Horowitz made baseless claim that Soros has poured $75 million into midterm elections
SUMMARY: On Sean Hannity's radio show, David Horowitz attacked nonprofit organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and George Soros, baselessly claiming that Soros has "put $75 million into these congressional elections, and he's doing it behind the façade of -- public interest, tax-exempt, charitable organizations."
On the October 10 edition of ABC Radio Networks' The Sean Hannity Show, right-wing activist David Horowitz baselessly claimed that billionaire philanthropist George Soros has "put $75 million into these congressional elections, and he's doing it behind the façade of ... public interest, tax-exempt, charitable organizations." Horowitz made this claim in the context of criticizing nonprofit organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) for its role in the scandal surrounding former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL), but offered no evidence to back it up.
Before his discussion of the Foley scandal with Horowitz and Democratic operative Bob Beckel, host Sean Hannity noted that the "Soros-funded CREW" had, "earlier this summer," possessed the emails allegedly sent by Foley to an underage former congressional page. He then asked Horowitz to "sort through a little of this," noting an October 9 press release by Horowitz's FrontPageMag.com, in which, according to Hannity, he "had some very strong words to say about George Soros's involvement in this potential Foley issue." In his subsequent comments, Horowitz repeated his baseless claim -- noted by Media Matters for America -- that CREW received the Foley emails "probably in April, certainly in July." Moreover, Horowitz alleged that a "massive political operation run at taxpayer expense that George Soros created" had orchestrated the scandal. As evidence, he cited the fact that CREW received $100,000 from Soros's Open Society Institute (OSI) and went on to note: "[B]ut the organization that really started it up is called the Democracy Alliance," which he described as a "$50-million Soros operation" that acts as a "hit squad on Republicans." Horowitz further claimed that "hundreds of millions of dollars ... were put into the 2004 election by Soros and his cronies." Later in the show, he cited Soros's "$50-million operation," before claiming that Soros has "put $75 million into these congressional elections, and he's doing it behind the façade of ... public interest, tax-exempt, charitable organizations."
Horowitz offered no evidence to support his claim that Soros has devoted $50 million -- or $75 million -- of his own money during the midterm election cycle. It is true that OSI contributed $100,000 to CREW in January 2006 and that Soros is a member of the Democracy Alliance, a recently formed organization of donors that has provided financial support to CREW. But the Democracy Alliance is made up of nearly one hundred donors, and the $50 million it has reportedly distributed since its inception last year has been spread among more than 25 progressive organizations (including Media Matters). In late September 2005, Soros held a fundraiser at his home that raised $250,000 for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. But his spokesman, Michael Vachon, told The Hill newspaper that Soros has yet to contribute directly to any political organizations or candidates.
Further, Horowitz did not specify who Soros's "cronies" were when claiming that they poured "hundreds of millions of dollars" into the 2004 presidential election. Soros himself put $25 million of his own money toward progressive and Democratic organizations in 2004.
Additionally, in criticizing CREW as a group "existing ... to attack Republicans," Horowitz falsely claimed that the organization has targeted 14 Republicans and only one Democrat, citing a March 14 Hill article. In fact, in its 2006 report on the most corrupt members of Congress, CREW included three Democratic lawmakers: Reps. William Jefferson (LA), Alan Mollohan (WV), and Maxine Waters (CA).
From the October 10 edition of ABC Radio Networks' The Sean Hannity Show:
HANNITY: Well, on the website, on its own website, the Soros-funded CREW website, they were boasting about taking the lead and breaking the Foley scandal, quote, "when CREW received copies of the Foley emails earlier this summer." They wrote that in their own words here. The Associated Press covered the story. Naomi Seligman, a spokeswoman for CREW said the group also sent a letter to the FBI after it received Foley emails -- CREW did not post the copies of the emails until ABC reported them but they had had them.
Anyway, here to sort through a little of this, we have two of the smartest, brightest people in the world: author of The Shadow Party, David Horowitz, How George Soros, Hillary Clinton and the '60s Radicals Seized Clinton - Seized Control of the Democratic Party, and although -- also with us, Democratic strategist Bob Beckel. Now, David, let's start with you, because you sent out a press release yesterday, and you had some very strong words to say about George Soros's involvement in this potential Foley issue.
