Funding for the Liberal Blogosphere...

Via Instapundit (via Kaus) - the liberal blogosphere, much applauded by the Left, the Democrats, and the Media (I know, I'm being redundant) as the 'netroots made up of the common people' of the new political power in the United States, apparently isn't made up of the common man at all, despite the claims of the DailyKos, et al. The same rich Leftists, such as George Soros, are funding the bulk of it. The Riehl World View has the scoop:

"Make no mistake, there are hundreds of thousands, if not now millions of dollars changing hands within the so-called Netroots movement. And I don't mean dollars flowing up from contributors to political campaigns, though obviously that's happening, too.

While some, see Mickey Kaus here and Rogers Cadenhead here, continue to focus on the concept of Kosola (unproven allegations that some quid pro quo involving Dailykos, Jerome Armstrong and politicians) might exist, the bigger story may be the financial connections that suggest there is no reason for a Kosola of the type alleged to have taken place. There's more than enough money floating around the Liberal blogosphere for everyone, though it seems a few may be getting more than their fair share, while others are starting to complain.

The paper trail documents how the so-called people powered movement isn't so much people powered at all. It's fueled by big money with a big agenda being funneled into the Liberal blogosphere and to Liberal bloggers on a regular basis. Without that support, the grass-roots movement and Dailykos probably wouldn't amount to much of anything and Yearlykos couldn't have taken place on the scale it did.

To understand the financial connections that can now be documented, you'll also want to understand the Phoenix Group (PG), as reported on here in The Hill, and in depth through the New York Times, Wiring the Vast Left Wing Conspiracy, July 2004. Wealthy associates of the group have been propping up the Netroots movement, enjoying the cachet of a ground up grass roots movement that's actually financed and, I'd argue, controlled from the top down by big money, just as is most all contemporary politics. The Times piece is an absolute must read.

The Hill: One source at the DNC with direct knowledge of the agenda said that the Phoenix Group had three specific goals at the outset. It wants to create liberal think tanks, training camps for young progressives and media centers.

Despite the general recognition that progressives are several years behind conservatives, liberal activists are confident that technology will help them close the gap. “Technology may allow us to do in a few years what it took the other side 40 years,” the DNC source said.

Some of the key PG players, though far from all, are Howard Dean, George Soros, Simon Rosenberg, Andy Rappaport, and SEIU President Andy Stern. All of them, and others, have channeled serious money and support to the Netroots movement, including to Moulitsas and Armstrong, since it began. In fact, it likely wouldn't have taken off or even survived without that financial support.

Armstrong and Dailykos are simply mimicking the talking points of well to do Liberals documented in articles and speeches as talking about fifty state campaigning and the need for a new Democratic Party."