Cato Institute, Heritage Foundation, and others. Every wonder who these people are? They are very frequently quoted for their "information" and often their info is taken at face value as fact. But who are they? What are their motives?
This statment sums it up:
As one investigative journalist stated years ago in a pioneering investigation, "layer upon layer of seminars, studies, conferences, and interviews [can] do much to push along if not create, the issues, which then become the national agenda of debate.... By multiplying the authorities to whom the media are prepared to give a friendly hearing, [conservative donations] have helped to create an illusion of diversity where none exists. The result could be an increasing number of one-sided debates in which the challengers are far outnumbered, if indeed they are heard from at all.
http://www.mediatransparency.org/na...think_tanks.htm
"Summary
In response to liberal academia, wealthy conservative businessmen are funding a growing number of far-right think tanks to establish a theoretical footing for their causes. Lacking all the checks and balances that keep academic research honest, these think tanks produce highly flawed and biased studies whose only purpose is to promote policies that favor the business classes that fund them."
http://www.korpios.org/resurgent/L-thinktank.htm
How has the right been so successful? Research shows that over the past quarter-century a well-funded, tightly coordinated ideological movement has come to dominate our country's marketplace of ideas. Their deeply ideological movement ? with its well-funded advocacy think tanks and aggressive communications strategy ? has increasingly set the public agenda, shifting national and local politics consistently to the right and away from the broader public interest. This movement has undermined society's understanding of the legitimate role of government and the need for balance between community, individual and corporate responsibilities.
Many of the movement?s actions have occurred behind-the-scenes, unrecognized by ? even masked from ? the general public.
It sounds like many voices, but it is really only a few. Imagine: There is an important issue in the news, and you look for information. You read an op-ed piece written by a "policy analyst" from some "institute." The next day, a columnist writes something similar, quoting "conservative scholars." You read a magazine article with a similar message, citing yet more experts. That night, you watch the news on TV and the commentators are expressing opinions that are beginning to sound awfully familiar. A politician?s speech becomes hard to distinguish from the rants of the radio talk-show host. A much-discussed book and a highly trafficked website echo the same themes, in similar language.
In reality, though, these conventional wisdoms are misleading at best. You have heard a repeated message that is actually coming from very few sources who are coordinating or paying many people and organizations to say the same thing in creatively different ways.
There has been no comparable moderate/progressive counter-response to restore balance. As a result, US citizens are witnessing a virtual monopolization of the marketplace of ideas. When one looks at the major print and broadcast media, at public opinion polls, and at the positions taken by politicians of both major parties, it becomes clear that there has been a steady shift toward the right-wing movement?s attitudes and policies.
http://www.commonwealinstitute.org/thereis.html
NOTE: I don't neccessarily endorse these links, but they reflect what I have learned over time.
This statment sums it up:
As one investigative journalist stated years ago in a pioneering investigation, "layer upon layer of seminars, studies, conferences, and interviews [can] do much to push along if not create, the issues, which then become the national agenda of debate.... By multiplying the authorities to whom the media are prepared to give a friendly hearing, [conservative donations] have helped to create an illusion of diversity where none exists. The result could be an increasing number of one-sided debates in which the challengers are far outnumbered, if indeed they are heard from at all.
http://www.mediatransparency.org/na...think_tanks.htm
"Summary
In response to liberal academia, wealthy conservative businessmen are funding a growing number of far-right think tanks to establish a theoretical footing for their causes. Lacking all the checks and balances that keep academic research honest, these think tanks produce highly flawed and biased studies whose only purpose is to promote policies that favor the business classes that fund them."
http://www.korpios.org/resurgent/L-thinktank.htm
How has the right been so successful? Research shows that over the past quarter-century a well-funded, tightly coordinated ideological movement has come to dominate our country's marketplace of ideas. Their deeply ideological movement ? with its well-funded advocacy think tanks and aggressive communications strategy ? has increasingly set the public agenda, shifting national and local politics consistently to the right and away from the broader public interest. This movement has undermined society's understanding of the legitimate role of government and the need for balance between community, individual and corporate responsibilities.
Many of the movement?s actions have occurred behind-the-scenes, unrecognized by ? even masked from ? the general public.
It sounds like many voices, but it is really only a few. Imagine: There is an important issue in the news, and you look for information. You read an op-ed piece written by a "policy analyst" from some "institute." The next day, a columnist writes something similar, quoting "conservative scholars." You read a magazine article with a similar message, citing yet more experts. That night, you watch the news on TV and the commentators are expressing opinions that are beginning to sound awfully familiar. A politician?s speech becomes hard to distinguish from the rants of the radio talk-show host. A much-discussed book and a highly trafficked website echo the same themes, in similar language.
In reality, though, these conventional wisdoms are misleading at best. You have heard a repeated message that is actually coming from very few sources who are coordinating or paying many people and organizations to say the same thing in creatively different ways.
There has been no comparable moderate/progressive counter-response to restore balance. As a result, US citizens are witnessing a virtual monopolization of the marketplace of ideas. When one looks at the major print and broadcast media, at public opinion polls, and at the positions taken by politicians of both major parties, it becomes clear that there has been a steady shift toward the right-wing movement?s attitudes and policies.
http://www.commonwealinstitute.org/thereis.html
NOTE: I don't neccessarily endorse these links, but they reflect what I have learned over time.