HOROWITZ: Yeah, Sean, I'm looking forward to seeing you at the Restoration Weekend in Florida.
HANNITY: Yes, sir, I really am. It's an honor to be there.
HOROWITZ: Look, this is a massive political operation run at taxpayer expense that George Soros created. The CREW, it's got 100,000 from Soros, but the organization that really started it up is called the Democracy Alliance, which is a 50-million-dollar Soros operation, which is geared to -- as a hit squad on Republicans. This group, CREW, is singularly responsible for taking down [former Rep.] Tom DeLay [R-TX]; it's run by Democratic operatives, it was founded by people like Mark Penn, who's a key Democratic pollster and part of the Soros operation. It has targeted 14, according to The Hill reporter, 14 congressmen, people in Congress, 14 Republicans and one Democrat, and of course, the Democrat, [Sen.] Blanche Lincoln [D-AR], is a kind of centrist Democrat.
HANNITY: But, let me ask you --
HOROWITZ: What you have here is a political hit squad -- withheld information from the FBI. They had the Foley emails probably in April, certainly in July. They released laundered versions to the FBI, probably to get the FBI to see if they would, you know, find out more but withheld the damaging ones because they wanted to time it for the election.
HANNITY: All right. Let me -- let me go to the heart and soul of this. What you're saying, David, is is that they've been holding this incriminating -- these incriminating emails, revealing Foley's sexual misconduct, since at least July of 2006, and the FBI has countered that CREW provided only edited versions of the emails and they're refusing to surrender over the unedited originals, here.
HOROWITZ: That's right. This is a group posing as a public interest group, which is an entirely political operation, tax exempt, running off taxpayers' dollars, supposed to be in the public interest, but its only reason for existing is to attack Republicans, and it is beyond me why the Republican Congress is not investigating CREW and Soros. We're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars that were put into the 2004 election by Soros and his cronies.
HANNITY: Yeah.
[...]
HANNITY: The -- the issue here, though, David, is they're showing such moral outrage over the Foley matter. If they knew about them, they had awareness of them, and they timed the outcome of this, that would be a sign of hypocrisy, wouldn't it?
HOROWITZ: Well, of course, they're hypocrites. But this -- there's something much more sinister going on. Yeah, dirty tricks. If the Democratic Party is doing dirty tricks, OK, the Republican Party probably does dirty tricks, too. But this is a -- this a tax-exempt, public interest organization that's being financed by a $50 million operation that George Soros that -- George Soros has put $75 million into these congressional elections, and he's doing it behind the façade of a public interest, tax-exempt, charitable organizations.
I see that Bob Beckel, whom I respect when he's not in his attack mode, has read Media Matters, you know. Soros has this smear site, Media Matters, and it just happens that the woman Sloan, who is the executive director of CREW, was previously the -- or she's the spokesperson for CREW -- was previously the spokesperson for Media Matters. Excuse me, it's Naomi Seligman. These are all Democratic Party operatives; they're all acting under the protection of a nonpartisan, public interest, tax-exempt operation. This needs to be investigated and stopped.
BECKEL: David, David. Can I just get a word in here for a second?
HOROWITZ: I don't -- I, you know -- I don't do this. I'm a 501(c)(3), but I obey the law.
They said that they were going to do a full rebuttal to a piece on the Media Matters website several weeks ago in which Media Matters for America rightfully took apart the joke of a so-called "book" that the lame David Horowitz and his equally lame co-author did about George Soros and liberals and progressives and how they are dangerous or something like that with the usual garbage. Still waiting.
THANK YOU. njguy93@yahoo.com
I've been wondering that, too. Of course they're not going to rebut it, or even attempt. Horowitz just acts like a tough guy and points his finger at the camera and people go, "Oh man, those lib'ruls got it comin' now." When there is no rebuttal, they never know because Horowitz never talks about it again. And if they do remember he said it, they assume they must have missed it.
He moves onto the next topic, heaps a pile of new lies onto whomever he perceives as the enemy, a traitor, etc, gets debunked, throws a fit and calls MMFA a Soros/Shadow Party funded smear site and then promises to rebut their "lies". He never does, but it's enough to convince his neocon audience.
"All this was inspired by the principle - which is quite true in itself - that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying. These people know only too well how to use falsehood for the basest purposes." - Adolf Hilter, "Mein Kampf"
on his "dirty tricks" bandwagon.This has been Hannity's dodge-the-issue phrase lately- No matter what the Repubs do for 2 months before an election, it's all dirty tricks by the Dems.
