October 2004
On September 28, Soros Announced $3 Million Anti-Bush
Campaign Featuring Speaking Tour, Newspaper Ads And Direct Mail. “Calling it ‘the most important election
of my lifetime,’ billionaire George Soros, a Democratic philanthropist and
financial supporter of Sen. John F. Kerry, announced Tuesday that he would
spend as much as $3 million on a monthlong, multi-state speaking tour
criticizing President Bush and his conduct in the Iraq war. … Soros plans
to focus his efforts and money on states where the two presidential candidates
are closest in the polls, visiting about a dozen key cities in five
states. Steve Smith, a spokesman for
Soros, said the bulk of the money would go to newspaper ads and a drive aimed
at distributing about 2 million pamphlets to American households. ‘I would like to … reach the business
community, particularly the Republicans and traditional conservatives, people
who are quite distressed by the policies of this administration,’ Soros said.” (Richard Rainey, “Financing His
Own Anti-Bush Campaign,” Los Angeles Times, 9/29/04)
Soros’ Campaign Includes Wall Street Journal
Newspaper Ad And New Website. “His one-man crusade also includes an advertising campaign to
begin Wednesday with a two-page spread in the Wall Street Journal, a Web
site (georgesoros.com) devoted to unseating the president and plans to mail
pamphlets to 2 million voters.” (Julia
Malone, “Billionaire Soros Embarks On One-Man Campaign To Defeat Bush,” Cox
News Service, 9/28/04)
Soros’ “Stump” Speech Attacks President Bush’s Approach
To Fighting Terrorism, Suggesting That “The More Than 1,000 Americans Who Have
Died Did So For A Cause That Has Made The Nation Less Safe.” “Soros' final election year drive is built
around a ‘stump’ speech that rips into the Bush approach to fighting terrorism,
charges that the United States has killed 15,000 Iraqis and suggests that the
more than 1,000 Americans who have died did so for a cause that has made the
nation less safe.” (Julia Malone,
“Billionaire Soros Embarks On One-Man Campaign To Defeat Bush,” Cox News
Service, 9/28/04)
Soros Said Iraq War “Violated International Law.” “[I]n
invading Iraq as we did, without a second U.N. resolution, we violated
international law.” (George Soros, Remarks At National Press Club,
Washington, DC, 9/28/04)
Soros Said Prisoner Abuse By US Troops “Violated The
Geneva Conventions.” “By mistreating and even torturing prisoners, we
violated the Geneva Conventions.” (George Soros, Remarks At
National Press Club, Washington, DC, 9/28/04)
Soros Was Unprepared To Answer If The 1,000 Americans Who
Died In Iraq “Died For Nothing.”
QUESTION: “How
much are you going to spend on this effort?
Are you also going to give additional money to MoveOn that will be used
for advertising? And are you saying
that the 1,000 Americans who died in Iraq died for nothing?”
