The brothers partly behind tea party Libertarianism

[Craig234]

Part of our political culture includes a few wealthy people who push their ideologies and influence our nation's politics.

One example is Richard Mellon Scaife, who has given hundreds of millions of dollars to right-wing media, think tanks and other forces, including a $50M 'hit fund' on Clinton.


This thread is about two others, the 'Koch brothers', who inherited much wealth and have spent decades as radicals - self-described - for their Libertarian ideology.

Libertarian as in destroy Social Security, the FBI and CIA, and more. One ran as the VP Candidate for Libertarian decades ago and they got about 1% of the vote, and apparently decided that Democracy doesn't work for the Libertarian view and shifted to supporting things like right-wing think tanks that push opinions onto the voters.

This is the same time frame in which right-wing think tanks and media grew after the Powell memo under Nixon - the last 30 years of disaster for the US.

The phrase 'vast right-wing conspiracy' has been mentioned - some on the right say it doesn't exist, the Koch brothers are members.

It's hard to measure the exact effect the large sums building up an 'ideology warfare infrastructure' have had on American politics, but you see many of their acolytes here.

Watch this clip from Rachel Maddow for a taste of the activities - including that they are a funding force behind the 'tea party', pushing their corporate agenda on it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/

This an important topic for citizens to understand, how voters are 'bought' indirectly.

 

[Phokus]

The people who still think the tea party, in it's current form, is a 'grass roots' movement are morons.

 

[BoberFett]

Yes, votes are purchased in this country. Just look at all those ass... errr Donkeys.

http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php?type=L

 

[Patranus]

*Cough* *Cough* George Soros *Cough* *Cough*

 

[UberNeuman]

*Cough* *Cough* George Soros *Cough* *Cough*

Call the cops! George Soros is fondling Pat's balls....

 

[MotF Bane]

Yes, votes are purchased in this country. Just look at all those ass... errr Donkeys.

http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php?type=L

I almost wrote out a serious reply to P&N's number one ideologue. Then I decided this was a more succinct and so much better of a reply. :awe:

 

[bamacre]

If they've spent hundreds of millions of dollars in an attempt to transform this country into a Libertarian fantasy, they have utterly wasted every penny. I mean, what a fucking failure.

But I gotta LOL at Craig being pissed off at "regulations."

 

[Jhhnn]

Soros? Please. The rightwing's foundation and think tank structure has been in place for decades. They wrote the script for Ronnie and basically the whole repub apparatus ever since.

http://mediamattersaction.org/transparency/

Righties each think they're coming up with some kind of independent thinking whenever they all come up with the same thing at the same time... must be a series of miracles, right?

 

[Moonbeam]

Republicans are the morons stupid enough to be bought by corporations and Libertarians are dreamers who will never have any effect. The only hope America has is via the progressives pushing the Democrats. But the assholes and the dreamers will insure that effect will be zero.

 

[bamacre]

Democrats are the morons stupid enough to be bought by corporations and Progressives are dreamers who will never have any effect. The only hope America has is via the libertarians pushing the Republicans. But the assholes and the dreamers will insure that effect will be zero.

See how that works?

 

[ProfJohn]

Yes, votes are purchased in this country. Just look at all those ass... errr Donkeys.

http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php?type=L

What!! 37 of the top 38 political donors give to Democrats or split their money?

I thought Republicans were suppose to be the party of big money?

 

[MotF Bane]

See how that works?

For a moment, I thought Moonie had had a moment of sanity.

 

[MotF Bane]

http://mediamattersaction.org/transparency/

Righties each think they're coming up with some kind of independent thinking whenever they all come up with the same thing at the same time... must be a series of miracles, right?

But you'll use a mouthpiece for progressives, and consider that a good source against "conservative" sources. :hmm:

 

[Craig234]

If they've spent hundreds of millions of dollars in an attempt to transform this country into a Libertarian fantasy, they have utterly wasted every penny. I mean, what a fucking failure.

Actually they've had a very large effect - it doesn't mean 'getting Libertarians elected to office'. Tax cuts and financial de-regulation are just a couple examples.

But I gotta LOL at Craig being pissed off at "regulations."

If that was supposed to mean something, it didn't.

But it's clearly some straw man reflecting ignorance about my views again.

 

[Craig234]

What!! 37 of the top 38 political donors give to Democrats or split their money?

I thought Republicans were suppose to be the party of big money?

The issue is too complicated for idiots. You have to distinguish 'isolated ideologues using fortunes to spread the ideology' from the normal Democratic process.

