Deconstructing the Scaife Foundation (Part 2 of 4)

Yesterday, I began by looking at the mission statement and giving patterns of one of the three charitable foundations operated by Richard M. Scaife. For background on the Allegheny Foundation please refer to this diary. Further background on the right-wing noise machine (and the funding behind it) is available at http://www.mediatransperancy.org/
Note, I am in no way affiliated with the folks at mediatransperancy.org, I simply appreciate their work and will reference it when applicable.

As I stated yesterday, the Scaife Foundations are three seperate entities which claim to have seperate purposes and causes. The purpose of this, and forthcoming diaries, is to explore the mission statements, giving patterns, and connections of these organizations in order to show how a small group of people are effecting the political discourse in this country. I do not claim to have the answer to the inevitable follow-up question, "What can we do about it?" That being said, I have faith in the power of our community, and that in words of Sun Tzu

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

From the Scaife Foundation Website, the Carthage Foundation lists its mission statement as follows:

The Carthage Foundation confines most of its grant awards to programs that will address public policy questions concerned with national and international issues. There are no geographical restrictions.

In its most recent annual report, 2004 Annual Report (.pdf), the Carthage Foundation lists over $23,000,000 in total assets, and over $5,600,000 in total disbursements for the year. The Carthage Foundation lists five officers for 2004, Richard M. Scaife (Chairman), R. Daniel McMichael (Secretary), Michael W. Gelba (Treasurer), Alexis J. Konkol (Asst. Secretary), and Roger W. Robinson Jr. (Asst. Treasurer).
Comparing the financials of the Carthage Foundation to that of the Allegheny Foundation we see that the Carthage Foundation has assets roughly half of that of the Allegheny Foundation, yet gives more than twice the amount in grants. This pattern in disbursements can also be seen in the annual reports from both organizations in 2003, 2002, and 2001.

Lacking the geographical restrictions (seemingly ignored) that we see in the Allegheny Foundation, the Carthage Foundation gives grants to right-wings causes across the country. The Allegheny Institute for Public Policy, a recipient of a $50,000 grant from the Allegheny Foundation also received an additional $110,000 from the Carthage Foundation.  Other causes that the Carthage Foundation supports include the following groups:  

Note that I am listing these groups only to give you, the reader, an idea of how much Mr. Scaife influences the American political process by way of his grants

The American Civil Rights Institute $40,000, this anti-affirmative action organization was behind Prop. 209 in California

The American Civil Rights Union $100,000, consider this organization the anti-ACLU, ALRU as they prefer to be called, lists several notable figures on its board:  Ed Meese, Robert Bork, and Ken Tomlinson.

The American Enterprise Institute $300,000

American Foreign Policy Council $125,000

American Jewish Committee $60,000

America's Survival Inc. $35,000, anti-UN organization headed by Cliff Kincaid also of the oh so mis-named Accuracy In Media

The Association of Literary Scholars and Critics $30,000, a conservative literary group.

The Atlas Economic Research Foundation $50,000, a conservative economic think-tank

The Capital Research Center $35,000, a right-wing group that studies philanthropies from our side, excpet they get paid to do it LOL

The Cato Institute $65,000

The Center For Individual Rights $150,000, a right-wing legal outfit working to protect the rights of the oppressed white christian male

The Center for Media and Public Affairs $100,000, the right's bash the media superstore

The Cinema Foundation, Inc. $50,000 no link found

The Collegiate Network Inc. $90,000 The self-proclaimed home of conservative college journalism a division of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute

The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow $80,000 an "environmentalist" website supporting views such as Irradiation of food for the poor, it's a good thing, SUV's good for the environment, and my favorite The Rainforest who needs it anyways.

The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation $25,000

The Defenders of Property Rights $100,000 look for more headed to these guys post-Kelo

The Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America $35,000 an anti-imigration group

The Federalist Society $100,000, another cause celebre of the right

Federation for American Immigration Reform $250,000 another anti-immigration advocacy group

The Foreign Policy Research Institute $25,000

The Foundation for Cultural Review, Inc. $26,000 no link found

The Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment $70,000 an oil industry backed "environmental group"

Free Congress Foundation $200,000 Paul Weyrich's twisted vision of an American theocracy

The George C. Marshall Institute $35,000

High Frontier $50,000 a truly scary group still living in the Cold War advocating SDI

The Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis $150,000

The Institute for Health Freedome $100,000 right-wing public health institute

The Institute for International Studies $60,000 unclear exactly who this group is

The Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation $150,000

The Institute on Religion and Democracy $75,000 better named the Institute for Theocracy but I digress

The Institute on Religion and Public Life $75,000 blending conservative Catholic and neo-con outlooks everywhere

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute $350,000 I could write four diaries on these guys alone

The Jamestown Foundation $125,000 Still supporting Soviet defectors

Judicial Watch $375,000 a well-known organization

The Landmark Legal Foundation $250,000

The Maldon Institute $460,000 note that no website for the Maldon could be found. This is a subversive organization known for falsely accusing people of being rioters such during the RNC convention, more info available here.

The Morley Publishing Group $25,000 which publishes the periodical Crisis

National Center for Public Policy Research $50,000 a conservative think-tank

National Defense University Foundation $50,000

National Institute for Public Policy $75,000

National Legal and Policy Center $100,000 anti-union, anti-civil rights right-wingers

National Strategy Forum $10,000

New Citizenship Project $85,000 brought to you buy PNAC

Patrick Henry Center $25,000

Note this list is not a complete list of the Carthage Foundation's 2004 grants. What I hope that the reader takes from this, is the need of an active, activist community to stand together. As we will see in forthcoming diaries, the rise of the dominance of right-wing think-tanks, and the relative lack of equivalents among those of us in the left, is a direct result of the investment of a few individuals, which make up the largest portion of their funding.

The consequence of this lack is that when John (or Jane) Q. Public, turn on CNN after a day of work, they are greeted with "experts" from such important sounding organizations as the Free Congress Foundation, or the National Center for Public Policy Research. With a relative lack of equivalents among the left, our message is being drowned out.

Forthcoming:
Part 3 The Sarah Scaife Foundation
Part 4 Richard Mellon Scaife, The Man Behind the Curtain

Update: My computer problems from earlier today seem to be solved thanks to all of you who read yesterday's enstallment.