Independence Institute CO

not to be confused with Independent Inst, which i may have done

omg <a href="http://liberty.i2i.org/">http://liberty.i2i.org/</a>  guns, water, shills for pvt hwy

=<a href="https://thinkprogress.org/koch-backed-group-celebrates-fossil-fuels-425ca28de8da/">https://thinkprogress.org/koch-backed-group-celebrates-fossil-fuels-425ca28de8da/</a><div class="postheader" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="posttitle" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">This Koch-backed group invites you to celebrate fossil fuels on Earth Day</h1><h2 class="postdek" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 2.75rem; font-weight: 300; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem;">The contest is designed to “showcase the awesomeness of fossil fuels.”</h2></div><div class="postmetashare--wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; margin-bottom: 1.5625em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><header class="postmeta" style="box-sizing: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.15625rem; line-height: 2rem; text-transform: uppercase; margin-bottom: 0px; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap;"><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/author/kiley-kroh/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; white-space: nowrap;">KILEY KROH</a>,<a href="https://thinkprogress.org/author/josh-israel/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; white-space: nowrap;">JOSH ISRAEL</a><time class="postdate" datetime="2017-04-10T18:11:48-04:00" style="box-sizing: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.15625rem;">APR 10, 2017, </time></header></div><div class="article-contentwrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; -webkit-box-pack: justify; justify-content: space-between; margin: 3.75rem auto 0px; max-width: 43.75rem;"><div class="article-content" style="box-sizing: inherit; width: 700px;"><a id="sticky-anchor-top" style="box-sizing: inherit; word-break: break-word;" /><div class="postcontent" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 2.2rem; margin-bottom: 2em;">One thing Earth Day celebrations have been lacking is a recognition of fossil fuels — at least according to the Independence Institute, a self-described “action tank” based in Colorado that receives funding from a litany of prominent conservative dark money groups.“Enviros celebrate by planting trees but they never celebrate the trucks that deliver the trees, or the gas that powers that truck, or the plastic handles of the shovels they use,” <a href="http://us14.campaign-archive1.com/?u=0193a55e13e2c2693a7f9460f&id=b9c4d88e58" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">an email from the organization reads</a>. “Shouldn’t Mother Earth be thanked for making Earth Day events possible?”<figure class="postfigure postfigure--format-title-width" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><div class="postthumbnail" style="box-sizing: inherit; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><picture id="picture-365679" class="wp-image-365679 size-full " data-id="365679"" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/1CXU8NBRRqfaaj5TSgwnBDA-1.jpeg?w=239&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C252px&ssl=1" media="(min-width: 1920px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/1CXU8NBRRqfaaj5TSgwnBDA-1.jpeg?w=239&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C252px&ssl=1" media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1920px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/1CXU8NBRRqfaaj5TSgwnBDA-1.jpeg?w=239&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C252px&ssl=1" media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/1CXU8NBRRqfaaj5TSgwnBDA-1.jpeg?w=239&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C252px&ssl=1" media="(min-width: 512px) and (max-width: 1024px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/1CXU8NBRRqfaaj5TSgwnBDA-1.jpeg?w=239&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C252px&ssl=1" media="(min-width: 512px) and (max-width: 768px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/1CXU8NBRRqfaaj5TSgwnBDA-1.jpeg?w=239&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C252px&ssl=1" media="(max-width: 512px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/1CXU8NBRRqfaaj5TSgwnBDA-1.jpeg?w=239&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C252px&ssl=1" media="(max-width: 768px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/1CXU8NBRRqfaaj5TSgwnBDA-1.jpeg?w=239&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C252px&ssl=1" media="all" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><img srcset="https://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/1CXU8NBRRqfaaj5TSgwnBDA-1.jpeg?w=239&h=252&crop=1" alt="CREDIT: Independence Institute" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; max-width: 100%; margin: 0px auto; height: auto;" /></source></source></source></source></source></source></source></source></picture></div><figcaption style="box-sizing: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.06875rem; line-height: 1.45rem; margin: 1em auto 0px; max-width: 41.5625rem; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase;">CREDIT: INDEPENDENCE INSTITUTE</figcaption></figure>Budding artists are encouraged to send their original works in by April 21 with the main requirement that it “should showcase the awesomeness of fossil fuels.”Extolling the virtues of coal, oil, and gas may seem like an odd way to mark the one day of the year dedicated to environmental awareness around the globe, particularly considering the Independence Institute <a href="https://www.i2i.org/energy/" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">purports to be</a> “agnostic on energy resources.”A tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, the anti-government group has an annual revenue of about <a href="http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2015/840/990/2015-840990300-0c194005-9.pdf" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">$2 to 3 million</a>. Though they are not required to disclose their donors, public records show much of their money comes from several of the most infamous donors to the nation’s right wing and climate science denial movements.A ThinkProgress review of the Independence Institute’s funders (according to data provided by <a href="http://conservativetransparency.org/" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">Conservative Transparency</a>, <a href="https://www.guidestar.org/" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">Guidestar</a>, and <a href="https://www.citizenaudit.org/" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">CitizenAudit</a>) revealed that since 2001, its funders included at least:<ul class="postList" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; margin: 0px 0px 2.1875rem;"><li name="4520" id="4520" class="graf graf--li graf-after--p" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;">$146,000 combined from the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Koch_Family_Foundations#Contributions_of_the_Charles_G.Koch_Charitable_Foundation" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Koch_Family_Foundations#Contributions_of_the_David_H.Koch_Foundation" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">David H. Koch Charitable Foundation</a>, a pair of tax-exempt foundations controlled by petrochemical billionaires Charles and David Koch and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Koch_Family_Foundations#Contributions_of_the_Claude_R.Lambe_Charitable_Foundation" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation</a> and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">Center to Protect Patient Rights</a>, entities closely tied to the brothers.</li><li name="9194" id="9194" class="graf graf--li graf-after--li" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;">$2,565,766 combined from <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/DonorsTrust" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">DonorsTrust</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Donors_Capital_Fund" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">Donors Capital Fund</a>, two affiliated donor-advised funds that funnel donations from supporters to non-governmental organizations that promote limited government and free enterprise. According to the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/DonorsTrust" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">Center for Media and Democracy</a>, the Koch brothers and “other ultra-wealthy industrial ideologues appear to be cloaking an untold amount of their donations to conservative political outlets” by using these funds as pass-throughs. A 2015 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/09/secretive-donors-gave-us-climate-denial-groups-125m-over-three-years" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">investigation</a> by the Guardian revealed that the two secretive organizations had directed roughly $125 million over three years to spread disinformation about climate science and fight President Obama’s Clean Power Plan.</li><li name="1c2b" id="1c2b" class="graf graf--li graf-after--li" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;">$3,540,412 combined from Adolph Coors Foundation, Castle Rock Foundation, and PEMA Foundation, three foundations tied to the beer-brewing Coors family. Environmentalists have long <a href="http://www.cpr.org/news/story/coors-boycott-when-beer-can-signaled-your-politics" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">criticized</a> the company’s <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/2006/08/16/fish-kill-may-be-linked-to-coors/" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">record</a>.