SOROS: “I
intend to spend between $2 million and $3 million on this campaign. And if I make any other contributions, I
will announce them. And it's a terrible
question that you're proposing because it's a tremendous responsibility for the
president. Because going into Iraq
endangered our security instead of securing our safety. So we are more at risk now than we were
before we went into Iraq. So it's a
tremendous tragedy.” (George
Soros, Remarks At National Press Club, Washington, DC, 9/28/04)
Soros: “I Fancied Myself As Some Kind Of God.” “A passage in his book The Alchemy of
Finance, published in 1987, distinguishes Soros from all other financiers,
ever. ‘I have always harboured an
exaggerated view of my self-importance,’ he wrote. ‘To put it bluntly, I fancied myself as some kind of god or an
economic reformer like Keynes, or, even better, like Einstein. My sense of reality was strong enough to
make me realise that these expectations were excessive, and I kept them hidden
as a guilty secret. This was a source
of considerable unhappiness through much of my adult life. As I made my way in the world, reality
came close enough to my fantasy to allow me to admit my secret, at least to
myself. Needless to say, I feel much
happier as a result.’” (Stephen
Fay, “Profile: George Soros: God Of All He Surveys,” The Independent
[London], 5/17/98)
Soros Admits To Delusions “Of Grandeur” And Said That His
“Goal Is To Become The Conscience Of The World.” “He [Soros] admits to what Kaufman calls
‘messianic’ ideals: ‘I have had these illusions, or perhaps delusions, of
grandeur and they have driven me.’ He
has also said that his ‘goal is to become the conscience of the world.’” (Anthony Gottlieb, “Who Wants
To Be A Billionaire?” The New York Times, 3/3/02)
Soros: “So That’s What I’m All About. I Am A Kind Of Nut Who Wants To Have An
Impact.” (Michael
T. Kaufman, Soros: The Life And Times Of A Messianic Billionaire, 2002,
p. 293)
Soros Wrote That September 11th Terrorist
Attacks “Could Not Have Been More Spectacular.” “Hijacking fully fueled airliners and using
them as suicide bombs was an audacious idea, and its execution could not have
been more spectacular.” (George
Soros, “The Bubble Of American Supremacy,” The Atlantic Monthly,
12/03)
Soros Said Pictures Of Prisoner Abuse At Abu Ghraib “Hit
Us The Same Way As The [2001] Terrorist Attack Itself.” “Philanthropist George Soros, who has given
more than $7 million to independent anti-Bush groups such as MoveOn.org and
America Coming Together, told the conference the Abu Ghraib affair was ‘the
moment of truth’ for the nation that ‘hit us the same way as the [2001]
terrorist attack itself.’” (Peter Wallsten, “Distaste For Bush Spurs Liberals
To Push For Kerry,” Los Angeles Times, 6/4/04)
Soros Said Bush’s Conduct Of War On Terror “Converted Us
From Victims To Perpetrators.” “He said there was ‘a direct connection between those two events.
The way President Bush conducted the war on terror converted us from victims to
perpetrators.’ Soros labeled the Bush doctrine of preemptive military action
against those who may pose a threat to the U.S. an ‘atrocious proposition.’” (Peter
Wallsten, “Distaste For Bush Spurs Liberals To Push For Kerry,” Los Angeles
Times, 6/4/04)
Soros Charged That War On Terrorism “Has Claimed More
Innocent Victims Than The Original Attack Itself.” “Soros also charged that the war on
terrorism ‘has claimed more innocent victims than the original attack itself.’
Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie quickly responded to Soros’
comments.” (Peter
Wallsten, “Distaste For Bush Spurs Liberals To Push For Kerry,” Los Angeles
Times, 6/4/04)
For Soros, Defeating Bush Is “The Central Focus” Of His
Life And “A Matter Of Life And Death.” (Laura Blumenfeld, “Soros’s Deep Pockets Vs. Bush,” The
Washington Post, 11/11/03)
Soros Said A “Supremacist Ideology” Guides Bush Administration,
Which Reminds Him Nazis. “Soros
believes that a ‘supremacist ideology’ guides this White House. He hears echoes in its rhetoric of his
childhood in occupied Hungary. ‘When
I hear Bush say, ‘You’re either with us or against us,’ it reminds me of the
Germans.’ It conjures up memories, he
said, of Nazi slogans on the walls, Der Feind Hort mit (‘The enemy is
listening’). ‘My experiences under
Nazi and Soviet rule have sensitized me,’ he said in a soft Hungarian
accent.” (Laura Blumenfeld, “Soros’s
Deep Pockets Vs. Bush,” The Washington Post, 11/11/03)
Soros Believes Republican Party Has Been “Captured By A
Group Of Extremists” Who “Don’t Believe In The System Of Democracy As We Know
It.” “I think that
the Republican Party has been captured by a group of extremists who believe
that they are in possession of the ultimate truth, and who don’t believe in the
