand up, rethink their long-held beliefs, and join me and those who share their values and vision of our country. This used to be Reagan Country, and I’m running to take it back for him.”
Even with such lofty ideals, Thompson’s election won’t be easy as Sherman, his main Democratic opponent, is a 14-term incumbent. He is serving his first term in CA 32 simply because of redistricting. California’s 32nd district now takes in Bel-Air, Bell Canyon, Beverly Glen, Brentwood, Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Encino, Malibu, North Hills, Northridge, Pacific Palisades, Reseda, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Tarzana, Topanga, West Hills, Winnetka, and Woodland Hills.
When asked about his chances in the race, Thompson quips, “Oh, I will definitely beat Mr. Sleeping-At-The-Wheel, Brad Sherman. I’m just glad Taylor Swift isn’t running.”
On Bidenomics, he added that he agrees with TV personality, Greg Gutfeld, that “the $100 bill has become the new $20 bill.”
“Seriously,” he added, “the polarized political positions in our nation have become dangerous in many ways, and, with all that is going on in this world today, there is much disenchantment, disappointment, frustration, and even fear with many Democratic and Republican voters. I intend to bridge this gap of uncertainty and offer a new menu of ideas to the Republican and long-standing Democratic voters.
“Our CA 32 citizens must deal every day with open borders, and closed minds; sky-high taxes, and low confidence in government; not to mention potholes on Ventura Boulevard and Topanga Canyon Boulevard, plus the traffic and safety issues on Pacific Coast Highway.
“I have been a ‘Representative’ of Hollywood Talent for over 50 years,” said Thompson. “And I have spent a career as either a lawyer or a personal manager listening, caring, nurturing, planning, and negotiating, to enhance their personas and lives. I now want to be a ‘Representative’ of the people, especially those who live in our California 32nd District.”
As a long-time, active Republican, Thompson was a Republican Eagle in 1981, ’82, and ’83, which required a donation to the Republican National Committee of a minimum of $10,000 per year.
He was the recipient of the Republican Presidential Taskforce’s Medal of Merit presented to him by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and was the personal Talent Manager for President Ronald Reagan’s daughter, Patti Davis from 1982 to 1986.
He co-wrote speeches and prepared President Gerald Ford personally for his Republican National Convention address in 1976 and employed President Gerald Ford’s Daughter, Susan Ford, to costar on the Jim Nabor’s Show, which Thompson produced in 1978.
Thompson was the California Campaign Co-Chairman for Senator Bob Dole’s Presidential Campaign in 1996.
He ran for U.S. Congress CA 37 as an Independent in 2020. Karen Bass, the current mayor of Los Angeles, won.
About Larry Thompson
Thompson is an acclaimed Hollywood talent manager and veteran film producer, lawyer, book packager, author, Broadway Producer, and motivational speaker, and is also founder and President of the Larry A. Thompson Organization, a next-generation, Los Angeles based Talent Management, Motion Picture, Television, and New Media Production Studio. www.LarryThompsonOrg.com
Thompson and his team of managers have guided the careers of over 200 Stars, and Thompson himself has produced 21 Movies for Television, five Motion Pictures, two Television Series, 12 Television Specials, and various Series Pilots. He is also the author of the Best-Selling self-help book Shine: A Powerful 4-Step Plan For Becoming A Star In Anything You Do.
Thompson has received the industry’s prestigious Vision Award and his productions have won two Accolade Awards, two Imagen Awards, The Epiphany Prize, The Wilbur Award, The Christopher Award, and have received Nominations for 10 Emmys, six Imagen Awards, two Prism Awards, the Humanitas Prize, and a Golden Globe.
He serves on the Advisory Boards of The Delta Blues Museum, Paulist Productions, and Good News Communications. He is a Founding Member Enthusiast of the Museum of The Bible in Washington, D.C., and a Charter Member of the United States Capitol Historical Society. He is perennially listed in Who’s Who In America and Who’s Who In The World, and on August 1, 2018, Thompson was awarded the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who’s Who.
The National Conference of Personal Managers inducted Thompson into the Personal Managers Hall of Fame on May 12, 2016. Thompson was also honored on September 19, 2013, by the Talent Managers Association with the prestigious Seymour Heller Award for Lifetime Achievement in Talent Management. These two entertainment industry awards are the highest honors a personal manager can receive for representing talent.
Thompson was Knighted in Rome, Italy on May 20, 2017. Grand Prior, Prince Lorenzo de’ Medici, sponsored Thompson into the prestigious Order of San Martino of the Mount of the Beatitudes as a “Patron of the Arts and Protector of the Most Needy.”
Thompson was born, raised, and educated in Mississippi. After finishing law school at the University of Mississippi in 1968, he drove three days to the corner of Hollywood and Vine to start his dream career in show business. Also, from 1968 to 1974, Thompson served in the United States Army Reserve’s Judge Advocate General Corp, mostly in Torrance, California.
Thompson lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Kelly, and their daughter, Taylor, and son, Trevor.
About the Election
The Primary Election will be on March 5, 2024. Early voting starts February 5, 2024. The two candidates that receive the most votes in the Primary Election will advance to the General Election, which will be on November 5, 2024. California Elections have the Top-Two Candidates Open Election System, which means all registered voters, regardless of political affiliation, may vote for any candidate, regardless of political affiliation.
Thompson’s Final Comment
“Oh, and by the way, my Congressional website is https://www.larrythompsonforcongress.com, and I am proud to announce that my campaign is one of the first to ever accept donations in bitcoin.”
For further information or to schedule an interview with Mr. Thompson, contact:
Robert G. Endara II
Larry Thompson For Congress
12021 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 614
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 288-0700
E-mail: larry@larrythompsonforcongress.com
Website: www.LarryThompsonForCongress.com
Written By PR Newswire