</li><li name="07ea" id="07ea" class="graf graf--li graf-after--li" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;">$1,040,000 from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. The brothers made their <a href="http://archive.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/from-local-roots-bradley-foundation-builds-conservative-empire-k7337pb-134187368.html" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">fortune</a> in electrical controls and Harry was active in the John Birch Society. The foundation gives tens of millions of dollars annually to conservative and anti-government causes.</li><li name="4436" id="4436" class="graf graf--li graf-after--li" style="box-sizing: inherit;">$437,500 from the National Rifle Association Foundation. Though best known for its pro-gun aims, the NRA has attacked science to <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/nra-borrows-from-climate-denier-playbook-to-defend-toxic-bullets-e099389a03cc" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">oppose regulations on toxic bullets</a> that might inconvenience gun owners.</li><li name="997b" id="997b" class="graf graf--li graf-after--li" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;">$1,158,500 from the Anschutz Foundation. Its founder, Philip Anschutz <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/philip-anschutz/" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">built his fortune in oil</a>, real estate, entertainment, and other industries and is known for his <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2009/10/phil-anschutzs-conservative-agenda-028355" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">conservative activism</a>. He owns the conservative Weekly Standard.</li><li name="7d9a" id="7d9a" class="graf graf--li graf-after--li" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;">$394,463 from the State Policy Network (SPN), a <a href="http://www.alecexposed.org/w/images/2/25/SPN_National_Report_FINAL.pdf" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">national network</a> dedicated to putting a right-wing think tank in every state. Its affiliates have pushed for a rollback of climate regulations. A 2013 <a href="http://www.alecexposed.org/w/images/2/25/SPN_National_Report_FINAL.pdf" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">investigation</a> by the Center for Media and Democracy detailed SPN’s efforts to push an extreme right-wing agenda in states and its close ties with groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and Americans for Prosperity, both of which receive Koch funding.</li></ul>“The Independence Institute’s position on tackling climate change is about as independent as a fox’s view on protecting the hen-house,” Nick Surgey, research director at the Center for Media and Democracy, told ThinkProgress via email. “It’s really a corporate-backed fake think tank with a track record of opposing renewable energy development in Colorado.”For its part, the Independence Institute has both <a href="http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/forum-questions-effects-8232of-epa-clean-power-pla#.VienBhUo_mE.facebook" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">sponsored events</a> and <a href="https://www.i2i.org/independence-institute-at-the-stop-the-epa-power-grab-rally/" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">hosted rallies</a> attacking the Clean Power Plan — an Obama-era proposal to cut carbon emissions from the power sector nationwide. The Trump administration is actively planning to dismantle the landmark policy. It applauded Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman’s (R) move to sue over the CPP (Coffman also received <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/why-the-koch-brothers-are-so-interested-in-who-becomes-the-next-attorney-general-of-colorado-e0f29bd0023b" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">substantial funding</a> from Koch-backed organizations during her campaign).<div class="related-contentwrapper" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 2rem;"><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/7-out-of-10-americans-want-their-states-to-comply-with-the-epas-climate-plan-8ad8f9fe8e74" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><div class="related-contentimage" style="box-sizing: inherit; align-self: flex-start; margin: 0px 1rem 0px 0px; width: 171px;"><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/7-out-of-10-americans-want-their-states-to-comply-with-the-epas-climate-plan-8ad8f9fe8e74" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;"><figure class="postfigure postfigure--format-thumbnail" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><div class="postthumbnail" style="box-sizing: inherit; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><picture id="picture-365677" class="wp-image-365677 size-full " data-id="365677"" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i1.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/0oX07uvadTm7JfZXF-1.jpg?w=160&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C159px&ssl=1" media="(min-width: 1920px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i1.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/0oX07uvadTm7JfZXF-1.jpg?w=160&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C159px&ssl=1" media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1920px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i1.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/0oX07uvadTm7JfZXF-1.jpg?w=160&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C159px&ssl=1" media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i1.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/0oX07uvadTm7JfZXF-1.jpg?w=160&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C159px&ssl=1" media="(min-width: 512px) and (max-width: 1024px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i1.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/0oX07uvadTm7JfZXF-1.jpg?w=160&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C159px&ssl=1" media="(min-width: 512px) and (max-width: 768px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i1.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/0oX07uvadTm7JfZXF-1.jpg?w=160&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C159px&ssl=1" media="(max-width: 512px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i1.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/0oX07uvadTm7JfZXF-1.jpg?w=160&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C159px&ssl=1" media="(max-width: 768px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i1.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/0oX07uvadTm7JfZXF-1.jpg?w=160&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C159px&ssl=1" media="all" style="box-sizing: inherit;">
</source></source></source></source></source></source></source></source></picture></div></figure></a></div><div class="related-contentbody" style="box-sizing: inherit; width: 513px;"><h3 class="related-contenttitle" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 2rem; margin: -7px 0px 0.5em;">[7 out of 10 Americans want their states to comply with the EPA’s climate plan]</h3></div></div>Amy Cooke, executive vice president and director of the Energy Policy Center at the Independence Institute, has been critical of Colorado’s renewable energy standard, <a href="http://www.greeleytribune.com/news/opinion/cooke-colorados-preferred-energy-policy-is-just-cruel/" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">arguing</a> that clean energy sources should be expanded to include clean coal, natural gas, hydroelectric power, and nuclear. Late last year, Cooke was <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2016/12/07/donald-trump-s-epa-landing-team-staffed-climate-science-deniers-and-lawyer-known-harassing-climate-scientists-legal" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">named</a> to the Trump administration’s EPA “landing team,” and <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/321463-optimism-for-the-epa-in-the-age-of-trump" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">wrote</a> of her excitement for the future of the EPA under Trump and Administrator Scott Pruitt (both have been clear about their intent to cripple the agency, <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-epa-administrator-budget-cuts-okay-states-e8b62d5102c4" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">slashing its budget</a> and <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-climate-change-clean-power-plan-climate-executive-order-2e162d4e7da1" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">immediately gutting</a> policies to fight climate change).Cooke told ThinkProgress that the organization’s fossil fuels art contest is rooted in inclusivity. “Fossil fuels seem to get left out of the Earth Day celebration,” she said via email. “As an energy feminist — pro-choice in energy sources — I feel it’s important to have hydrocarbons equally represented.”In regard to Independence Institute’s donors — and their history of working against climate action — Cooke avoided specifics. “In general, people and organizations support us because of the work we do including being energy agnostic,” she said. “We encourage innovation instead of over regulation. It’s actually kind of liberating because we aren’t boxed in by an either-or cynical choice paradigm.”Cooke did not immediately respond to a follow-up question regarding whether she or Independence Institute had advocated for wind and solar as viable energy choices.