B.J. Guillot is a Republican running for Washington State's 2nd Congressional district, and he wants your Bitcoin.
Guillot doesn't appear to be a run-of-the-mill Republican. First off, he is a Republican in Washington State, which just legalized marijuana. He also drives the 100 % electric Nissan Leaf and loves to travel outside of the country. Not exactly the image that comes to mind when you think of the grand ole party.
What caught our attention was his attendance at the Bitcoin in the Beltway conference in Washington D.C. this past weekend. B.J. Guillot doesn't just want your Bitcoin, he is a Bitcoin enthusiast and a former miner to boot.
His campaign website, sadly, doesn't list his stances on every major issue, but his stance on Bitcoin is listed loud and clear:
“Bitcoin should be treated as currency, not property. Congress should enact Rep. Stockman's Virtual Currency Tax Reform Act.”
He also states his disdain for the NSA spying operations, SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) and reforming patent laws. Those are all issues that most of the tech community will get behind. The man he is trying to usurp is incumbent Rick Larsen, a Democrat who has been serving since 2001.
Larsen has generally been a friend of the tech community, opposing SOPA and voting for the USA Freedom Act, which was meant to reign in the NSA and was supported by a large number of privacy groups (but most withdrew their support after they said the bill lost its teeth). But while Larsen may be a friend of the general tech community, Guillot is a friend specifically of Bitcoin, and that is enough to draw the verbal support of Bitcoin Foundation board member Brock Pierce.
The question is, will it be enough for the Bitcoin community?
You can find more information about B.J. Guillot at his official site