ThinkProgress's Lee Fang has a frightening story on the stealthy move by the Koch political machine into universities around the country. It's a wide reach: the economics department at Florida State University, George Mason University (including the Mercatus Center, more on that in a bit), West Virginia University, Brown University, Troy University, Utah State University, and Beloit College.
It's an important read, if for nothing else than in arguing for more federal higher education funding so that higher ed doesn't have to make deals with the devil in order to continue to exist. But what sticks out on this list is the Mercatus Center, and this snippet.
As reporter Kris Hundley notes, Koch virtually owns much of George Mason University, another public university, through grants and direct control over think tanks within the school. For instance, Koch controls the Mercatus Center of George Mason University, an institute that set much of the Bush administration?s environmental deregulation policy. And similar conditional agreements have been made with schools like Clemson and West Virginia University.
What's the problem? One of the key candidates to replace Gary Locke as Commerce Secretary is none other than Tim Roemer, a former "distinguished scholar at the Mercatus Center."
Way back when, in early 2005 when Roemer was being considered for DNC chair, Markos wrote about Roemer's position with this key "part of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, a Scaife funded right-wing think tank." He wrote that, "[o]ne of the ways the Right 'educates' public officials, opinion leaders,etc., is to send them to expensive 'retreats' at exclusive resorts, nice hotels, etc. where they are wined and dined and treated to first-class amenities."
He followed up with this example of what Roemer and Mercatus were pushing on Democratic chiefs of staff in one of these retreats.
Chris Bowers looks at the agenda (PDF), and there's plenty not to like. There's this session:Social Security Reform I: The Coming Fiscal Crisis
Texas A&M economist Russel Roberts, a vocal supporter of social security privatization, will give a presentation opposing drug reimportation from Canada. And so on.
Unfortunately, the links in that story are now defunct, but here's another one from Chris at MYDD that includes yet another invitation from Roemer to "fellow Democrats" to talk about market-based solution to Social Security. Recall that this was during the Bush push for Social Security privatization.
Roemer is currently Ambassador to India. Seems like a good place to keep him.
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