If Media Matters, does Money Matter?
My friend Andre here on ConClub, who is slightly to the left of me, decided to use Rush 
Limbaugh in a recent post as a comparative example to the lunatic ravings of John Elliott regarding the Randi Rhodes incident. No matter that Elliott created a fantasy out of whole cloth, and you have to take a leap of faith to believe the charge against Rush. I certainly do not want to spend my time being Mr. Limbaugh’s apologist. I just want to respond in depth to Andre’s comment…
Um, PG, Just for the record, George Soros is not involved with Media Matters in any way.
Would that it was true my friend, would that it was true! Not only does media matter, but money does too my friend; don’t ya think?
Some people may swallow the argument about OSI and how any funds given were “earmarked” for propaganda machines other than Media Matters, and the Progressives are welcome to. I choose to use common sense. Sorry guys, being full of it when it comes to plain facts is not a difference of opinion, it’s a question of reality. Mr. Soros funds the organizations that fund Media Matters. Progressives believe PNAC is a conspiracy, but not the Soros -OSI- Tides Foundation – Media Matters chain. Earmarks, yeah the mob likes that term too when they laundry their “fungible” money. What do those Progressives say about how to see how evil capitalism works? Is it follow the money? Yes I think it is!
Just for fun, how much money has PNAC funneled though companies for propaganda purposes? OH, sorry, none. They write papers, articles and books that they sign their names to. They have a magazine and a web site where their views have bylines at the top. Soros and his friends on the other hand, like to move in the shadows. Their philosophy is known more for what it is against, than what it is for. It is known for its negitive attacks and not for its positive contributions.
If one does not yet see a connection then may I mention The Center for American Progress, the Democracy Alliance or our good friends at Moveon.org. You want it both ways huh? There is a vast right wing consiracy, but Soros’ money has no strings. Look, if Bill O’Reilly can figure this out, why cant you? It is politics folks! Get dinner “first” this time, because it is happening again. They take you for granted.
I am not not against Soros because he spends his money this way, it is his right to do so, no I am against him because he is simply an evil man. Dont take my word for it, take his…
From a 60 Minutes interview with Soros on December 20, 1998:
KROFT: (You) went out, in fact, and helped in the confiscation of property from the Jews.
Mr. SOROS: Yes. That’s right. Yes.
KROFT: I mean, that sounds like an experience that would send lots of people to the psychiatric couch for many, many years. Was it difficult?
Mr. SOROS: Not at all. Not at all. Maybe as a child you don’t see the connection. But it created no problem at all. (Note: Mr. Soros was not a child in 1944. Teenagers are well aware of moral rules.)
KROFT: No feeling of guilt?
Mr. SOROS: No.
KROFT: For example that, ‘I’m Jewish and here I am, watching these people go. I could just as easily be there. I should be there.’ None of that?
Mr. SOROS: Well, of course I could be on the other side or I could be the one from whom the thing is being taken away. But there was no sense that I shouldn’t be there, because that was — well, actually, in a funny way, it’s just like in markets, that if I weren’t there, of course, I wasn’t doing it, but somebody else would be taking it away anyhow. And whether I was there or not, I was only a spectator, the property was being taken away. So I had no role in taking away that property. So I had no sense of guilt.”
E the Wise
DFV the Scribe
Andre the Defiant
Wes
pg - your humble messenger
hairybeast
Drowning Creek
Mo K.
Sting the Away
Do you realize that all Media Matters does is quote people? Nothing more, nothing less. The MOST Media Matters ever does is take something out of context, but you’d be hard-pressed to find too many instances of them even doing that much. Maybe you don’t read it a lot, but I do, and they post detailed transcriptions with plenty of context. We’re not talking about propaganda machines, we’re talking about a website that sprung up because the people you are defending were lying their asses off with no accountability. They still do so, the only difference is they’re a lot more careful about it. If they stopped saying things that most people would find offensive, maybe they wouldn’t have so many problems.
But George Soros is just the latest bogeyman dreamed up because you can’t find people on the left that are as universally despised as Dick Cheney. Yes, he’s a creep, but since when do conservatives give a damn about crooked investors?
