America's Madrasas
June 20, 2004
 Dick Cheney has continued espousing discredited theories of connections between Iraq and al Qaeda this week, in spades. He has failed to mention, however, the important role of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in support of al Qaeda and the madrasas. Madrasas are radical Islamist schools teaching a message of hate. They turn out legions of potential recruits for radical Islamist terrorist organizations.
The U.S. has it's own network of organizations that turn out soldiers dedicated to a radical agenda. Like the Saudi Princes who fund radical Islam, wealthy American corporate executives fund the American equivalent domestic groups. And like the political leaders in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan who provide support for the madrasas, America's right-wing foundations fund organizations that turn out an army of activists espousing radical views who undermine the prospects of a reasonable political and social debate.
Who are these foundations and organizations?
The right-wing network was brought to the nation's attention when Hillary Clinton claimed that a "vast, right-wing conspiracy" had been out to get President Bill Clinton. While the claim drew an immediate round of clamorous derision, her claims were aimed at a real target. The loudest denouncers of her claims were, of course, those who represented this movement, the right-wing journalists in the right-wing media and their fifth columnist moles in the traditional press.
 Hillary was speaking specifically of a network of people connected through Richard Mellon Scaife, heir to the Mellon industrial and banking fortune, who'd used The American Spectator, The Landmark Legal Foundation, The Federalist Society (of which Kenneth Starr, yes, that's right -- Ken Starr, is a member). Scaife also has a strong role in funding The Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute, The Cato Institute and a host of other right-wing think tanks and organizations.
But Scaife is not the only foundation involved. Here is the "Diligent Dozen", with links to additional information.
 The organizations they fund include the greatest hits and lowest lights of the right-wing: think tanks, legal organizations, magazines, newspapers, academic and educational institutions, religious-oriented groups. These organizations constitute a subsidized career path for movement conservatives, allowing them to garner attention to their extreme views.
The think tanks, such as The Heritage Foundation, The American Enterprise Institute, The Cato Institute produce right-wing policy analysis, carry out advocacy activities, and work to influence government policy by lobbying.
 Right-wing newspapers, magazines (such as The American Spectator, The Public Interest, OpinionJournal.com, NewsMax.com, etc.) and conservative pundits can then integrate this material into their output, working to shape public attitudes and the political establishment.
 The individuals who write in these newspapers and magazines or who opine on radio or television, have safe, right-wing-friendly places to work from and to infiltrate the professional press. They attack the basis of journalistic integrity, aiming for a "balance" of their views as against the "liberal" views of those whose goal is to provide objective and accurate reporting. This creates an unfair fight, where the rightists are free to say whatever they want in furtherance of their political goals, while the other side, the supposed "liberals" are constrained by traditional journalistic standards.
Similarly, support for legal organizations work to litigate on behalf of conservative causes and form societies of right-leaning jurists, moving the laws that form the underpinning of our social order to the right. Funding in support of religious right groups helps to push their social and political views to the fore. These views shape the debate on issues such as abortion and sexuality, Middle East policy, and our approach to drug policy.
The result is an increasing drift to the right, with right-wing agenda items become accepted positions in the political debate. Ideas such as welfare creates poverty, that school desegregation may have been a bad idea or that anti-trust actions damage competition become legitimate.
Corrupting Society
Just as the radical graduates of the madrasas flowing into the Islamic world undermines opportunities for rational, democratic and humane societies, America's madrasas undermine our democracy and the opportunity to live in a society that is controlled by a fair marketplace of ideas. The goals they advance lead us towards fascism and corporate governance. The effect of this network has to become a major topic of debate in the country if we don't want to end up in a dystopian, Robocop-like future out of a science fiction movie.
Additional Resources
AlterNet
The Triumph of the Diligent Dozen
http://www.alternet.org/story/16096/
Media Transparency
The Strategic Philanthropy of Conservative Foundations
http://www.mediatransparency.org/movement.htm
The Apparat: George W. Bush's back-door political machine
http://www.mediatransparency.org/stories/apparat.html
Disinfopedia
- Foundations:
- Right-wing institutions:
Washington Post
The Federalist Society
The Conservative Cabal That's Transforming American Law
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2000/0003.landay.html
People For the American Way
Right Wing Watch
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=158
Interhemispheric Resource Center
Right Web
http://rightweb.irc-online.org/index.php
University of Oregon
An Internet Guide to Power Structure Research
Researching the Right Wing
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~vburris/whorules/right.htm
|