</div><footer class="post__tags" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 2rem; margin-bottom: 2em; clear: both;"><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/tag/climate/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; font-weight: 600; text-transform: uppercase;">#CLIMATE</a>, <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/tag/climate-change/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; font-weight: 600; text-transform: uppercase;">#CLIMATE CHANGE</a>, <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/tag/donald-trump/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; font-weight: 600; text-transform: uppercase;">#DONALD TRUMP</a>, <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/tag/energy/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; font-weight: 600; text-transform: uppercase;">#ENERGY</a>, <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/tag/environment/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; font-weight: 600; text-transform: uppercase;">#ENVIRONMENT</a></footer></div></div><div>=</div><div><a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2018/07/12/bradley-foundation-funds-web-climate-change-deniers/">https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2018/07/12/bradley-foundation-funds-web-climate-change-deniers/</a></div><div>
</div><div>Armiak</div><div>
</div><div>Bradley Foundation internal documents reviewed by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) reveal a concerted effort by the organization to delegitimize climate science, while promoting fossil fuel energy development in the United States.An analysis of Bradley’s climate-related activities shows that the foundation has made significant grants to support energy policy think tanks, attack-dog groups that target environmentalists, and efforts to discredit climate science.A 2013 internal foundation document details how Bradley “instructed staff to explore options…to make more energy-related grants.” The document also notes that the Board gave a “terminal grant” of $263,591 to the Sand County Foundation (SCF), which previously administered the Bradley Fund for the Environment.The documents do not reveal Bradley’s motivation in splitting from SCF, but they do outline a serious effort to promote fossil fuel industry interests at the expense of the environment.<h2 style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">CENTERS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE DENIAL AND FOSSIL FUEL DEVELOPMENT</h2>As part of its push to support studies and public relations to cast doubt on mounting scientific evidence on climate change, Bradley has focused its resources on “Energy Policy Centers,” many of which are housed in “Bradley-supported” <a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/spn/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration-line: none;">State Policy Network</a> (SPN) “think tanks.” SPN is a web of 156 right-wing groups in 49 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Canada, and the UK that receives funding from the billionaire Koch brothers, the Bradley Foundation, and the Roe Foundation, as well as many multi-national corporations.The examined documents show that the Center for Energy Policy and the Environment (CEPE) at the <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Manhattan_Institute_for_Policy_Research" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration-line: none;">Manhattan Institute for Policy Research</a> (MIPR), a member of SPN, received a total of $500,000 for its Center, with another $200,000 distributed in <a href="http://www.bradleyfdn.org/Portals/0/pdfs/Report2016/2016%20Annual%20Report.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration-line: none;">2016</a>. (Manhattan Institute for Policy Research GPR, February 23, 2016) CEPE works to promote fossil fuel development despite the devastating effects of climate change. A background document on CEPE states its goal clearly: “The Center’s research and public education activity aims at demonstrating that the United States is poised to reap substantial economic benefits in the form of job creation, lower gasoline and electricity prices, and increased productivity provided public policies allow companies to access valuable energy resources and distribute them at home and abroad.”A recommendation by Bradley staff on the Manhattan Institute’s 2016 grant proposal specifically states that CEPE is worth funding because, “They have succeeded in identifying and publicizing so many of the falsehoods that surround energy and the environment.” (Manhattan Institute for Policy Research GPR, February 23, 2016) Anexample of this “success” can be found in the work of CEPE senior fellow Mark Mills, who is recognized as originating the idea that North America can surpass the Middle East as the largest energy supplier in the world. (Manhattan Institute for Policy Research GPR, November 12, 2013)The Energy Policy Center (EPC) at another SPN “think tank”, the <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Independence_Institute" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration-line: none;">Independence Institute</a>, received $195,000 from the Bradley Foundation between 2012 and 2016.Bradley documents examined show that EPC’s purpose is to “consciously counter-balance former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter’s environmental think tank” at Colorado State University, which promotes a “New Energy Economy.”Bradley considers EPC to be highly successful in fighting local and federal environmental initiatives. The Bradley documents note that EPC was a “key coalition partner” in preempting local bans on fracking in Colorado, and that it “has developed a toolkit for policymakers, attorneys general, and other conservative state think tanks to help them push back against U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations.” (Independence Institute GPR, June 2, 2015)In addition to these two centers, Bradley has funded the Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) at the <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Competitive_Enterprise_Institute" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration-line: none;">Competitive Enterprise Institute</a> (CEI), an “associate member” of SPN, and the Center for Energy Innovation and Independence at Consumers’ Research.CEE is led by the prominent climate change denier Myron Ebell, who steered Trump’s EPA transition team. Ebell also chairs the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Cooler_Heads_Coalition" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration-line: none;">Cooler Heads Coalition</a>, which brings together right-wing activists and scholars for monthly meetings. The coalition was established on May 6, 1997, “to dispel the myths of global warming by exposing flawed economic, scientific and risk analysis.”CEI was long tied to tobacco disinformation campaigns, but is now a leading organization in the movement to discredit climate science.Bradley does not mention how much of its funding to CEI was designated for CEE operations. Between 1986 and 2015, Bradley Foundation gave $2.2 million to CEI, the majority of which was “to support general operations.” (Competitive Enterprise Institute GPR, June 2, 2015).The Center for Energy Innovation and Independence received $250,000 from Bradley in 2013 to get the new group off the ground. According to a background document, the group “will closely monitor federal environmental regulations and potentially lay the foundation for multi-state litigation against them, similar to those actions in the Obamacare and Dodd-Frank lawsuits, of which aggressive (Scott) Pruitt was and is a part.” Pruitt is the former AG of Oklahoma and recently resigned as the EPA Administrator under Trump.<h2 style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">SMEAR CAMPAIGNS AND FUNDING EFFORTS TO DISCREDIT CLIMATE SCIENCE</h2>At the same time Bradley rolled out funding for “Energy Policy Centers,” it was doling out cash to discredit environmental organizations and climate change science.A grant proposal record for the <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Center_for_Consumer_Freedom" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration-line: none;">Center for Consumer Freedom</a> (CCF), a front group created by the close Bradley ally <a target="blank" rel="noopener" style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 102); box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out;">Rick Berman</a>, details an organized effort to weaken the credibility of well-respected, national environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club, the National Resources Defense Council, and Food and Water Watch. (The Center for Consumer Freedom GPR, November 12, 2013) Berman also founded <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Rick_Berman" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration-line: none;">Berman and Company</a>, a notorious Washington, D.C.-based corporate lobbying and PR company known for creating numerous corporate “front groups” and astroturf propaganda campaigns.Berman’s anti-environmental project at CCF was called Big Green Radicals and was seeded with a $150,000 “public education” <a href="http://www.bradleyfdn.