ANOTHER PEEK AT WINGNUT WELFARE

The WaPo provides some numbers to back up the claim that Richard Mellon Scaife is and was a HUGE supporter of the GOP Noise Machine.

The Line Forms on the Right: Scaife's Pet Causes
Monday, October 22, 2007; Page C02

A look at some of the Pittsburgh billionaire's favorite causes and what he's given them from 1985 through 2006:

Heritage Foundation, $23 million


Conservative think tank. Proponent of small government, strong national defense and traditional values.

Free Congress Research and Education Foundation, $17.9 million

Conservative think tank. Mission statement includes these questions: "Will America return to the culture that made it great, our traditional, Judeo-Christian, Western culture? Or will we continue the long slide into the cultural and moral decay of political correctness?"

Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis, $11.5 million
Think tank associated with Fletcher School of Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Hoover Institution, $9.7 million
Think tank of conservative and libertarian scholars, affiliated with Stanford University. Recently named Donald Rumsfeld "a distinguished visiting fellow."

Center for Strategic and International Studies, $8.8 million
Bipartisan think tank, focused on international affairs. Trustees include Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski.

Intercollegiate Studies Institute, $8.8 million