Free Republic

In insurance land, it seems, things can be morally wrong, yet legally reasonable.

<p>The Federal Election Commission has fined one of the biggest liberal political action committees $775,000 for using unregulated cash to boost Democratic candidates during the 2004 elections.</p> <p>America Coming Together (ACT) raised $137 million for its get-out-the-vote effort in 17 states in the 2004 elections, but the FEC found most of that cash came through contributions that violated federal limits or were otherwise barred by campaign rules.</p>

The Argument: Billionaires, Bloggers, and the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics, by Matt Bai (Penguin Press, 316 pp., $25.95) Matt Bai’s The Argument is the most significant book to date on the upcoming 2008 elections—not because it has anything to say about the horse race for the Democratic nomination, but because it offers an account of the people who constitute what Howard Dean calls “the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party.” Bai writes regularly on politics for the New York Times Magazine, where some of this material originally appeared. He has been sharply critical of George W. Bush and...

Auto insurer's repair program crashes straight into criticism By Penni Crabtree STAFF WRITER May 20, 2007 The advertising for Progressive Insurance Co.'s Concierge program makes the prospect of a fender bender seem almost like a vacation. A man lies back in a hammock, arms folded behind his neck, eyes closed, with a broad smile. “Announcing the only claims service that lets you relax while the insurance company does all the work,” Progressive's brochure proclaims. Earnie Grafton / U-T Maria Vasquez Lopez says her car still had problems, such as a faulty back hatch, after she had it repaired through the...

By Brian Maloney Could this be Al Franken and Janeane Garofalo's lucky day? As crucial midterm congressional elections approach, can America's "progressive" leaders really afford to let an ailing liberal talk radio network die? Apparently, the answer to the first question is yes, to the second, no, the Radio Equalizer has learned. Through an emergency bailout plan, a coalition of wealthy liberal political activists are poised to at least temporarily save Air America Radio. On the way: as much as $8 million in sorely-needed cash to fund ongoing operations.

GEORGE SOROS’ INFILTRATION OF CPAC STATEMENT FOR THE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD CONGRESSMAN MARK E. SOUDER (IN-03) FEBRUARY 8, 2006 Mr. Speaker, George Soros, the radical liberal financier who dedicated himself to defeating President George W. Bush in the last election, has taken a lesson from Jack Abramoff. As much of Abramoff’s pernicious lobbying technique has come to light, we’ve seen how he was adept at manipulating certain conservative organizations to pursue a decidedly anti-conservative agenda, namely the promotion of gambling. By working hand in hand with the Traditional Values Coalition (TVC), for example, he was able in 2000 to undermine conservatives’...

(CNSNews.com) - A conservative advocacy group is urging its supporters to cancel their policies with Progressive Insurance, after Peter Lewis, the company's chairman, reportedly gave $8.5 million to the American Civil Liberties Union. The multi-million dollar donation will help the ACLU advance its liberal agenda, including its "war on Christmas," the American Family Association warned. In an email message, AFA Founder and Chairman Don Wildmon urged his supporters to "sign a letter to Chairman Lewis, letting him know" that his donation to the ACLU is prompting conservatives to cancel their insurance policies. The AFA recently announced that it was ending...

A major rift has emerged at the American Civil Liberties Union under the leadership of Executive Director Anthony D. Romero, whom critics charge is more interested in fund-raising than in civil liberties. Among several issues that have angered board members, Romero has committed to name a new ACLU office building in Washington, D.C., after Peter B. Lewis, an insurance magnate and major contributor, without consulting the board. "I don't think it's appropriate for us to name anything after anyone other than a founder or leader of the organization," Marjorie Esman, a lawyer who represents the board's Louisiana affiliate, said in...

Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, departed the war crimes trials at Guantánamo Bay with an e-mail message to members saying he was headed home to New York to defend the First Amendment and the right to protest. But another matter was more urgent: smoothing out a soured relationship with one of the organization's biggest donors, Peter B. Lewis, the insurance magnate and donor, who was unhappy with Mr. Romero and the board and was threatening to suspend his contributions. After a red-eye detour to Los Angeles and a breakfast with Mr. Lewis at the...

Thought fellow Freepers in Maryland-DC-Virginia would find this of interest. PHILANTHROPIST GEORGE SOROS TO MAKE MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT OSI FUNDING Soros to announce challenge grant for Baltimore with Mayor Martin O'Malley When: 11:30 a.m., Thursday, May 12. Where: City Hall, Ceremonial Room, 100 N. Holliday St., Baltimore. Baltimore - Philanthropist George Soros will announce a $10 million challenge grant for the Open Society Institute-Baltimore on Thursday. Soros is asking Baltimore individuals, foundations and corporations to join with him, matching his grant two to one by contributing $20 million so that the Open Society Institute can continue to work on some...