Wes
October 18, 2007 at 3:11 pm
He’s a creep bankrolling the Looney Left to the tune of millions. He helped bankroll the now three million member Moveon.org which is about as radical as they come.
Dave the Infidel Sage
October 18, 2007 at 8:24 pm
That was an awesome post pg, and probably the most sourced post ever to appear on Conclub.
Dave the Infidel Sage
October 18, 2007 at 8:25 pm
Excellent work PG, but can you link your sources next time?
E the Wise
October 18, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Mmmm, OK, I followed most of your links, and I see lots of references to Soros inderectly funding Moveon.org, and how that somehow implies guilt by association, but, can you give me the one that ties him directly to MMA?
In the interest of fairness… their claim.
Andre the Defiant
October 18, 2007 at 9:43 pm
When it comes to the “looney fringe” I’ll put Moveon up against FR any day, Dave. Of course, only one of those is on our Blogroll.
Andre the Defiant
October 18, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Wes stated…
I did not realize that, because no they don’t do “just” that, not at all. What you describe is an ombudsman, they are advocates. Their “context” is really “comentary”. I have been reading them quite a while longer than you I would guess, as is the case with most everything.
Besides, I was just following the money in response to Andre’s statement. Please, for the sake of amity, don’t tell me I am failing to understand something I have painstakingly laid out. Saying you do not agree is fine, telling me I am uniformed makes you appear silly. You get petulant every time I lay these types of things out. Why?
This is a complete misstatement of fact. I gave you multiple cases that show this not to be true. Are my links not showing up on your browser? I did your research for you; I can’t do your reading. Besides, your no accountability statement makes you appear very extreme. If your world view includes believing the MSM has not held the Bush administration accountable, then the term “netroot” comes to mind.
I hate to break this to you, you are not MOST people. Have you ever taken a marketing class? First thing they teach you is that you are NOT most people. Rush and O’Reilly are huge, media matters and moveon.org not so big. This has been, just like with General Petraeus attack, very positive for the one attacked.
My goodness, really now; if I did not know better I would think this was no more than an insult thrown out by somebody who did not have anything constructive to say. Listen, I dislike Soros because of who he is and the ideas he believes in. His agenda is a threat to this country.
Possibly you do not like my sarcasm? Then I am sorry, but next time please make a point besides stating your opinion that “Bush-Cheney bad” and I am a jerk. Those are givens! (I really need a smiley face!)
pgwarner
October 19, 2007 at 9:25 am
Comprehension is only half understanding facts. The other half is having the objectivity to interpret them, and I’ve rarely seen anything to indicate that you are capable of this. This post is a prime example of that.I’m sorry, I respect you (promise I do), but I can’t see how thinking this is indicative of some sort of evil plot is anything other than ridiculous.
Your “scoop” here is that George Soros funds organizations designed to get Democrats in office. If you’re trying to open our eyes to the news that people who donate to liberal causes donate to OTHER liberal causes, then I suppose I can’t dispute that claim. How the hell else could these organizations have the money to operate? Why would George Soros go to all the trouble of creating these puppet organizations and then freely admit that he’s given tons of money to them? Why wouldn’t he instead make the money look like it’s coming from other PRIVATE organizations or other individuals? The only reason Republicans attack Soros is because they can’t dispute the charges of corruption in their own ranks. They can’t hide the fact that they have far more wealthy supporters than Democrats do, so they focus on a person with a sordid past that actually does fund the Democratic party and trumpet it as loud as they can. Diebold’s CEO promised to deliver Ohio (and the election) to George Bush. So which side is actually more capable of conspiracy?
And the claims that Media Matters operate as soldiers of Hillary or Soros are equally ridiculous. Republicans HATE Hillary. It only stands to reason that they’re going to say more bad things about Hillary than any other candidate or any other figure on the left in general. Just like orgs on the left are going to focus on Bush. And yes, they only post quotes. Commentary is added, but the entire point is to highlight examples of conservative bias in the news to combat the ongoing perception of the media as being liberal. You list MoveOn.org, but are they endorsing Hillary? Are all the members of these Democratic organizations Hillary supporters? No, but most are, because Hillary stands for most of the things that these guys stand for (namely, not much). But Media Matters is consistent and inherently accurate. They have never (to my knowledge) taken one line completely out of context and whenever they’re challenged, they answer back. And in the case of Rush, the context completely supports what was said. It’s just that your own bias keeps you from being able to understand that the thing he claims he was saying means precisely the same thing as what they claimed he said.
