THE ACTIVISM OF THE EXTENSIVE, WELL-FUNDED RIGHT-WING NETWORK
The extensive, well-funded right-wing network in the U.S. is working hard to influence our politics, policies, and laws. The Federalist Society has been a very effective piece of this activism, successfully promoting right-wing legal positions and right-wing lawyers for federal judgeships, including on the Supreme Court. The right-wing network is expanding its influence and support into other parts of our society and economy, notably the technology and venture capital sectors.
(Note: If you find my posts too long to read on occasion, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)
An overview of the funding network that’s part of the vast right-wing conspiracy that Hillary Clinton called out in 1998 is provided in this previous post. It focuses on some current pieces of the extensive, wealthy right-wing funding network, including the recently uncovered, politically-active (probably illegally), charity Ziklag that’s working to embed right-wing Christianity in U.S. politics, policies, and laws.
The right-wing’s activism includes high-profile think tanks, such as the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. The Heritage Foundation is the lead organizer of the Project 2025 blueprint for the next Trump or Republican presidencies. Project 2025 has been getting a fair amount of attention lately because of its radical, revolutionary, authoritarian proposals and its concrete plans to implement them.
One of the most visible and successful pieces of right-wing activism has been the work of The Federalist Society, which promotes right-wing legal positions and right-wing lawyers for federal judgeships. It was founded in 1982 and its very influential leader, Leonard Leo, has worked there for over 25 years. It played the lead role in getting the six radical, reactionary justices onto the current Supreme Court. (See this previous post for why they should be called radical, reactionary justices, given that they are anything but conservative.) It has also led the way in the appointment of over 200 other right-wing federal judges, 28% of the federal judiciary.
Another Leonard Leo-run organization, the Marble Freedom Trust, recently received a $1.6 billion gift (yes, billion) from Chicago businessman Barre Seid. This has been described as the largest known donation to a political advocacy group ever.
ProPublica and an investigative journalism partner, Documented, have reported that over the last five years or so, Leo has also been playing a leading role with the Teneo Network. It’s a little-known network of young conservatives working to replicate the success of The Federalist Society in other realms of U.S. society. It recruits under 40 years old corporate leaders, athletes, scholars, and writers. [1]
The Teneo Network’s founders were Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Evan Baehr, a tech entrepreneur. It’s striving to influence Wall Street, Silicon Valley, the media, and Hollywood, the way The Federalist Society has influenced the legal system. For example, it’s pushing back against investors and others who are advocating for good corporate environmental, social, and governance practices and policies.
As one example of the flow of money in the vast right-wing funding network, in 2021, the majority of Teneo’s funding, over $3 million, came from DonorsTrust, a funnel for laundering right-wing money and hiding the identities of donors. DonorsTrust, which had $1.5 billion in assets in 2021, had received $41 million from Leo’s group the Marble Freedom Trust (which had received the $1.6 billion gift from the Chicago businessman). Teneo has also received funding from the Charles Koch Foundation, Betsy DeVos’s family (Trump’s Secretary of Education), and other well-known wealthy, conservative donors.
Teneo’s members include Senator (and now Republican vice-presidential candidate) J.D. Vance (R-OH), Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Nebraska’s Attorney General, Virginia’s Solicitor General, aides to FL Governor DeSantis, and the heads of the Republican Attorneys General Association, the Republican State Leadership Committee, and Turning Point USA (a right-wing group promoting student activism).
Teneo and right-wing activism in general have engaged and been supported by several venture capitalists and technology sector entrepreneurs. A key activist and supporter, who has been in both fields, is billionaire Peter Thiel. J.D. Vance worked at Thiel’s venture capital firm in 2016 – 2017. Thiel then and afterwards in other investment industry roles made Vance wealthy. When Vance decided to run for the U.S. Senate in 2021, Thiel backed him with $15 million for his campaign. Thiel also brought in other tech entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and right-wingers to support Vance. In 2022, Vance won election to the Senate. There probably isn’t a clearer current example of a politician and political office having been bought by billionaires than J.D. Vance and his U.S. Senate seat. (By the way, back in 2010, Evan Baehr, co-founder of the Teneo Network, worked for Peter Thiel.)
More on J.D. Vance, Peter Thiel, and their promotion of a right-wing agenda, including Christian nationalism, in U.S. politics, policies, and laws in my next post. I’ll also identify what we can and must do to pushback.
[1] Kroll, A., & Bernstein, A., (ProPublica), & Surgey, N., (Documented), 3/9/23, “Inside the ‘private and confidential’ conservative group that promises to ‘crush liberal dominance’,” ProPublica (https://www.propublica.org/article/leonard-leo-teneo-videos-documents)