"We know what's best for you"
Time for a SPECTRE council meeting:
A group of billionaire philanthropists are to donate tens of millions more dollars to develop progressive political ideas in the US in an effort to counter the conservative ascendancy.Cool veneer, Number 1! The little people will never figure it out.
George Soros, who made his fortune in the hedge fund industry, Herb and Marion Sandler, the California couple who own a multi-billion dollar savings and loan business, and Peter Lewis, the publicity-shy chairman of an Ohio insurance company, donated more than $63m (€48m, £34m) in the 2004 election cycle to organisations seeking to defeat George W. Bush.
At a meeting in San Francisco last month, the left-leaning billionaires agreed to commit an even larger sum over a longer period to building institutions to foster progressive ideas and people.
The details of the San Francisco meeting are closely held. Mr Soros and his son Jonathan, the Sandlers and Mr Lewis asked aides to leave the room as they discussed the planned financial commitment.Gosh, that's the way all good SPECTRE meetings work, but I sure miss the cool videos of the meetings like in the movies.
But the still-evolving plan, according to one person involved, was "joint investment to build intellectual infrastructure".And a "deeper progressive bench" needs flacks and storm troopers:
The aim is to provide the left with organisations in Washington that can match the heft of the rightwing think-tanks such as the Heritage Foundation. At a state level, the aim is to build what one person called a "deeper progressive bench".
The sums involved are the subject of speculation: one person said he had heard a commitment to spend more than $100m over 15 years, another said at least $25m over five years. Several people said the billionaires had decided to spend more, rather than less, than they did in 2004.
Stephen Bing, a film producer and heir to a real estate fortune who donated $13m, is also expected to be involved in the investment. Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, has been working to include organised labour in the initiative.And don't forget Evita!
John Podesta, the former chief-of-staff to Bill Clinton who now runs the Center for American Progress, a two-year-old Washington think-tank, is expected to play a central role in dispensing the funds. The Open Society Institute, Mr Soros' foundation in New York, is also due to have a big say in the allocation of money.Everyone line up for the gravy train!
Leftwing policy experts have already got wind of the new funds. One former aide to Mr Kerry said there had been talks with the Center for American Progress about making permanent the network of foreign policy experts established by Democrats in the 2004 campaign. He said he had been told: "Money is not a problem."I wonder why no one worked harder for the McCain-Feingold "campaign finance reform" travesty than SPECTRE. I guess they wanted to make sure their money is better than the little people's.
UPDATE: And don't forget SPECTRE's paid blog monkeys. C'mon guys, don't be shy. We know what you are, but we're just curious about the price.
