August 14, 2011

A New Tack

We've spent some time here at 2PJ tracking the Scaife support given to think tanks mentioned in specific Tribune-Review editorials - for instance, yesterday.

But today I thought I'd try another strategy. How do things look if we look at all the editorials/opinion pieces published in one day?

So let's start.

This editorial about unemployment compensation, Scaife's braintrust cites the Cato Institute.

According to mediamatters, that's:
  • $245,000 from the Scaife-controlled Carthage Foundation.
  • $2,037,500 from the Scaife-controlled Sarah Scaife Foundation.
This opinion piece which chastises George Soros for, among other things, supporting the "openly leftist Open Society Institute" is by Mattew Vadum of the Capital Research Center.

According to mediamatters, that's:
  • $225,000 from the Scaife-controlled Carthage Foundation.
  • $4,675,000 from the Scaife-controlled Sarah Scaife Foundation.
This opinion piece by Colin McNickle, yet another anti-CFL bulb diatribe, cites the Manhatan Institute.

According to mediamatters, that's:
  • $693,000 from the Scaife-controlled Carthage Foundation.
  • $3,815,000 from the Scaife-controlled Sarah Scaife Foundation.
This piece by John Stossel cites the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

According to mediamatters, that's:
  • $60,000 from the Scaife-controlled Carthage Foundation.
  • $2,865,000 from the Scaife-controlled Sarah Scaife Foundation.
This piece is by Arnaud de Borchgrave of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

According to mediamatters, that's:
  • $100,000 from the Scaife-controlled Allegheny Foundation.
  • $50,000 from the Scaife-controlled Carthage Foundation.
  • $10,148,000 from the Scaife-controlled Sarah Scaife Foundation.
This piece by Tom Purcell cites Reason Magazine, which is published by the Reason Foundation.

According to mediamatters, that's:
  • $366,000 from the Scaife-controlled Carthage Foundation.
  • $2,016,000 from the Scaife-controlled Sarah Scaife Foundation.
Whew.

If my math is correct, that means that over the years the Scaife-controlled Allegheny, Carthage and Sarah Scaife Foundations have given about $27.3 million to the various think tanks cited on today's op-ed pages alone.

Had he not given that support, those think tanks would look vastly different. They might not even exist. And yet he did and they do and his op-ed page cites them with no mention of all that money.

Tell me again how there's no vast right-wing conspiracy.