The Water Cooler
See other The Water Cooler Articles
Title: Soros Donates $1 Million to Media Matters
Source:
NYTIMES
URL Source: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/ ... es-1-million-to-media-matters/
Published: Oct 20, 2010
Author: By MICHAEL D. SHEAR
Post Date: 2010-10-20 14:48:44 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 1920
Comments: 1
Media Matters, the liberal activist group that wages a rhetorical war against Fox News Channel and others in the conservative press, will announce on Wednesday the receipt of a $1 million donation from the philanthropist George Soros. In a statement obtained by The Caucus, the organization says it plans to use the money to intensify its efforts to hold the Fox host Glenn Beck and others on the cable news channel accountable for their reporting. “Fox has transformed itself into a 24-7 G.O.P. attack machine, dividing Americans through fear-mongering and falsehoods and undermining the legitimacy of our government for partisan political ends,” the group will say in the statement, to be released Wednesday afternoon. In an accompanying statement, Mr. Soros, a billionaire who has a history of supporting liberal politicians and causes, accused Fox News hosts of “incendiary rhetoric” and said he hoped that his money would be used “in an effort to more widely publicize the challenge Fox News poses to civil and informed discourse in our democracy.” For years, conservatives have accused Media Matters of being a front organization for Mr. Soros. In May, Mr. Beck referred to Media Matters as “the left-wing George Soros-funded media machine that is now referring to me as a jihadist.” In 2007, Fox’s Sean Hannity called it “Hillary Clinton’s George Soros-funded group Media Matters.” Officials at Media Matters regularly deny that they have ever taken money from Mr. Soros, who repeats that denial in Wednesday’s statement, saying, “I have not to date been a funder” of the liberal organization. Now, he will officially be a donor, and likely a fresh target for criticism from the right. Mr. Soros has been a disappointment to some liberals during the current election cycle because he has largely sat on the sidelines. In an interview with my colleague Sewell Chan earlier this month, Mr. Soros said he was concerned about a Republican surge in Congress but was not participating as he did in the past. “I’m basically not a party man. I’d just been forced into that situation by what I considered the excesses of the Bush administration,” he said in the interview. “I think they are pushing the wrong policies, but I’m not in a position to stop it. I don’t believe in standing in the way of an avalanche.” That decision, and similar ones by other big-time Democratic financiers, has contributed to a lopsided flood of money to outside groups in favor of Republicans during the midterm elections. The $1 million donation by Mr. Soros to Media Matters will not alter that calculus. But it could signal a return to greater participation by him during the 2012 presidential campaign. And it suggests that liberals intend to continue pressing their case against the flow of undisclosed money into political campaigns. “We are especially pleased that in this moment of hidden right-wing billionaire money corrupting our democracy, Mr. Soros, upon deciding to support our efforts, quickly and transparently has made that support public,” the statement from Media Matters says.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Brian S (#0)
You fookin leftist assholes have been corrupting our democracy for decades. ESAD!
“We are especially pleased that in this moment of hidden right-wing billionaire money corrupting our democracy
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]