Heritage Foundation Republicans

[AmandaRuth]

So the HF wants to do away with all so-called socialist programs, ie public education and social security. I think the Democrats should call all Republicans on this. It should be asked up front are you a heritage foundation republican? They should publish who is on their mailing list/email list and then make sure that info is put out to the public. People have a right to know the true feelings/ideology of their public representatives.

And what the hell is a think tank anyway, do the reThugs call them when they need some thoughts?

[pres2032]

1. to be fair....

us liberals do have our own think tanks too. we have the Brookings Institute, the Economic Policy Institute, and such.

[wuushew]

4. I disagree what you call liberal I call independent and non-partisan

The Brookings Institution, one of Washington's oldest think tanks, is an independent, nonpartisan organization devoted to research, analysis, and public education, with an emphasis on economics, foreign policy, and governance.

http://www.brookings.org/index/about.htm

[MissMarple]

6. Brookings is liberal? I thought they were more centrist.

:D

[sfwriter]

7. Yeah, but we aren't trying to do away with Social Security...

As these Heratige Foundation members are. I think it's pretty reasonable since any Republican who claims killing Social Security isn't their goal and is a member of Heritage is a damned liar.

It's like all the Republicans who aren't racists, just members or former members of racist groups.

On the left, I don't see too many thinktanks calling for the collectivisation of corporate wealth or whatever the opposite of gutting our social safety net would be.

[annak110]

11. "Rightwing Think Tank" is an oxymoron right up there with

"military intelligence"

[keep_left]

17. And they are nowhere near the number, nor have the influence...

and funding of the RW think tanks. The Nation did an excellent feature on this a couple years ago (at least). The title was something like "why left foundations give too little to too many". Basically calling for a little natural selection in the progressive think tanks, so that only those who would really fight for ideas and become media-savvy would get the $$$. Not a bad idea.

The Nation feature gave a devastating picture of the funding and organization of the RW think tanks, and said we can't even come close at the moment--but we must, and soon. The funding disparity alone was like 12:1, but that wasn't the only part of it. Heritage and others have a very sophisticated media strategy, producing reams of prefabbed position papers, reports, etc. which often provide entire off-the-rack strategies for campaigns. Heritage in particular basically acts as an apologist for far-right power, selling crazy ideas by sugar-coating them.

[lovedems]

2. The think tanks spend their entire day coming up with republican

talking points and conservative policy. The pubs invest millions of dollars in them. Next time you see a Heritage Foundation representative on the news they usually have the title "senior scholar" or something stupid like that. It makes them sound smart.

We have a new think tank (Center for American Progress) and they spend alot of time debunking conservative think tanks.

[Canuckistanian]

5. I saw David Corn debating one of these Heritage Foundation morons

The guy was a pasty-faced Brit who mouthed all the RW spin points, "bringing democracy to Iraq", "all Arab fundamentalists are responsible for 9/11", etc.
Corn destroyed him with facts, debunked him with direct quotes and generally made him look ridiculous. All the guy could do was sit there and smile with a slightly panicked look.
It was great.

[lovedems]

8. David Corn has THE BEST anti-* book out there.

His "Lies of George W. Bush" is the best of all the books I have read. If you haven't read it yet, I strongly recommend that you do. I kid you not when I tell you it is the best.

I am sure he made a fool of the Heritage Foundation "thinker". Corn knows the game. I wish I could've seen it.

[keep_left]

18. Yes, and the CAP needs to be a whole lot more combative. (n/t)

[AmandaRuth]

3. yes of course, liberals do have to play catch up, and having our own think

tanks is a good thing, but my point is do people know that their elected officials may be getting press releases and policy making directives from an organization that wants to do away with public education and SS, and may share that same ideology. Really i think every reThug should answer the question of whether or not they are a HF republican. ////

[bleedingheart]

9. Heritage Foundation is full of a bunch of conservatives who make

their living sucking up to a bunch of rich nasty conservatives so that they can live well.
After reading Brock's book I have determined that American Spectator, the Heritage Foundation..etc are full of these opportunists who try to out do one another with their insane conservative policies so that Rich Scaife will give them money.
I think that personally most of them don't even believe what they write but the money rolls in and they keep writing it....they should be commended for the giant scam they are running over on those rich founders of that institute.

