Lee Fang; Mapping the Right Wing Cancer Metastasizing Throughout the States

Broadcast 4/5/2013 at 6:10 PM EDT (145 Listens, 74 Downloads, 1148 Itunes)
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Bio:

Lee Fang  is  the author of the new book, The Machine-- A Field Guide to the Resurgent Right, is a reporting fellow at the Nation Institute and a contributing writer at  The Nation .  Fang is a former senior investigator at the Republic Report and a former investigative blogger for ThinkProgress .  While at ThinkProgress, Fang wrote several articles including one regarding the US Chamber of Commerce that attracted national attention.

Rough--make that VERY rough interview notes

These notes are aimed to pique your interest so you'll listen to the podcast-- or come back for the transcript, available soon.  

DC-Centric think tanks

State Policy Network-- 59 affiliates throughout country. 

Franklin Center-  taking advantage of loss of local media-- creating free, biased news giving it to struggling local and county newspapers. 

Permanent campaign-- academic papers, media outlets, new media apparatus. to attack perceived enemies on left, to cut taxes on left and raise them on poor. 

SPN State POlicy Network  has deployed operations in every state in it's spider web of operations. 

founded by Thomas Roe in 1992 . Who is he?

Tracy Sharp current leader of SPN. republican Libertarian Operative. She worked at Cascade Institute in the 90s.

The tie between SPN and ALEC-- 

SPN has become ALEC public relations firm

What does the left have to counter this?? What are they doing?

Progressnow network

Where do the Democrats fit in to this?

It seems to me that your estimate of five times as much money on the right is really low. 

IT seems to me that a handful of billionaires and big corporations are trying to simulate a bottom up process. 

Americans for Prosperity--Koch group try to fake being bottom up-- paying people to knock on doors and do the shoe leather approach. They've been able to fabricate a bottom up approach. 

You've talked about conspiracy theories-- What are you talking about?

               Instead of using an honest argument, they use conspiracy theories. 

 Is this something that liberals and progressives can be taken advantage of, so they actually"

Is there any org that is mapping out these, like Sunlight foundation

Any suggestions on how to use Youtube--

Search youtube.com  Town Hall. 

How did you get into the meeting

join listserves, keep your ear to the ground, 

Go to trainings from these orgs, join them. 

Thom Hartmann says, "Fang is one of America's best and most prolific investigative journalists, and in this brilliant and insightful work he tells a vital story of the takeover of American politics by a small band of billionaires. An absolute must-read."

 Any other things that citizen journalists can do-- 

Record political events, speeches" if you don't see something in a video, someone else may. 

Are there leaders on the left who are saying this is what we need to do to counter this. 

Don't just blame McConnell. Harry Reid allowed the filibuster to continue. 

How about the white house. Is Obama doing anything about this?

Your book talks about "The True History of the Tea Party." What's that about?

Who are your investigative heroes. 

Nick 

Ken Silverstein, Tom Hamberger

Donors Trust

Voter ID laws

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