John Hinderaker
Power Line
2/21/2011
…Governor Walker’s position is endorsed by a majority of Wisconsin voters, as well as several conservative groups, some of which have gotten modest amounts of support from conservative philanthropists. In what world is that some kind of scandal?
Certainly not in the world of Think Progress, which is entirely a creature of the billionaire left. One curious feature of today’s left is its obsession with “astroturf.” There is a reason why lefties who work for billionaire-funded web sites like Think Progress constantly talk about astroturf: it is the world they live in. They are paid by rich liberals, and the demonstrators who are bused in to left-wing protests are generally union members who are paid to attend. No one on the left does much for free. So lefties find it hard to understand that ordinary citizens (“Tea Partiers”) will turn out at rallies without being paid, that conservative voters vote on principle, not financial self-interest, and that conservative activists act out of conviction, not because they are subsidized by a sugar daddy. Failing to understand that conservatism–unlike liberalism–is a movement of principle, not self-interest, they are constantly looking for the elusive, non-existent money trail.
I recently experienced an entertaining example of this phenomenon. A local columnist who covered media for the St. Paul Pioneer Press went to work for a web site called MinnPost, which is funded by liberal sugar daddies. The site seems mostly to publish the work of former Star Tribune employees. Anyway, this reporter referred to me as “one of [Bill Cooper’s] high-profile investments.” Having no idea what he was talking about, I emailed the MinnPost reporter to ask for an explanation. Bill Cooper is the Chairman of TCF Bank; I am slightly acquainted with him, but we do not move, let us say, in the same social circles. I got this response:
If what you’re saying is that Bill never had any involvement in either the creation, development and support of Power Line, I guess I’ll take you at your word. Although I must say that assertion has its doubters.
In reply, I assured this reporter that no person or entity has ever provided any material support to this web site. We have been in the black since we started taking advertising in late 2004. And anyway, I don’t get the point. What material support would be necessary? We make a good living practicing law, and engage in politics out of conviction, for free–or, better yet, for the few bucks we make on advertising–in order to help make a better world for our children, a motivation that liberals apparently find mystifying. Liberals are always hot to follow the money, except to where it really leads–their own paychecks.
Read the entire article at Power Line.
H/T Instapundit: THINKPROGRESS? Think stupidity. “What is remarkable is how little liberal billionaires get for their investment in CAP and similar organizations. Talent, apparently, is in short supply on the left.”