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=5haFFTeImkg=&portalid=0" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration-line: none;">grant</a> from Bradley in 2013.According to Bradley’s background document, the Big Green Radicals project would include the following components:<blockquote style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 40px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[N]ew, updated research profiles for NRDC, Food and Water Watch, and Sierra Club; standalone websites for all three organizations; a Facebook group seeded with several thousand fans to provide a base for the message; the production of two online videos to explain the real agenda of the environmental left; and Google keyword advertising for members of the media and the public searching for information about one of the targeted groups.</blockquote>In addition to providing the start-up funding for Big Green Radicals, Bradley gave $85,000 to the <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Capital_Research_Center" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration-line: none;">Capital Research Center</a> (CRC), a group led by former Berman and Company employee Scott Walter. The grant was designated for “general operations,” but it may have been used to support the publication Green Watch. A background document on CRC states that, “Green Watch tracks the money flow to environmental nonprofits and critiques their positions, and those of their allies, including their policymaking ones.” (Capital Research Center GPR, August 19, 2014)Since 2014, the Bradley Foundation has distributed numerous grants to discredit the vast amount of scientific research demonstrating the harmful effects of climate change. In 2014, it gave $65,000 to the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/George_C.Marshall_Institute" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration-line: none;">George C. Marshall Institute</a> (GMI), a right-wing front group largely funded by oil and gas interests. Newsweek <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/global-warming-deniers-well-funded-99775" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration-line: none;">called</a> GMI “a central cog in the denial machine” in 2007.GMI folded in late 2015, so Bradley recommended $50,000 in “seed funding” the following year for its “successor organization,” the CO2 Coalition. The coalition is led by a <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/William_Happer" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration-line: none;">Dr. William Happer</a>, a well-known climate change denier. “We’re doing our best to try and counter this myth that CO2 is a dangerous pollutant. It’s not a pollutant at all,” Happer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=Asj-3efMVB8" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration-line: none;">said</a> at a Heritage Foundation event on energy and climate.Another $10,000 Bradley grant in 2014 for the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change (CSCDGC) went to support its Science & Public Policy Institute (SPPI). A staff recommendation notes that SPPI “has helped demonstrate that no real-world data confirms that floods, draughts [sic], or hurricanes are becoming more frequent or severe, as global-warming alarmists allege. Neither is there any real-world data that sea levels are about to rise precipitously, inundating the world’s coasted [sic] lowlands, as is also often alleged.” (Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change GPR, June 17, 2014)<h2 style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase;">ENERGY ROUNDTABLES</h2>Documents show that, beginning in 2013, Bradley provided funding to the <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Thomas_Jefferson_Institute_for_Public_Policy" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration-line: none;">Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy</a>, also an SPN member, to host and organize two “energy roundtables” a year — one before the Heritage Foundation’s annual Resource Bank meeting, and the other before SPN’s annual fall meeting. (Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy GPR, November 10, 2015)The $50,000-per-year grant from Bradley for the meetings was matched “by staff arrangement” by the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Consumer_Energy_Alliance" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration-line: none;">C</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Consumer_Energy_Alliance" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration-line: none;">onsumer Energy Alliance</a> (CEA), a front group for the energy industry that promotes fossil fuel development and opposes efforts to regulate its activities.“Planned and put on in close cooperation with the Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the roundtables allow state think tanks to better promote free-market energy and environmental policies,” one document states. (Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy GPR, November 12, 2013)Attendance has been high at the roundtables, with as many as “67 SPN leaders” attending the event in Denver in September 2014. The agenda for that meeting details presentations from a number of fossil fuel lovers including: Artic Power, Consumer Energy Alliance, Vital for Colorado, Devon Energy, GOPAC (a political action committee that backs and trains Republican candidates), and Freedom Partners. Freedom Partners, a funding conduit for the billionaire Koch brothers, delivered a talk on “Messaging and State Action.” (Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy GPR, November 11, 2014)<h2 style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">BRADLEY GRANTEES WORKED TOGETHER TO DEFEAT LOCAL REGULATIONS ON FRACKING IN COLORADO</h2>In 2014, the Independence Institute and Berman’s Big Green Radicals worked in lockstep in Colorado to defeat local fracking bans, such as the one that passed by ballot measure in Longmont in November of 2013. A 2015 Bradley backgrounder on the Independence Institute praises the anti-fracking work of Independence Institute’s Energy Policy Center, saying, “It has also been a key coalition partner in the movement to stop local and statewide bans on hydraulic fracturing. Last year, current Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper crafted a delicately balanced compromise on local control of oil and gas drilling that removed all initiatives on the issue from the state ballot.”Berman’s Big Green Radicals rolled out an attack campaign to discredit anti-fracking efforts in the state in May of 2014. Big Green Radicals <a href="https://www.biggreenradicals.com/colorado/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration-line: none;">asserted</a>that “extreme groups, mostly based far from Colorado in San Francisco, New York, or Washington D.C., are spending millions and spreading their anti-science message to scare voters into approving ballot measures in November to send the oil and gas industry (and the jobs and affordable energy it provides) packing from the Centennial State.”The efforts by these two groups were successful in overturning local fracking bans. Bradley agreed and decreased its funding recommendation for EPC to $25,000 in 2016, saying, “it is unlikely that there will be any significant developments for EPC in the upcoming months, and therefore staff believes this reduced award is important.”It is uncertain where the next battleground for energy development will be for Bradley, but the documents demonstrate that they have the funds to bankroll infrastructure in place to discredit climate science and smear the opposition.<h2 style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">OTHER NOTABLE BRADLEY GRANTS</h2>Other significant Bradley grants to support fossil fuel development or dispute climate science in recent years include:<ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;"><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; list-style-type: initial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">$150,000 to Opportunity Ohio for “program activities.” (2016)</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style-type: initial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">$100,000 to Energy and Environment Legal Institute for “transparency practice general.” (2016) HORNER SCHNARE</li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; list-style-type: initial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">$20,000 to Foundation for Research on Economics & the Environment for “general operations.” (2016)</li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; list-style-type: initial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">$200,000 to Competitive Enterprise Institute for “general operations” and “litigation.” (2013, 2015)</li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; list-style-type: initial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">$100,000 to The Sand County Foundation for “energy resource development.” (2014)</li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; list-style-type: initial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">$100,000 to National Center for Policy Analysis for “general operations.” (2014)</li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; list-style-type: initial; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">$20,000 to Foundation for Research on Economics & the Environment for “general operations.” (2014)</li></ul></div><div></div>pres blog coal? xcel yeatmanhttp://www.joncaldara.com/==