Seems to be catching on.Maybe he puts it in his guests contract, they have to say it.
Must be pissing off O'Reilly. That "S-P" he's been trying to coin hasn't really caught fire. Even with his subtly working it in five or six hundred times a night.
The poster boy for the cut and run faction...John Murtha...was listed as one of 4 democrats on their list of the top twenty-five most corrupt members of congress.
Yep, the guy that wants to be the leadership voice for the democrat party in the House is outed by CREW.
Yep, the anti-war fanatic...that receives unflagging support from many of the mmfa legions...is rated as one of the most corrupt members of congress...in the opinion of CREW.
He must be extemely dirty for the non-profit, non-partisan liberal advocacy group called CREW to expose him.
You too?
- in criticizing CREW as a group "existing ... to attack Republicans...in its 2006 report on the most corrupt members of Congress, CREW included three Democratic lawmakers: Reps. William Jefferson (LA), Alan Mollohan (WV), and Maxine Waters (CA). - mmfa
mmfa is correct if you look at the list of the top 20 most corrupt by CREW standards. However, CREW shows a list of 25 most corrupt.
If you read the entire list...guess what...up pops John Murtha. This is dubious and uncritical reporting by mmfa.
mmfa has consistently supported the anti-Bush rhetoric of Murtha on this site. I have my opinion of why they left him off the list...you're welcome to your own.
And point. They most likely left him off the list because he only made dishonorable mention, and not the list of 20. However that a point worth making. And a good catch
One of the most desperate of the Lets get as many Americans killed as possible faction. Wading in with another logical fallacy. The ad hominem attack. This famous fallacy suffers from the larger logical fallacy of being irrelevant to the point. Even if it were true his message about the war could still be valid. Perhaps he is corrupt though there was something missing from this smear post. That is not one specific claim of anything corrupt he has done. When the lets get as many Americans killed as possible faction realized they cannot hope to win the argument about the war on itsw merits, (the lack thereof is so obvious) since the myriad lies and distortions about it have been stripped away. (what are we on our 8th excuse for invading? 9th?) They just attack the messenger.
As for calling Murtha an anti war fanatic I remember Murtha, he has been in the house a long time. A rabid supporter of the Contras, the invasion of Panama and Grenada. Murtha doesnt support THIS war. In usual fasion for a wingnut. Stricken with the straitjacket of the black/white Manichean worldview, once someone deviates in any way from total conformity to the rightwing prescribed message, they move from the good column to the evil column, or from the Hawk column where Murtha has spent most of his career to the anti war fanatic column. For wingnuts reality means nothing, message is all that exists
- Perhaps he is corrupt though there was something missing from this smear post. That is not one specific claim of anything corrupt he has done. - solon
CREW is specific about their allegations. They cite him with ethics violations...sending federal dollars to PMA Group, a company founded by Murtha's long time staffer. PMA has contributed nearly $800k to Murtha and in 2006...PMA clients received nearly $100m from Murtha's committee.
They also charge ethics violations concerning the lobbying group of his brother, Kit Murtha. In 2004, KSA clients received $21m from Murtha's committee.
These are not my allegations...they come from that...that...non-profit, non-partisan 501(c) group called CREW.
It doesnt change the FACT that attacking the message because of the messenger suffers from the logical fallacy of irrelevancy. If you had made it about Murthas ethical problems which is a legitimate complaint instead of baseless characterizations of his antiwar positions I would have reacted differently. These in fact are exactly the type of ethical violations I consider out and out corruption
He was all for blowing up Iraqis for the last three years...until the generals told him we were losing. Murtha's not anti-war, he's fine with bombing little brown children. He just don't like it when the little brown people start winning.
Horowitz has no credibility. He has been a lying piece of crap ever since he learned that people have more in common than his immature mind could understand. Like many idiots he worshipped an ideal, and when his fantasy was proven to be false the little baby jumped on the side with the bad guys. He knows that they are the bad guys too; otherwise he wouldn't have to spend so much energy creating garbage to smear his ideological opponents with. Wimps like him should just go away. He didn't understand reality when he was a kid, and he certainly does not understand it now. What a punk.