Billionaires Peter Lewis and George Soros have each pledged $10 million to America Coming Together...A billionaire, Lewis is the chairman and chief executive officer of Progressive Corporation, the fourth-largest U.S. personal auto insurer, A leading U. S. business reference manual, Hoover's Handbook of American Business l999, actually described Lewis in print as "a functioning pot-head."... His house features an elaborate series of paintings of Chinese communist Mao Tse-tung by Andy Warhol. Lewis has contributed $5 million to the ACLU ...

Media Matters for America, the group headed by conservative turned liberal writer David Brock, has changed course on its stated association with billionaire liberal financier George Soros. After initially claiming on Dec. 1, 2004 that "neither Media Matters nor its president and CEO David Brock has received any money from Soros or from any organization with which he is affiliated," the group is no longer disavowing any connection with groups "affiliated" with Soros. The Media Matters shift came after Cybercast News Service questioned the group's financial ties and demonstrated that there were numerous and extensive links between Media Matters and...

Ten Liberals to Watch in 2005 Posted Feb 11, 2005 Evan Bayh Democrat senator from Indiana # Born: Dec. 26, 1955, Shirkieville, Ind. # Resides: Indianapolis # Significance: Son of former liberal Sen. Birch Bayh, he is chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, the "moderate" organization that helped launch Bill Clinton. Served as governor of Indiana. Likely 2008 presidential candidate, who has tried to position himself to the middle (voted for the partial-birth abortion ban), but ultimately delivers for liberals (voted for judicial filibusters). One of 13 senators to vote against confirming Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Also opposed Atty....

A group of billionaire philanthropists are to donate tens of millions more dollars to delevelop progressive political ideas in the US to counter the conservative ascdenancy.George Soros, who made his fortune in the hedge fund industry, Herb and Marion Sandler, the California couple who own a multi billion dollar savings and loan business, and Peter Lewis the chairman of an Ohio insurance company, donated more than $63 million dollars in the 2004 election cycle to organizations seeking to defeat President George W. Bush.At a meeting in San Francisco last month, the left leaning billionaires agreed to commit an even larger...

[O]ne big loser was... McCain-Feingold campaign finance "reform".... Preliminary reports say a record $3.9 billion was spent on this year's Presidential and Congressional campaigns, 30% more than four years ago. Instead of severing the supposedly corrupting links between big money and politics, the reform's main effect has been merely to channel the cash through different political hands, and with less accountability. ...McCain-Feingold has succeeded in the narrow goal of staunching the flow of contributions from corporations, Big Labor and wealthy individuals to the two major political parties. Labor unions have turned more of their attention to voter registration and turnout....

Liberal activist Norman Lear told me last week that if George W. Bush wins re-election, "watch what happens to real estate in New Zealand." He wasn't joking. Mr. Lear may have an exaggerated notion of the number of Americans with means to relocate to the other side of the globe. But he accurately reflects the intense feelings of a few who do: himself, financier George Soros, insurance executive Peter Lewis and Hollywood mogul Stephen Bing. Together, they have spent more than $50 million to register new voters and defeat President Bush. They are the X factor in this year's election:...

Steven Bing, Peter Benjamin Lewis, George Soros It is late in the day, but there is still time to ask the Kerry-Edwards campaign and the Democratic National Committee about their financing sources. Equally important to ask is just what do these ridiculously rich and strange people expect to get for their millions of dollars. Let's look at three of Kerry's friends, probably responsible for at least $30 million in donations. Steven Bing: Our Victorian ancestors had the right words to describe Bing. He would have been known as "a cad and a bounder," while today he is dismissed as a...

It is late in the day, but there is still time to ask the Kerry-Edwards campaign and the Democratic National Committee about their financing sources. Equally important to ask is just what do these ridiculously rich and strange people expect to get for their millions of dollars. Steven Bing: Our Victorian ancestors had the right words to describe Bing. He would have been known as "a cad and a bounder," while today he is dismissed as a "poor little rich boy." Born in 1965, Steve is approaching his midlife crisis with all the arrogance of having inherited on his 18th...

The Ohio billionaire who escaped a drugs conviction in New Zealand has poured millions into John Kerry's presidential election campaign. Peter Lewis, also a multimillion-dollar backer of attempts to liberalise America's marijuana laws, spent eight months fighting the Herald's attempts to name him when he was caught importing drugs here during the America's Cup. Lewis was discharged without conviction, after customs officers found cannabis in his luggage at Auckland Airport, and on his luxury converted tug Lone Ranger. "Enjoy the fresh air," Judge Harvey told Lewis, when he appeared in the Otahuhu District Court in January 2000. "Our harbour is...

George Soros is an exacting  taskmaster. In return for his money, he demands productivity. What he requires of employees and business associates in the investment world, Soros also demands from the political operatives he funds. “Mr. Soros isn't just writing checks and watching,” notes Wall Street Journalreporter Jeanne Cummings. “He is also imposing a business model on the notoriously unruly world of politics. He demands objective evidence of progress, and assigned an aide to monitor the groups he supports. He studies private polls to track the impact of an anti-Bush advertising campaign, and he is delivering his money in installments,...