Posted on 04/13/2015 12:59:49 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The Long Island-based hedge-fund magnate who is helping bankroll Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign for the Republican nomination is also one of the top investors in the Breitbart News Network, sources with knowledge of the matter told the On Media blog on Monday.
Robert Mercer, the co-CEO of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies, is the main donor behind a network of pro-Cruz super PACs that have raised at least $31 million to date, according to a recent New York Times report. Mercer has spent more than $15 million on conservative political campaigns and causes since 2012.
What the Times report did not mention is that Mercer is also one of the most generous backers for Breitbart News Network, a group of right-wing news and opinion site that command considerable influence among the conservative base.
Breitbart's early coverage of Cruz's presidential bid has been by turns effusive and critical. One recent profile portrayed Cruz as "the true Washington outsider" who has built "a formidable operation, all while sticking true to his aggressive conservatism." Four days later, the site published an article stating that Cruz was "poorly matched to defeat Hillary" and "damaged goods as far as presidential politics is concerned."
Stephen Bannon, the executive chairman at Breitbart, did not comment when asked whether Mercer's financial support would influence the site's coverage of Cruz and the 2016 presidential campaign. In a statement, spokesperson Kurt Bardella said Breitbart News "is a for-profit operation and we do not discuss our investors."
Before joining Renaissance Technologies, Mercer worked in I.B.M.'s research center. The Times report portrayed Mercer as a "reclusive," "low-profile" figure. "Intensely private, he has been described as 'an icy cold poker player' whose boss once jokingly called him 'an automaton,'" the Times reported.
Renaissance has also come in for scrutiny: Last year, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations accused the firm "of using complex financial structures that allowed it to underestimate how much it owed the Internal Revenue Service by $6 billion," per the Times report. "The I.R.S. has been investigating Renaissance for at least six years. A spokesman for the firm said its tax practices were legal and appropriate."
Ya, so ?
He’s also a big Breitbart supporter, all the better.
Chicken feed compared to Soros. About whom one seldom hears these days.
Yea, what the Hell! Expose Soros who funds everything sinister, is a “former” Nazi, destabilizes governments, currency, etc
To be fair, wasn’t he a Kapo (Funktionshäftling)? That’s not exactly the same as joining the Nazi party, as he was under duress as a Jewish prisoner.
The big global banks are Hitlery’s contributors.
FIXED IT!
Three word answer:
Soros, Soros, Soros.
Translation: Feces, Feces, Feces
Return of VWRC.
Heidi took a lot of flack for her association with Goldman Sachs. Thinking of a run for the presidency, I think this couple have proved they knew what they were doing with a fine perch at Goldman, and exactly what donor connections were going to have to be made from that perch.
The pay off should be in real money for Cruz, and it’s going to take a serious lot of it to compete against $2.5 billion. (Although, Hillary is going to need every bit of her globally funded war chest to sell herself to a country that is not interested in her.
Ted will need it too, as a relative unknown and newcomer, but at least he is stand alone captivating, engaging and interesting, and he impresses, even even if he were “dead broke”. But, the man knew from the beginning it happens only with money and making sure that he, AND HEIDI, were in position to collect it. Good for Heidi!
Basic 101, for a candidate who is serious about winning.
Right now it looks like Hillary will be spending 95% of her war chest in the fall.
That was what gave Baraq a big advantage in 2012.
Soros changed his name to not be labeled a Jew.
If you read old interviews with Soros, he stated that some of the happiest moments in his life was when, as a teenager, he turned in Jews to the Nazis.
Soros is one of the most evil human beings that have ever lived.
Soros's heart is no less evil than Hitler, Mao or Stalin.
Soros' soul belongs to Satan.
The elite donors of Bush and Clinton are the biggest fish in the pond, I’d like to read more about them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.