. . ORGANIZATIONS : POLITICS : SOCIAL ISSUES: Political Think Tanks . . Political Think Tanks Common Peoples Source for the News March 20, 2011 UPDATED: March 20, 2011 http://www.cps-news.com/wp-content/misc_html/Think_Tanks.html . .In 2006 there were 6,661 conservative or center-right think tanks, 8,307 centrist think tanks and 2,869 progressive or center- left think tanks. The most quoted think tanks are conservative. Below is a list of just a few. However, this is an evergreen list, therefore will be updated periodically.
. . This List Covers Conservative Think TanksThe majority of the following are think tanks the ultra-conservative Koch Brothers sponsor. However, some are not classified as think tanks. A few are duplicates from the above conservative list.
Centrist Think Tanks Progressive / Liberal Think Tanks . . . Koch Summer Fellow Program - Host Search http://www.theihs.org/koch-summer-fellow-program/host-search .This list, independent of the site above, would based on the name of the program and the statement of purpose, seem to be another listing of groups funded by the Koch brothers and supporting their Libretarian teachings and principles. There are groups as well that appear on both lists as Koch affiliated organizations.
. . . Discover The Network Out To Crush Our Public Workers By Dave Johnson February 9, 2011 - 12:11pm ET Campaign for America's Futurehttp://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2011020608/ pension-reform-following-threads
. A shorter URL for the above link: . http://tinyurl.com/3mf5ea8 . .These state pension reform campaigns across the country come at a time when so many states are in a terrible budget squeeze and are looking for solutions. This storyline diverts public attention from the real culprits. Of course, the obvious solution is to ask the wealthy to pay their fair share, and to cut back on tax breaks, subsidies and incentive programs for corporations. The campaign attempts to distract voters from the obvious and lead them to different conclusions, including:
. 1) Dont raise state taxes, cut public employee pensions instead. . 2) Public employee unions are strangling us and keeping the budget high. .The story also diverts the public from asking where all that pension money went. Right when people should be blaming the financial industry and the financial crisis they caused for state pension shortfalls, up come these studies and PR tactics blaming public employee pensions and unions.
.The fact that this is happening in several states, from organizations linked in many ways, with similar language, similar tactics, quoting the same studies, from organizations with similar boards, etc. suggests this is a coordinated strategy, designed to have the appearance of popular uprising.
. snip . Pension Tsumani: THINK TANKS . Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions Calvert Institute Cato Institute Claremont Institute Commonwealth Foundation (PA) Empire Center for New York State Policy Heartland Institute Illinois Policy Institute Independent Institute Ludwig von Mises Institute Manhattan Institute National Center for Policy Analysis Pacific Research Institute Pensions Institute [UK] Pew Charitable Trusts Reason Foundation RetirementReform.org Rio Grande Foundation Rockefeller Fiscal Studies Sierra Environmental Studies Foundation The Free Enterprise Nation Yankee Institute Exploring The Links .It is worth exploring some of these related Public Policy Institutes. Let's pull some threads and see what we find.
. snip . Cookie-Cutter Think Tanks .This is all from pulling the threads just a little bit that come from just one op-ed on pension reform. I didnt go into the funding of these organizations or look at what else they are doing, other associations, etc. These are just a few of the network of conservative "institutes," etc. around the country. Just a very few. (Here is a list of 185 organizations purporting to be conservative state think tanks, a list of 40 conservative national organizations with state networks and a list of 306 organizations purporting to be conservative national think tanks and 65 conservative "family policy" organizations. There are other lists with other criteria.)
.As you follow these threads you discover layer upon layer of corporate/conservative front groups, masking their activities and funders with more layers of front groups. They all have similar mission statements, have similar people on their Boards with similar backgrounds, cover the same issues the same way, and even use remarkably similar language. They seem to be not just connected but interconnected. The sheer number of these similar "think tanks" make it appear that there must be a machine somewhere that stamps these things from a template. That machine is named Scaife/Coors/Koch (Please read also and spend some time here.)
.These corporate/conservative organizations are very good at manipulating the media and public opinion -- it is their purpose. Their "experts" are well paid and always available to talk to reporters, appear on TV and radio shows and write articles and opinion pieces for newspapers, blogs and for their network of similar organizations. Their "reports' and "studies" reach the conclusions that fit the strategy, and are crafted to sound just right. And there are so many of them! The result is development of "conventional wisdom" about what is going on in our society. This is why that conventional wisdom more and more reflects the corporate/conservative line. And right now the corporate conservative line is that we should think that public employees and their unions are responsible for state and local budget shortfalls.
.Part II looks at some of the "studies" and "reports" and pulls more threads.
. . How Koch Front Groups Influence Laws By Dave Johnson March 2, 2011 - 11:15pm EThttp://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2011030902/ how-oil-front-groups-influence-pollution-laws
. A shorter URL for the above link: . http://tinyurl.com/3pttupx . Campaign for Americas Future http://www.ourfuture.org/ . . Political and economic think tanks in the United States (DDG Topics List)https://duckduckgo.com/c/ Political_and_economic_think_tanks_in_the_United_States
. A shorter URL for the above link: . http://tinyurl.com/3steflv . .Freedom Activist Network's Guide To Organizations http://freedomactivist.net/orgsa.html
. . Media Matters Tracks Funding Sources for Political Action Groupshttp://mediamattersaction.org/transparency/ organization/The_Heritage_Foundation/connections
. A shorter URL for the above link: . http://tinyurl.com/3zxd2qf . . Liberty Links [Another list of conservative and Koch funded groups] http://www.liberty-tree.org/ltn/LibertyLinks.html . .State Policy Networks List of Conservative Organizations with Contact Information
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