Best of CRC Media Hits for the First Quarter of 2023

The first quarter of 2023 has been fruitful for CRC in our continuing attempts to get the word out about political philanthropy and public policy charitable spending.

Through January, February, and March (and early April), we had over 140 media hits, including traditional media, new media, TV, and radio. Some of the outlets included CBS News, New York Post, Yahoo, and NPR.

Our goal for the rest of the year is to get more of our research and policy analysis in front of mainstream audiences, as well as continuing to appear in conservative, friendly media outlets. Take heart: CRC’s research focus won’t change. We’re simply hoping to reach people in this age of sharp political divides and partisan news who might have missed out completely on what CRC has been covering.

Below are a few of the best media hits from quarter one of 2023.

“‘Zuck Bucks 2.0’: Zuckerberg-Funded Group Pushing Millions to Influence Local Election Offices, Report Says”
Fox News, Aaron Kliegman, January 20, 2023

Democrats defended the money as necessary to conduct the election safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, while Republicans noted most of the grants targeted Democrat-leaning districts. In several states, counties that broke heavily for Joe Biden received more “Zuck Bucks” donations, according to an analysis by the Capital Research Center.

“Conservatives Need Protection from Both Woke Business and Woke Labor,”
National Review, Mike Watson (Op-ed), January 28, 2023

With the rise of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activist investing and the increasing liberal tilt of the commanding heights of major corporations, many conservatives have begun rethinking their and the Republican Party’s relationship to big business. A handful, most prominently U.S. senators Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Josh Hawley (Mo.), have even proposed taking the side of labor unions, long a pillar of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, in response to “woke capitalism” and changes in political coalitions. That would be a mistake.

Labor unions use their power over the workplace to impose ideological conformity, fund full-spectrum socially liberal movements, and deny small entrepreneurs their first step on the ladder of ownership of the means of production — which deprives social conservatives of important coalition allies.

“The Left’s Little Financial Engine That Could (Change the World Radically),”
RealClearInvestigations, Ben Weingarten, February 7, 2023

Amalgamated Bank, with just five branches across three cities, and a market value lower than the net worth of many an individual hedge fund honcho, would seem an unlikely mover and shaker in the world of Wall Street, let alone Washington, D.C.

Yet last fall, it successfully pressured colossal credit card companies Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to use the financial system to track and report gun purchases. Amalgamated is “more than a bank,” says Michael Watson of the Capital Research Center. “It’s a bank for an ideological movement.”

“Disinformation Inc: Left-Wing Groups Funneled Millions to Entity Blacklisting Conservative News” Washington Examiner, Gabe Kaminsky, February 15, 2023

“To fully understand a group’s influence, you always need to look at who is funding it,” Robert Stilson, a research assistant for the Capital Research Center, told the Washington Examiner. “In this case, GDI’s funders include some of the most prominent left-of-center philanthropies in the country. Among other things, it begs the question: Is this the sort of thing that people picture when they hear the word ‘philanthropy?’ I doubt it.”

“Domestic Terror Suspects in ‘Cop City’ Attack Have Links to Left-Wing Groups, Protest Movements”
Fox News, Thomas Catenacci, Joe Schoffstall, March7/23

“Many of these activists and the groups they belong to, like the National Lawyers Guild, claim to defend democracy, yet they love thuggish violence, the opposite of the democratic rule of law,” Scott Walter, president of the Capital Research Center, told Fox News Digital.

“They feel they have a right to parachute into a city from out of town and rule by force, outside any law. Their arrogance only makes the rule of law more appealing – and necessary.”

“3 More Republican States Announce They’re Leaving a Key Voting Data Partnership”
NPR, Miles Parks, March6, 2023

The Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, is a multi-state partnership that experts across the political spectrum say is the only reliable, secure way for states to share voter registration data with each other.

But on Monday, three Republican-led states announced they are pulling out of ERIC — leaving questions about the future of a system that up until recently was a bipartisan success story, as well as questions about how these three states will maintain accurate voter lists without such a resource.

“Twitter Labels NPR as ‘State-Affiliated Media’”
CBS News, Kerry Breen, 4/5, 2023

NPR is not owned by the United States government or controlled by a government representative. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was primarily government-funded but steps were taken to change its financial structure. The Capital Research Center‘s watchdog site Influence Watch estimates that NPR currently receives less than 1% of its annual budget directly from the federal government and almost 10% of its budget comes indirectly from state, federal and local governments.

“Is YOUR prosecutor backed by George Soros? Here’s a complete list of ALL known Soros-backed prosecutors,”
Glenn Beck, Staff, April 5, 2023

Is YOUR prosecutor backed by Soros? Check out the list below to see if YOU fall within a Soros-backed prosecutor’s jurisdiction. To find more details about how each candidate is backed by Soros, be sure to visit the incredible resource put together by Capital Research.