PrintOctober 6, 2007
Media Matters Claims "Non-Partisanship"
Here's a little comic interlude for your Saturday morning pleasure...
In response to an article in Thursday's National Review by Byron York where the columnist accused the Soros-funded Media Matters for America of being "an avowedly political institution," the liberal smear outfit let loose with perhaps the funniest lines of the campaign season to date:
Media Matters is not, as the National Review claims, "an avowedly political institution," but a nonpartisan, progressive nonprofit that is unaffiliated with any political party or candidate.For the record as York points out, Media Matters is a non-profit 501(c)(3) and is therefore precluded from engaging in any partisan activity. But the laughable denial above only shows the breath taking dishonesty of the group when it comes to their mission, best described as smearing Republicans and their allies.
Gibson also claimed Media Matters "get[s] Soros support." As Media Matters has repeatedly noted, it has received no money from philanthropist George Soros -- either directly or indirectly.
And the blatant lie about Soros not funding Media Matters "directly or indirectly" flies in the face of the organization's own statements on the matter as well as several investigations - one by York himself - regarding their ties to the mysterious Mr. Soros:
Media Matters has not always been forthcoming about its high-profile backers. In particular, the group has long labored to obscure any financial ties to George Soros. But in March 2003, the Cybercast News Service (CNS) detailed the copious links between Media Matters and several Soros "affiliates"—among them MoveOn.org, the Center for American Progress, and Peter Lewis.Nothing this group does or says should surprise us anymore. But their hysterically funny claim to being "non-partisan" shows at least they have a sense of humor.
Confronted with this story, a spokesman for the organization explained that "Media Matters for America has never received funding directly from George Soros" (emphasis added), a transparent evasion.
Nor were groups cited by CNS the only connection between Media Matters and Soros. As investigative journalist Byron York has noted, another Soros affiliate that bankrolled Media Matters was the New Democratic Network. In addition, Soros is reported to be involved in the newly formed Democracy Alliance, a partnership of some 80 affluent financiers who each have vowed to contribute $1 million or more in order to build up an ideological infrastructure of leftist thinks tanks and advocacy groups. News reports list Media Matters as a main beneficiary of the Alliance's funding. By August of 2004, Media Matters' operating budget had already doubled to $4 million. To summarize, Soros and his Open Society Institute pour millions of dollars into the coffers of MoveOn, the Center for American Progress, and Democracy Alliance. In turn, these organizations funnel some of that money to Media Matters.