It's way more than you can ask of some, to whom all political giving is exactly the same type of activity.

I don't expect some horses who are led to the nice cold water put at their feet to drink, but to pee in it as usual.

Someone saying 'I inherited billions and hate the US government and will try to fund movements furthering its dismantling with propaganda infrastructure' and groups like a union saying 'we'll donate to groups who support our continuing to obtain living wages for our workers' are not the same thing.

Just like your posts and rational comments are not the same thing. The topic is not 'all political donations'. Shoo with your usual dishonest propaganda.

So far there are some clueless responders among the responses; the thread is for others. As usual, not one who has indicated they watched the clip.

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

I dunno about you but our Tories and Liberals are reinventing a system that isn't half bad.

I know you'd never look to "inferior nations" and their policies, but this does seem like a good idea.

Time will tell though... feels like a hopeful crowd at home from those i've talked to and yeah, i actually have a lot of people i talk to at home.

 

[Jhhnn]

But you'll use a mouthpiece for progressives, and consider that a good source against "conservative" sources. :hmm:

So, uhh, do you think they haven't meticulously researched the information provided, or are you just engaged in the usual attempts at denial? Did they offer information that isn't true? Or just information that you don't want to acknowledge?

The surest way to understand what righties believe is to follow the money, see where it comes from. They have some of the world's finest propagandists on their payrolls, diligently searching for ways to pull your strings, testing the pitch on focus groups, judging the reactions, running up trial balloons in selected locales. It's all quite psychological and scientific. It's also quite cumulative and repetitive, allowing them to build on the erroneous thinking they've already created.

They play the repub and so-called libertarian rank and file the way Eric Clapton plays the guitar. so well, in fact, that those manipulated have self reinforcing denial systems. You just exhibited one of them.

 

[CallMeJoe]

But you'll use a mouthpiece for progressives, and consider that a good source against "conservative" sources. :hmm:

Your argument is no more valid than that of those on this forum who automatically dismiss any story linked from Fox News.

 

[BoberFett]

It always amuses me that one team claims that they're the true free thinkers while the other teams is just repeating propaganda.

Newsflash, losers. You're both being played.

 

[Jhhnn]

What!! 37 of the top 38 political donors give to Democrats or split their money?

I thought Republicans were suppose to be the party of big money?

The subject isn't direct campaign contributions, but you already knew that. It's deeper than that. Right wing think tanks continuously shape the way Americans think long before any campaigning ever starts, and have done so from a time before RR. They actually affect people's most closely held and cherished beliefs.

A quick look at what righties believe and how they look at the world shows us that they've been sold lies, that they firmly believe in lies. Many still believe that Iraqi WMD's and a reconstituted nuclear program were *reality*. They believe that Obama wasn't born in the US. They believe he's a muslim. They believe the economy was in fine shape before Obama took office. They believe that trickledown actually works as advertised, and they believe they're over-taxed at the federal level when federal income taxes are the lowest they've been in the postwar period...

But there's no point in talking about any of that, because it's not what they think, at all, but rather what they believe. It has nothing to do with reason, and everything to do with blind faith and an unwillingness to question it.

 

[UberNeuman]

It always amuses me that one team claims that they're the true free thinkers while the other teams is just repeating propaganda.

Newsflash, losers. You're both being played.

So, do you find anyone that rises above the two team mentality worth looking at?

 

[Jhhnn]

It always amuses me that one team claims that they're the true free thinkers while the other teams is just repeating propaganda.

Newsflash, losers. You're both being played.

Heh. The link I offered, above, is really pretty dry stuff, not emotional at all. It's mostly numbers, a tabulation of who gave what to who when... It's not like Death Tax! or Death Panels! Or Sekrit Mooslim! or Ground Zero Mosque! or any other number of real propaganda slogans employed on the Right, at all...

 

[ProfJohn]

The subject isn't direct campaign contributions, but you already knew that. It's deeper than that. Right wing think tanks continuously shape the way Americans think long before any campaigning ever starts, and have done so from a time before RR. They actually affect people's most closely held and cherished beliefs.

What about left wing think tanks?

You know, the New York Times? CBS? CNN? Washington Post?

 

[BoberFett]

Yep, it's the other side that can't see through the propaganda. You're the free thinker Jhhnn. Keep telling yourself that. LOL.

 

[Jhhnn]

What about left wing think tanks?

You know, the New York Times? CBS? CNN? Washington Post?

Your desperation is showing, PJ. There is no comparable structure to the thinktanks of the right in progressive circles, and you know it. that's why you're trying to obfuscate once again.