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Far Right Political Funder Scaife Enthusiastic About Clinton
By Bruce Wilson Mon Mar 31, 2008 at 04:56:51 PM EST printable version print story
As the New York Times and other major papers are reporting today, an op-ed written by Richard Mellon-Scaife in the Sunday edition of Scaife's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is raising eyebrows because the considerable enthusiasm Scaife evinced for Democratic Party presidential nomination contender Hillary Clinton.
topic: Theocratic Leadership
While making clear that he was not yet endorsing Hillary Clinton, far-right wing political infrastructure funder Scaife seemed quite enthusiastic after his meeting with Clinton:

Sen. Clinton came to the Trib anyway and, for 90 minutes, answered questions.

Her meeting and her remarks during it changed my mind about her.

Walking into our conference room, not knowing what to expect (or even, perhaps, expecting the worst), took courage and confidence. Not many politicians have political or personal courage today, so it was refreshing to see her exhibit both.

Sen. Clinton also exhibited an impressive command of many of today's most pressing domestic and international issues. . . .

I have a very different impression of Hillary Clinton today than before last Tuesday's meeting -- and it's a very favorable one indeed.

Over the past several decades Richard Mellon Scaife has been, almost certainly, one of the top funders of far-right organizations in America. The industrial fortune heir and owner of the Pittburgh Tribune Review provided the lion's share of the initial funding which created the Heritage Foundation and has given key finding to The American Spectator, the pro-war Neoconservative Foundation For The Defense Of Democracies, the Heartland Institute, the Institute On Religion and Democracy, the David Horowitz Freedom Center, the Free Congress Foundation

As Bill Berkowitz, for Media Transparency, describes the role of the Scaife funded Heritage Foundation,

The creation of the influential Heritage Foundation was probably the single most important event in the development of a national network of conservative policy-oriented institutions. Heritage was founded in 1973 by the anti-labor, racist, homophobic brewery magnate Joseph Coors together with prominent right-wing activist Paul Weyrich and wealthy right-wingers Richard Scaife and Edward Noble. The initial funding came from Coors ($250,000), Scaife ($900,000), and "significant sums" from Noble. Large corporations, including Gulf Oil, also made early contributions. In the early 1980s, Heritage reported that "87 top corporations" were supporters. By 1995, it had an annual budget of $25 million.

In 1980, Heritage published a 3,000 page, 20-volume set of policy recommendations called "Mandate for Leadership" that proved to be the intellectual blueprint for the so-called "Reagan Revolution," including trickle-down economics, massive cutbacks in social programs and the Star Wars Defense Strategy, the gargantuan feeding trough for the military-industrial complex that even the Pentagon admitted was militarily useless.

More recently, the Heritage Foundation had substantial input into the writing of Newt Gingrich's "Contract with America."




Display:
That dug up tons of dirt on Bill Clinton and nearly brought down the Clinton presidency.  I am appalled that Sen. Clinton would go anywhere near the Tribune-Review, or Richard Mellon Scaife.

by Ellid on Mon Mar 31, 2008 at 10:26:13 PM EST

the religious right is trying to influence liberal politics. Since the Republican Party has made such a bad name for itself with the Bush adminstration, perhaps they see a way to start pushing the Democratic Party in their desired direction.

by Anna Lemma on Mon Mar 31, 2008 at 07:04:11 PM EST
and it has been going on for years. It is odd that Scaife has taken this turn, but it may have to do with the need for certain of the upper crust to make their peace with elements of the party at the apparent dawn of a Democratic Era.

by Frederick Clarkson on Mon Mar 31, 2008 at 07:24:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Remember, Clinton is not a liberal (at least, not in the traditional sense)- she (and her husband) are NEOliberals.  In other words (and simply put): "Free Markets Fix Everything".

Remember how they fought for NAFTA?

Privatization and the market economy is the neoliberal cure-all.  Government programs are often seen as a way to open up new potential "markets".  Never mind that it's been demonstrated that these things often are counterproductive and harmful.

Also don't forget her connection to the "Family".

by ArchaeoBob on Mon Mar 31, 2008 at 07:48:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The Clintons are liberals in good standing. While I might disagree with some of their positions (as I question several of Obama's --  like voting for H.R. 6, one of Cheney's energy bills) they did put two liberal members on SCOTUS, were truly the first to attempt the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research and are pro-choice -- among many other liberal positions.

As for NAFTA, I support it as a framework. It is a good idea for North America to form a trade bloc to counter the EU. NAFTA, certainly must be revisited in order to instill better pro-union, environmental and distributive justice provision into the agreement, but the framework is still viable.

by Frank Cocozzelli on Tue Apr 01, 2008 at 07:38:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Is to see Hillary Clinton making nice with Scaife given his funding of the IRD - in 1994 Clinton told an interviewer that she thought the Social Gospel had been taken "too far".

I'm not saying Clinton would condone the work of the IRD, just that she may well hold the view that religion should be more of a private affair. And, Scaife almost certainly approves the way of "private piety".