As Comcast moves forward with its plan to take over Time Warner Cable, their legislative agenda is facing greater scrutiny. As <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/02/12385/how-alec-helps-big-telecom-change-state-laws-corporate-gain" target="_blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">CMD has documented</a> [3], both Comcast and Time Warner Cable are funders of ALEC, a corporate bill-mill where corporations and state lawmakers vote behind closed doors on bills that benefit the corporations’ bottom line, often at resort meetings where legislators are wined and dined at corporate expense.

Comcast and Time Warner Cable also financially underwrite a large network of state-based “think tanks” that work to push ALEC’s corporate agenda into law.

As detailed in CMD’s November 2013 report, “<a href="http://stinktanks.org/national/" target="blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Exposed: The State Policy Network – The Powerful Right-wing Network Helping To Hijack State Politics and Government, ”</a>[4]the State Policy Network is a network of 64 right-wing “think tanks” – which CMD dubbed “stink tanks” – that was <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/12/12339/did-alec-found-spn-1991-report-suggests-so-exposes-spn-agenda" target="blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">founded in part by ALEC</a> [5]. These in-state special interest groups push largely the same national corporate-backed agenda of ALEC in state legislatures.

CMD has <a href="http://stinktanks.org/national/" target="_blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">uncovered that a number of ALEC’s funders are also funding SPN</a> [4] and its network of think tanks -- including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, AT&T, Microsoft, Verizon, and Facebook. Other SPN funders include large corporations and right-wing CEO families like the Koch brothers’ family fortune, the Bradley Foundation, and the Walton family.

<h2 style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.25; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Washington Policy Center Leads SPN’s Efforts to Support Big Telecom</h2>

Perhaps more than any other SPN affiliate, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Washington_Policy_Center" target="blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Washington Policy Center</a> [6] (WPC) has been the leading the stink tank network on telecom issues. WPC is <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/SPN_Ties_to_ALEC" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">ALEC’s state chair</a> [7]in Washington and has had a seat on ALEC’s <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Communications_and_Technology_Task_Force" target="blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Communications and Technology Task Force</a> [8] along side Comcast, AT&T, Facebook, Yahoo, and Yelp.

A corporate representative of Microsoft currently sits on WPC’s board of directors. Throughout its history WPC has published posts and reports that specifically favor Microsoft, including on a <a href="http://www.washingtonpolicy.org/press/press-releases/european-union-ruling-against-microsoft-hurts-future-technological-innovation" target="blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">2004 European Union against Microsoft</a> [9] and a 2001 U.S. federal case <a href="http://www.washingtonpolicy.org/publications/notes/many-flaws-case-against-microsoft" target="blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">alleging Microsoft was an illegal monopoly</a> [10].

WPC has launched a “<a href="http://www.washingtonpolicy.org/research/technology-telecom/new" target="blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Technology & Telecom Project</a> [11],” where it publishes reports that support <a href="http://www.washingtonpolicy.org/blog/post/washington-has-2nd-highest-wireless-taxes-nation" target="blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">lowering taxes on telecoms corporations</a> [12] and oppose the FCC’s <a href="http://www.washingtonpolicy.org/blog/post/fcc-votes-regulate-broadband-internet" target="blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">regulations of the telecom industry</a> [13]. In September 2012, WPC President Dann Mead Smith and John Stephenson, director of ALEC’s Communications and Technology Task Force, teamed up to write an <a href="http://seattletimes.com/html/northwestvoices/2019269800_internet27lets.html" target="blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">op-ed in The Seattle Times</a> [14] claiming that FCC regulations were stopping “rural Washington’s farmers, students, and small business owners” from receiving broadband access.

The Washington Policy Center has also led SPN’s Tech/Telecom Policy Exchange, a monthly online publication providing updates on telecom policy from SPN and the stink tank network. The materials in the “exchange” often include articles and blog posts written by SPN affiliates and aligned organizations calling for the deregulation of the telecom industry, advocating against municipal broadband, and pushing for tax cuts that would benefit telecom and tech corporations.

Their <a href="http://www.spn.org/publications/detail/spn-tech-telecom-policy-exchange-august-2013" target="blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">August 2013’s exchange included</a> [15] information pointed against FCC regulations and another group of posts focused on “keeping the internet free of taxes,” despite the budget difficulties many states face and how many brick and mortar small businesses have been crushed by online merchants like Amazon that are not required to impose state sales taxes in general.<a href="http://www.spn.org/publications/detail/spn-tech-telecom-policy-exchange-december-2013" target="blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">November/December 2013’s exchange</a> [16] reveals that WPC leads monthly group conference calls on the issue, and again includes posts against FCC regulations on telecom corporations.

