Political Research Associates

I just stumbled on an arrow in the left’s propaganda quiver I’d never heard of before.

It’s a Massachusetts-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit called Political Research Associates, which operates the publiceye.org website. Its 2007 tax return (PDF) shows it operates on a shoestring budget.

The work of Political Research Associates has been strongly criticized by the David Horowitz Freedom Center and Stanley Kurtz.

In its mission statement, Political Research Associates describes itself as “a progressive think tank devoted to supporting movements that are building a more just and inclusive democratic society. We expose movements, institutions, and ideologies that undermine human rights.”

The group explains why it focuses on the right:

While attacks on civil liberties can come from any direction, the political and Christian Right use skillful marketing that exploits the public’s desire for quick solutions and capitalizes on today’s hectic information flow. With clever slogans that oversimplify complex public policy issues, the Right routinely scapegoats others in pursuit of their agenda.

PRA responds with fair and accurate analysis, looking beneath the sound-bites and slogans of the Right, exposing the true goals and agendas of specific leaders, organizations and movements. We then present our analysis in ways that can help the media, advocates and educators understand and challenge the Right.

On its website a table shows a continuum of right-wing beliefs. It divides right-wing thought between the Secular Right, Religious Right, and Xenophobic Right.

The group’s donors include left-wing funders the Ford Foundation ($385,000 since 2002), the Public Welfare Foundation ($300,000 since 2000), the secretive Tides Foundation ($278,601 since 1999), and the Barbra Streisand Foundation ($5,000 in 2000).