There's also a question as to what sort of Social Gospel beliefs Clinton may have - given that she was one of the very earliest prominent supporters of "charitable choice" provisions which laid groundwork for the "Faith Based Initiative", it may be that such programs express Clinton's interpretation of the "Social Gospel" - more of a communitarian approach (in sync with her "It Takes a Family" book) in which social needs are addressed by local churches and religious groups, partnered with and to an extent supported by government.

What's notable about that sort of model, beyond possible unconstitutional church-state separation clause violations, is that it's also close to Marvin Olasky's vision which, though he denies being a Reconstructionist, can be seen as an expression of the Christian Reconstructionist vision in which most functions of the federal government are eventually phased out along with New Deal & Great Society Programs. And, that's how things have played out in the Faith Based Initiative - gradually, money for social programs has dried up, and little by little the remnant is being fobbed off on churches & religious groups. In the end, the process plays out as a gradual reduction in the redistributive function of the federal government.

That may not be Hillary Clinton's exact goal, but she certainly hasn't opposed the Faith Based Initiative especially as something working to degrade basic government social services. In the end there may be two models of the Social Gospel in play, one a conservative, minimalist take - and, Clinton may hew more to that.

by Bruce Wilson on Tue Apr 01, 2008 at 08:48:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]


Let's please keep the discussion focused on the religious right. (The relative merits of NAFTA, I think takes us rather astray unless we are talking specifically about the views or role of the religious right.)

Senator Clinton does have some serious explaining to do regarding her relationship to the religious right group, The Family -- but it is difficult to measure how much it has influenced her politics.

That said, Bill Clinton as president appointed a key neoconservative (although he rejected the term) and IRD founder Penn Kemble to several government and diplomatic posts. IRD was founded as a project of the Coalition for a Democratic Majority, (Kemble was execitove director at the time. CDM comprised mostly anti-McGovern neocons, including those who eventually became the neocon Republicans. Kemble was later also part of the ultimate neocon Project for a New American Century.

What's more, President Clinton went so far as to endorse the Promise Keepers when they held their big march on Washington.

Mr. Clinton has, like any national pol, has had complicated relationships with influential, but controversial and divisive figures and groups, including those of the Religious Right and its explicitly neoconservative dimension.

by Frederick Clarkson on Tue Apr 01, 2008 at 10:33:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]

I had to do my Three Stooges bit when you addressed me that way Fred. And sorry about the NAFTA bit too.

But in all seriousness, it is more complicated than it really seems. And judging by both Clintons' pro-choice, pro-embryonic stem cell and  opposition to prayer in public schools, I think they qualify as good liberals..

As Somerby recently observed in a Daily Howler post on Barbara Ehrenreich's dopey article on Hillary:

The (proposed) law to which Ehrenreich refers is the Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WRFA). Variants of the bill have been presented in Congress for years; it may be a bit of a Potemkin measure, repeatedly offered as a way of pandering to certain groups. But the WRFA is a bipartisan bill, with somewhat unusual blends of sponsors and opponents. In 2005, for example, the bill was introduced in the Senate by Rick Santorum--and by John Kerry, a Democrat from Massachusetts. (In 2004, Kerry was the Democratic Party's nominee for president.) In the House, the bill was introduced by Rick Souder, the Indiana Republican--and by Carolyn McCarthy and Anthony Weiner, two Democrats from New York.

Has Clinton been drawn "into the sinister heart of the international right?" If so, Kerry (and McCarthy) seem to be there too--a point Ehrenreich absent-mindedly forgot to mention in her unfortunate rant. For the record, Kerry has introduced some variant of this bill every year since 1999, after two of his constituents got fired for refusing to work on Christmas Day. Ehrenreich omitted that too.

I think Fred is clearly on the right track: It probably is more of a scenario where Scaife recognizes that the Right's hey-day is coming to an end. He's probably looking for a means of survival. The other question that must be asked is, Did Obama also speak to Scaife? If, not, Was he also invited? If the answer is "yes" to either one, that tends to confirm my point. If not, the issue merits further investigation. But then again candidates of both parties get interviewed by newspapers that will ultimately be hostile to them in the general election.

On a related issue, I think that Ed Rendell must be gone in the head to say that Fox News is objective. But even over there they might be seeing the writing on the wall as evidenced by the on-air criticisms of Obama-bashing by some of their own talking heads.

by Frank Cocozzelli on Tue Apr 01, 2008 at 11:00:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]

But alas, the Scaife realignment goes beyond his attending an editorial board interview with Sen. Clinton and then penning his own, quite unprecedented op-ed about it.

Scaife also came-a-courting to Bill Clinton earlier this year, and wrote a big check to the Clinton Foundation, and the press was let in on the whole affair.

The peace treaty is certainly mutual as the stars realign in the firmament. Exactly what it means, is hard to say. But I think we can be reasonably sure that the relationship runs deeper than a check and a friendly editorial.

by Frederick Clarkson on Tue Apr 01, 2008 at 11:22:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]







First Murdock and now Scaife! My distrust level of Sen. Clinton just ratcheted up to the pinnacle.  

IMO Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise and other Reich-wing 'think tanks' (propaganda mills) have done more damage to the United States than any other single segment of society.  

by PlacitasRoy on Tue Apr 01, 2008 at 08:31:46 AM EST



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