Just as lobbyists for corporations like Comcast, Time Warner, Verizon, and AT&T vote behind closed doors with lawmakers on “model bills” at ALEC, corporate executives from Comcast and Time Warner Cable recently presented at a closed-door session at the State Policy Network’s September 2013 conference in Oklahoma City. The session, titled <a href="http://spnannualmeeting2013.sched.org/event/69102899445938ff84c7105c973174e2?iframe=no&w=940&sidebar=yes&bg=no#.Uv0fpUJdUTG" target="_blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Technology: A Freedom Frontier</a> [17], focused on limiting democratic regulation of the telecommunications industry.

The panel was moderated by WPC President Dann Mead Smith and speakers included Susan Patten (VP of Government Affairs at Time Warner Cable), Mike Rose (Senior Director of External Affairs at Comcast), Matt Tooley (Senior Director of Broadband Technology at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association), and John Stephenson (ALEC’s Communications and Technology Task Force Director). Additionally, according to <a href="http://spnannualmeeting2013.sched.org/event/69102899445938ff84c7105c973174e2?iframe=no&w=940&sidebar=yes&bg=no#.Uv0fpUJdUTG" target="_blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">SPN’s conference website</a> [17], representatives from the Kochs’ Americans for Prosperity, the Franklin Center for Government Accountability, and several other SPN affiliates were in that session.

Colorado’s Independent Institute <a href="http://liberty.i2i.org/files/2012/04/IP_3_2012_b.pdf" target="_blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">strongly opposed Colorado’s Telecommunications Modernization Act in 2012</a> [18],

</li>

</li><li style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">http://liberty.i2i.org/files/2012/04/IP_3_2012_b.pdf</li>

<li style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">which would eliminate subsidies to telecom corporations, expand rural broadband service,and phase out phone fees. Not surprisingly, <a href="http://newswire.telecomramblings.com/2012/03/sb-157-would-kill-hundreds-of-jobs-in-colorado-in-order-to-create-a-massive-new-government-bureaucracy-according-to-centurylink/" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">ALEC member CenturyLink</a> [19] opposed the bill.</li>

Missouri’s Show-Me Institute has called for <a href="http://www.showmeinstitute.org/publications/commentary/privatization/301-missouri-should-open-cable-tv-market-to-competition.html" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">regulatory reform to allow statewide franchises</a> [20] for cable companies.

</li>

The Georgia Public Policy Foundation <a href="http://www.georgiapolicy.org/relax-regulation-and-map-a-road-to-economic-recovery/#ff_s=r6ST" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">has supported</a> [21] rolling back several regulations on telecom corporations including eliminating utility commission jurisdiction over consumer issues and filing requirements that helps keep prices and costs fair for consumers. GPPF has also called for <a href="http://www.georgiapolicy.org/issue-analysis-analyzing-georgias-tax-reform-proposal/#ff_s=r6ST" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">removing sales taxes</a> [22] on telecom corporations’ investments.

</li>

North Carolina’s John Locke Foundation has consistently <a href="http://www.carolinajournal.com/issues/display_story.html?id=4063" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">called for removing taxes on telecom corporations</a> [23], claiming it would lead to lower costs.

</li>

Maryland’s Free State Foundation, an associate member of SPN, receives “nearly all of its funding from telecommunications companies and trade groups,” including AT&T, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon, according to a report by Communications Daily. The <a href="http://www.freestatefoundation.org/" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">group focuses</a> [24] on telecommunications issues, and regularly calls for the deregulation of FCC and lowering taxes on telecom corporations.

</li>

</ul>

<h2 style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.25; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Total Scope of Telecom Funding Remains Unknown</h2>

<p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">It is unclear how much big telecom corporations have funneled into the stink tanks network. Based off a <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/SPN_Funding" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">document of SPN’s 2010 funders</a> [25] CMD has uncovered, AT&T contributed between $25,000 to $99,000 to SPN in 2010, while Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon all contributed between $5,000 and $25,000 each in that year. Last year both Comcast and Time Warner Cable were sponsors of SPN’s September 2013 conference in Oklahoma City.

Although SPN and its affiliated think tanks are not required to disclose their donors, <a href="http://www.texasobserver.org/money-behind-texas-public-policy-foundation/" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">a list of 2010 corporate and individual contributors of the Texas Public Policy Foundation,</a> [26] one of SPN’s Texas affiliates and one of the largest SPN stink tanks in the country, provides insight into the big telecom funding behind the stink tanks network. In 2010 alone, that Texas stink tank received funding from AT&T, Verizon, and Time Warner Cable totaling at least $133,950.

<a href="http://www.prwatch.org/print/12397">http://www.prwatch.org/print/12397</a>

---

TP:

February 17 -- <a href="http://michellemalkin.com/2009/02/17/yes-we-care-porkulus-protesters-holler-back/">Malkin goes to Colorado for the event</a>, still called a "porkulus protest." She says: "Jim Pfaff of <a href="http://www.youdontknowstimulus.com/">Colorado Americans for Prosperity</a>, Jon Caldara and the <a href="http://www.i2i.org/main/page.php?page_id=1">Independence Institut</a>e, former Rep. Tom Tancredo, and several GOP officials and state legislators spearheaded the event. The <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independence_Institute">Independence Institute</a> is funded by the Coors Foundation's <a href="http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/1447.html">Castle Rock Foundation</a>, and "operates as <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=fyzsTGPTkOIC&pg=PA74&lpg=PA74&dq=%22independence+institute%22+coors&source=bl&ots=KjPwmrho6m&sig=5nM7M5ZzQnPlfM8yOOqcJ2TUBo0&hl=en&ei=j_XlSbqdGOnmnQfX3qm2CQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4">a mini Heritage Foundation in Colorado</a>." Jeffrey Coors sits on the board.