Wes
October 19, 2007 at 10:13 am
Well maybe you should have followed all of them. I followed your link, and thank you, it was good for a laugh. All it did was document, with great detail, how O’Reilly was accusing them of things. Then they provide links to support their claim O’Reilly is wrong. Now I never mind when people mess with Bill, as I am no fan, but their sources are themselves! You have to love it.
The support claims in your link are contained in this sentence by Media Matters…
Let’s take a look at support link #1, the “directly” link…
This is slick. Their defense is to document that Drudge says they are Soros’ mouth-piece. Then they just say they aren’t. I love it. If you take that for support, then would you believe I am strikingly handsome man? BTW, what I quoted is WHOLE THING, this is not an excerpt!
#2, the “indirectly” link…
Fair enough, like I said, follow the money. This is just 2005 it is important to note. They do go on to state the money was earmarked, fine, believe what you want I am very happy though that Media Matters admitted they took money from a Soros front organization. What about the other front organizations, did they give money to them? Follow my links.
Media Matters also has a link back to the “directly” link page that mentions Drudge. This time the link reads “as previously indicated”. How circular, how wonderfully devious!
In the multiple links I gave you, there are many more claims besides this particular one, many. Media Matters is crap, pure and simple. They make people like O’Reilly and Rush appear to be victims. How very stupid, they are bigger than ever. The vast Right-Wing Conspiracy wins again.
The point is not that I, or others that see things as I do, don’t understand that Soros and Media Matters say they are not involved, but that they are hiding it. This guy is bad news, very bad news. Look, I don’t deny the influence of a Kristol, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowtiz or a Perle in things, wake up guys! Do the reading, and find out about him.
As of the time I am writing this, Rush’s letter chastising him from the senate is well over two million on eBay. Rush is going to match it and give it to a Marine Corp charity. This really backfired again, I love it!
So Andre: “What you talkin’ ‘bout Willis?” (I do hope you take my sarcasm with a grain of salt.)
pgwarner
October 19, 2007 at 10:35 am
Wes, understand this: I am not claiming Soros, or anyone else is doing anything that is corrupt, or illegal here! Do you understand that? I do not claim there is an evil plot. I am not claiming a “scoop” or that I uncovered something.
I am saying Soros the man and his views are evil. I am saying he influences things from the shadows. I am saying it is important to show his influence at work. I am saying that by his own words and actions he has uncovered himself. He needs to be countered. What I said stands.
Media Matters is just a small part of this. I was planning a post on him, which is why I had all the links. Andre’s comment just prompted it.
Read that neocon paper I posted, it provides quite a bit of perspective.
pgwarner
October 19, 2007 at 10:50 am
No PG. As a gay man, I do not have the capacity to appreciate sarcasm.
Andre the Defiant
October 20, 2007 at 2:13 am
But what exactly is George Soros trying to accomplish? The PNAC had designs on establishing American imperialism. What is Soros’s agenda beyond getting Bush and the neoconservative agenda out of office?
Wes
October 20, 2007 at 11:51 am
“When it comes to the “looney fringe” I’ll put Moveon up against FR any day, Dave.” – AD
I see by such a quote that Andre has finally been swept over the ideological Niagara falls in a barrel of his own making. FR is basically just thousands of conservatives and libertarians sitting around posting articles and commenting on them (sound familiar?). MoveOn.org is running juvenile ads against honorable generals accusing them of treason (Betray us?) while engaging openly in sedition themselves. Hardly a comparison by any stretch of the imagination. You should try taking off the Rainbow colored glasses once in a while and take a look around.
Dave the Infidel Sage
October 20, 2007 at 3:47 pm