If anything they are living off the welfare of their benefactors...kind of ironic.

[MissMarple]

10. Heritage was started with COORS money. Yup, and Peter wants to be

a U.S. senator from Colorado. He hates all liberals and all things liberal. And Colorado has a little "think" tank of its own. Check out
www.wilberforce.org

These guys are on record for being the philosophical basis for Colorado Republicans. They hate welfare (any kind), public schools, the environment, are for church and state involvement, everything we are against or are wary of.

[annak110]

12. They are rightwing Catholics...

Paul Wyrich, who runs the Heritage Foundation is a long time rightwing Catholic author who developed, among other ugly things, the Moral Majority and hired Jerry Falwell to run it but put Cal Thomas, also a rightwing Catholic in second place. He has also funded Pat Robertson.

Remember the "Killer Tree" speech that Ronnie Raygun gave? Wyrich's
Heritage Foundation wrote it and other b.s.put out by Raygun. The speech actually claimed that organic plants put out more "gases" than industrial plants. I guess so, oxygen for example!

Peter Coors' daddy, Joseph was one of the eight or so Knights of Malta (SMOM) who ran Raygun's white house and carried on the wars in Central America in their attempt to wipe out Liberation Theology. Jeb Bush was a gun runner in those wars and SMOM used its warehouses to store armaments.

Well, you can't have a feudal (corporative) society and have public schools or a middle class, etc.

[Servo300]

13. Cal Thomas is an evangelical Protestant (n/t)

[keep_left]

19. Ah, no, I don't think he is anymore...

I'm pretty sure he's another Opus Dei recruit. Someone on BartCop had seen Cal on Faux spouting the usual Opus Dei cr*p. Apparently Cal now thinks--now that he's already raised his family--that birth control is immoral, etc. and was berating feminists' support of contraception for ending Western civilization. Now you know why they put him on at 10 PM on Saturdays. Not even the most extreme Faux fans will support ideas like that.

[AlCzervik]

14. Well you know

trees are natures terrorists, and Cal Thomas is a bigtime fundie.

[MissMarple]

15. These are scary people. I wonder if they support Opus Dei, as well?

Do you have anything on that?

[keep_left]

20. Some of them ARE Opus Dei.

Confirmed Opus Dei: Rick Santorum, Sam Brownback, Robert and Mary Ellen Bork, Larry Kudlow (CNBC RWer), Robert Novak, Alfred Regnery (runs far-right Regnery and Spence publishing houses), Mark Belnick (indicted Tyco counsel), Robert Hanssen (convicted spy), Anontin Scalia, and Lewis Lehrman (Wall Street financier).

Suspected Opus Dei: Laura Ingraham (just converted to very RW Catholicism), Elliott Abrams, Tom Monaghan (Domino's Pizza founder and funder of the extreme right), Neil Cavuto (FNC host), Bill O'Reilly, John Poindexter (Iran-contra figure), Legatus foundation (Monaghan-funded), Ethics and Public Policy Center (RW think tank), Relevant Radio, Ave Maria Radio, and EWTN (far-right "Catholic" media groups).

[SharonAnn]

22. Didn't you forget Clarence thomas and Peggy Noonan?

They're either Opus Dei or their R-W Catholica aficianados.

Both are follower of Rev. McCloskey, the Washington D.C. opus Dei recruiter.

[keep_left]

23. Correct. Thanks for reminding me about those two.

I had forgotten about them, and I am sure there are some others I just can't recollect at the moment. If they are followers of C. John McCloskey, they are Opus Dei or soon will be. By the way, Scalia and Thomas supposedly attend the same church.

These types are just about as crazy as you can get. McCloskey has gone as far as suggesting that civil war and an ensuing theocracy would be a desirable outcome in this country. I forgot to include this link in earlier posts:

http://www.odan.org/index.htm (Opus Dei Awareness Network)

[randr]

16. The hidden agenda of * is part and parcel

HF theology. He would never run on or admit to supporting any of their radical positions. He always runs as a Democrat if you haven't noticed and no one ever calls him on his failed promises.
This is a group originally funded by Her Joseph Coors, I believe.

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

21. whats the difference between Heritage and AEI..

The American Enterprise Institute.

I thought it was a big right wing think tank too....how does it relate to Hertiage?