---

The Independence Institute is a free-market, libertarian think-tank based in Golden, Colorado. It's president is <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jon_Caldara&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Jon Caldara (page does not exist)">Jon Caldara</a>. Health policy director is <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Linda_Gorman&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Linda Gorman (page does not exist)">Linda Gorman</a>.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independence_Institute#cite_note-0" title="">[1]</a>

The Independence Institute's "Center for the American Dream" opposes zoning in cities, and argues against Colorado's rail public transit initiative called "Fastracks," saying that "rail transit reduces the livability of every urban area in which it is found."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independence_Institute#cite_note-1" title="">[2]</a>

<h2>Contents</h2>

[<a href="javascript:toggleToc()" class="internal" id="togglelink">hide</a>]</div>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independence_Institute#Personnel">1 Personnel</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independence_Institute#Board_of_Trustees">1.1 Board of Trustees</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independence_Institute#Senior_Fellows">1.2 Senior Fellows</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independence_Institute#Authors">1.3 Authors</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independence_Institute#Research_Associates">1.4 Research Associates</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independence_Institute#Notable_Former_Associates">1.5 Notable Former Associates</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independence_Institute#Contact">2 Contact</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independence_Institute#Sourcewatch_resources">3 Sourcewatch resources</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independence_Institute#External_resources">4 External resources</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independence_Institute#References">5 References</a></li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table>

<h2>Personnel</h2>

<h3>Board of Trustees</h3>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jon_Caldara&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Jon Caldara (page does not exist)">Jon Caldara</a> - President</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Catherine_Shopneck&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Catherine Shopneck (page does not exist)">Catherine Shopneck</a> - Chairman</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Katherine_Whitcomb&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Katherine Whitcomb (page does not exist)">Katherine Whitcomb</a> - Vice-Chairman</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Joe_Ignat&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Joe Ignat (page does not exist)">Joe Ignat</a> - Secretary / Treasurer</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tim_Brown&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Tim Brown (page does not exist)">Tim Brown</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jeff_Coors&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Jeff Coors (page does not exist)">Jeff Coors</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_MacDougald&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="James MacDougald (page does not exist)">James MacDougald</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Joseph_Smith&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Joseph Smith (page does not exist)">Joseph Smith</a></li>

</ul>

<h3>Senior Fellows</h3>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Paul_H._Blackman&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Paul H. Blackman (page does not exist)">Paul H. Blackman</a> - Second Amendment Project.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Wendell_Cox&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Wendell Cox (page does not exist)">Wendell Cox</a> - Urban Studies</li>

<li>Dr. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Joane_D._Eisen&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Joane D. Eisen (page does not exist)">Joane D. Eisen</a> - Criminal Justice</li>

<li>Prof. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Barry_Fagin&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Barry Fagin (page does not exist)">Barry Fagin</a> - Technology Policy</li>

<li>Dr. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Paul_Gallant_%28Independence_Institute%29&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Paul Gallant (Independence Institute) (page does not exist)">Paul Gallant (Independence Institute)</a> - Criminal Justice</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Craig_Green&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Craig Green (page does not exist)">Craig Green</a> - Water Policy</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Fred_Holden&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Fred Holden (page does not exist)">Fred Holden</a> -Tax and Fiscal Policy</li>

<li>Prof. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Charles_King&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Charles King (page does not exist)">Charles King</a> - Cultural Studies</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mike_Krause&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Mike Krause (page does not exist)">Mike Krause</a> - Justice Policy</li>

<li>Prof. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rob_Natelson&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rob Natelson (page does not exist)">Rob Natelson</a> - Constitutional Jurisprudence</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Dennis_Polhill&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Dennis Polhill (page does not exist)">Dennis Polhill</a> - Public Infrastructure and Colorado Term Limits</li>

<li>Dr. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Barry_Poulson&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Barry Poulson (page does not exist)">Barry Poulson</a> - Economic Policy</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Beth_Skinner&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Beth Skinner (page does not exist)">Beth Skinner</a> - Economics</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Frank_M._Zaveral&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Frank M. Zaveral (page does not exist)">Frank M. Zaveral</a> - Professional Responsibility</li>

</ul>

<h3>Authors</h3>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_Kopel&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="David Kopel (page does not exist)">David Kopel</a> - Research Director</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pamela_Benigno&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Pamela Benigno (page does not exist)">Pamela Benigno</a> - Education Policy Center Director</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Linda_Gorman&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Linda Gorman (page does not exist)">Linda Gorman</a> - Health Care Policy Center Director</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jessica_Peck_Corry&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Jessica Peck Corry (page does not exist)">Jessica Peck Corry</a> - Director of the Campus Accountability Project</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Barry_Fagin&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Barry Fagin (page does not exist)">Barry Fagin</a> - Senior Fellow</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Marya_DeGrow&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Marya DeGrow (page does not exist)">Marya DeGrow</a> - Research Associate, Education Policy Center</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Benjamin_DeGrow&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Benjamin DeGrow (page does not exist)">Benjamin DeGrow</a> - Policy Analyst, Education Policy Center</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Barry_Poulson&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Barry Poulson (page does not exist)">Barry Poulson</a> - Senior Fellow</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Randal_O%27Toole&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Randal O'Toole (page does not exist)">Randal O'Toole</a> - Director Center for the American Dream</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jay_Ambrose&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Jay Ambrose (page does not exist)">Jay Ambrose</a> - Senior Fellow</li>

</ul>

<h3>Research Associates</h3>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bill_Blomberg&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Bill Blomberg (page does not exist)">Bill Blomberg</a> - Colorado Issues</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Arthur_%22Trey%22_Fleisher&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Arthur " trey="Trey" fleisher="Fleisher" page="page" does="does" not="not" exist="exist">Arthur "Trey" Fleisher</a> - Economic Issues</li>

</ul>

<h3>Notable Former Associates</h3>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Gale_Norton" title="Gale Norton" class="mw-redirect">Gale Norton</a> - Secretary of the Interior. Former Senior Fellow and Board Member of the Independence Institute.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Donald_Hodel&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Donald Hodel (page does not exist)">Donald Hodel</a> - Secretary of the Interior, 1985-1989. Former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Independence Institute.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Tancredo" title="Tom Tancredo">Tom Tancredo</a> - Sixth Congressional District of Colorado. Former President of the Independence Institute.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Andrews&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="John Andrews (page does not exist)">John Andrews</a> - Colorado State Senate Minority Leader ounder of the Independence Institute.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rob_Fairbank&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rob Fairbank (page does not exist)">Rob Fairbank</a> - Colorado House Republican Caucus Chair Third-ranking Republican in the Colorado House. Former Office Director.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Shawn_Mitchell&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Shawn Mitchell (page does not exist)">Shawn Mitchell</a> - Colorado State Representative - Chair, House Information and Technology Committee. Former Senior Fellow.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ted_Harvey" title="Ted Harvey">Ted Harvey</a> - Colorado State Representative - Former Office Director.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rick_Grice&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rick Grice (page does not exist)">Rick Grice</a> - Director Governor's Office of Energy Management and Conservation. Former Senior Fellow</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jack_McCroskey&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Jack McCroskey (page does not exist)">Jack McCroskey</a> - Regional Transportation District Director Former Senior Fellow.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Paul_Danish&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Paul Danish (page does not exist)">Paul Danish</a> - Boulder County Commissioner Former Senior Fellow.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bruce_Benson&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Bruce Benson (page does not exist)">Bruce Benson</a> - Republican nominee for Governor of Colorado, 1994. Former Board member.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mike_Rosen&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Mike Rosen (page does not exist)">Mike Rosen</a> - News Radio 850 KOA talk show host and newspaper columnist. Former Board Member.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Greg_Bledsoe&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Greg Bledsoe (page does not exist)">Greg Bledsoe</a> - Colorado Counties. Legislative Liaison for agricultural, wildlife and rural affairs issues</li>

