You severely misunderstand the world if you believe the only way to be harmful and enact change is through votes and legislation.

Also, perhaps read up on lobbying and historic cases like Citizens United v. FEC, if you think money plays no part in politics.

I find these sorts of conversations tiresome. Almost nobody who isn't interested in particular parts of the tech remotely knows who DHH is. He managed to secure some funding for his Linux distro. None of this directly translates to the broader political landscape.

I think you and others that pretending that this is the case, is borderline delusional.