</ul>

<h2>Contact</h2>

Web site: <a href="http://www.i2i.org" class="external free" title="http://www.i2i.org" rel="nofollow">http://www.i2i.org</a>

Independence Institute

13952 Denver West Parkway, Suite 400

Golden, CO 80401

Phone: (303) 279-6536

<h2>Sourcewatch resources</h2>

<h2>External resources</h2>

<h2>References</h2>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independence_Institute#cite_ref-0" title="">↑</a> Independence Institute <a href="http://www.i2i.org/main/page.php?page_id=2" class="external text" title="http://www.i2i.org/main/page.php?page_id=2" rel="nofollow">About Us</a>, web site, accessed December 30, 2009</li>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independence_Institute#cite_ref-1" title="">↑</a> Independence Institute Center for the American Dream [<a href="http://www.i2i.org/main/page.php?page_id=10" class="external free" title="http://www.i2i.org/main/page.php?page_id=10" rel="nofollow">http://www.i2i.org/main/page.php?page_id=10</a> Independence Institute: Center for the American Dream], Web page, accessed December 30, 2009</li>

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<h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading">David Murray (ONDCP)</h1>

Dr. David Murray holds the title of chief scientist at the United States <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Office_of_National_Drug_Control_Policy" title="Office of National Drug Control Policy">Office of National Drug Control Policy</a> (ONDCP). In that role, he has testified against legalizing medical marijuana.

Before joining ONDCP, Murray was the director of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Statistical_Assessment_Service" title="Statistical Assessment Service">Statistical Assessment Service</a>, a conservative <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Think_tank" title="Think tank" class="mw-redirect">think tank</a>. He has also been affiliated with other conservative think tanks including the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Heritage_Foundation" title="Heritage Foundation">Heritage Foundation</a> and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independence_Institute" title="Independence Institute">Independence Institute</a>.

<h2>Biography</h2>

Prior to assuming the directorship of STATS, Murray was an assistant professor of anthropology at Brandeis University. He subsequently went to work as a "Bradley Scholar" at the right-wing <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Heritage_Foundation" title="Heritage Foundation">Heritage Foundation</a>, where he won the favor of former Reagan Education Secretary <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=William_J.Bennett" title="William J. Bennett">William J. Bennett</a> by writing an article for the foundation's Policy Review. Titled "Poor, Suffering Bastards," it argued that government welfare programs are undermining the foundations of western civilization by encouraging women to have babies out of wedlock. "America is becoming a nation of bastards," Murray wrote. "When American society experiments with ever-higher numbers of illegitimacies and single adults, we risk being crushed by our own roof. ... Our future depends on stopping welfare from continuing to subsidize illegitimacy."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_Murray%28ONDCP%29#cite_note-0" title="">[1]</a>

Murray also editorialized in favor of the religious right, calling it a movement of "Americans who dare to affirm individual merit, hard work, faith and personal responsibility in the political arena ... America's liberal elites are at war, not with the religious right per se, but with the cultural tradition it represents. ... They honestly believe Western culture is evil, responsible for war, racism, homophobia, sexism, social injustice and centuries of human cruelty. They would rather see America's moral order -- its customs, habits, values and beliefs --- reoriented toward something a little more 'progressive,' such as state socialism."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_Murray_%28ONDCP%29#cite_note-1" title="">[2]</a>

In 1994, Murray moved from the Heritage Foundation to the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independence_Institute" title="Independence Institute">Independence Institute</a>, another right-wing think tank located in Golden, Colorado, where he took up the defense of The Bell Curve, the controversial book by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray (no relation). David Murray rejected accusations that the book was racist, argued that it "brilliantly put a contradiction in American life out on the table where it can't be ignored," and called for an end to affirmative action.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_Murray_%28ONDCP%29#cite_note-2" title="">[3]</a>

In 1996, Murray used the murder of a 13-year-old boy as a pretext to rail against the "liberal Hollywood elite," asking, "Where's Whoopi Goldberg and Ed Asner and maybe Norman Mailer? Why aren't they here, hitting this hard, pointing out the miscarriage of justice? ... They're always there to protest when some butcher on Death Row is facing the chair. Always there to denounce the system, demand justice. Disinterested 'civil libertarians,' serving the underdog. ... Ed? Whoopi? You got an answer for this, or are you busy preparing your next rally against capital punishment? ... Why don't you go home, please, and shut up."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_Murray_%28ONDCP%29#cite_note-3" title="">[4]</a>

<h2>References</h2>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_Murray_%28ONDCP%29#cite_ref-0" title="">↑</a> David Murray, "<a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3647/is_199404/ai_n8716437" class="external text" title="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3647/is_199404/ai_n8716437" rel="nofollow">Poor, Suffering Bastards</a>," Policy Review, Spring 1994.</li>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_Murray_%28ONDCP%29#cite_ref-1" title="">↑</a> David Murray, "'Liberal Elites' Are at War with U.S. Tradition of Moral Values," Buffalo News (New York), October 9, 1994, p. 9.</li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_Murray_%28ONDCP%29#cite_ref-2" title="">↑</a> Michelle Mahoney, "The Bell Curve: Skip Race Findings," Denver Post, November 3, 1994, p. E-01.</li>

<li id="cite_note-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_Murray_%28ONDCP%29#cite_ref-3" title="">↑</a> Jeff Jacoby, "A killer lives; a child dies," Boston Globe, January 12, 1996, p. 17.</li>

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