system of democracy as we know it.” (Buzzflash.com
Interview With George Soros, Buzzflash.com Website, http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/04/02/int04012.html,
Accessed 2/25/04)
Soros Said “Extremist” Republican Party Has “Really
Brought Into Question The Survival Of Open Society In The United States.” “In general, our system of democracy has
been based on two parties competing for the center. Today, one of the two major parties has been pushed to an
extremist position and that has shifted the entire discourse very far in their
direction. This has really brought
into question the survival of open society in the United States. Now the situation may not be as dire as it
sounds, because it is in the nature of an open society that it is always
endangered. In the end, it’s up to the
electorate to protect our open society, and I am confident that that will
happen. Since the large majority of
people are not extremists, they will reject an extremist ideology.” (Buzzflash.com Interview With
George Soros, Buzzflash.com Website, http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/04/02/int04012.html,
Accessed 2/25/04)
Soros Said That American And Israeli Policy Contribute To
Anti-Semitism, Prompting Sharp Response From Jewish Leaders. “A reported comment by billionaire philanthropist
George Soros asserting that the policies of America and Israel are to blame for
the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe is sparking outrage everywhere from
the White House to the American Jewish leadership and prompting concern about a
wider backlash against Israel. … Mr. Soros’s comments came last week at a
conference of Jewish philanthropists. According
to a report that moved Sunday on the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a venerable
news wire service, Mr. Soros said, ‘There is a resurgence of anti-Semitism in
Europe. The policies of the Bush
administration and the Sharon administration contribute to that. If we change that direction, then
anti-Semitism also will diminish,’ Mr. Soros said, according to the JTA
report. … The chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish
Organizations, James Tisch, called the Soros remarks ‘an outrage.’ ‘It boggles the mind,’ Mr. Tisch said,
invoking the precedent of the early Third Reich, when Jews were told that if
they’d just be quiet anti-Semitism would abate. ‘Soros may be wealthy and he may be brilliant with the markets
but he obviously hasn’t learned his history,’ Mr. Tisch said. … The national
director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, using some of the
strongest language he has ever uttered to condemn remarks by an American public
figure, called Mr. Soros’s remarks ‘obscene.’” (Ira Stoll, “Outrage Greets Soros Remarks,” The New
York Sun, 11/11/03)
Soros Wrote That Since September 11, “The War On
Terrorism Has Claimed More Innocent Civilians In Afghanistan And Iraq Than Have
The Attacks On The World Trade Center.” (Ira Stoll, “Soros Says Israel Was Likely Motive For
War,” The New York Sun, 12/4/03)
Soros Wrote That Nazis, Israel, Arab Terrorists And
America After September 11 Are All Cases Of “Victims Turning Perpetrators.” “He also says that the Nazis, Israel,
Arab terrorists, and America after September 11 are all cases of ‘victims
turning perpetrators.’ The comments
– in a new book, ‘The Bubble of American Supremacy,’ published by Public
Affairs – represent sentiments that until now have mainly been on the fringes
of the American policy debate. But Mr.
Soros is a famous New York philanthropist who regularly hobnobs with Manhattan’s
elite. He’s also a big player in
Democratic politics, a backer of Howard Dean’s presidential campaign who has
vowed to spend at least $15 million of his own money to defeat President Bush
in the 2004 election. ‘Victims turning
perpetrators is a well-known syndrome both in individuals and in groups,’ Mr.
Soros writes. ‘Perhaps the most
poignant and difficult case is Israel.
Jews were the victims of the Holocaust, which can itself be ascribed, in
part, to a process of victims turning perpetrators: Hitler rose to power by
capitalizing on a wave of resentment caused by an onerous peace treaty and
runaway inflation.’ Mr. Soros writes,
‘After the war, Jews resorted to terrorism against the British in Palestine in
order to secure a homeland in Israel.
Subsequently, after being attacked by Arab nations, Israel occupied
additional territory and expelled many of the inhabitants. Eventually, the Arab victims also turned
perpetrators, and Israel started suffering terrorist attacks.’ Mr. Soros writes that ‘Perpetrators are now
in charge on both sides,’ noting that Prime Minister Sharon ‘has been held
responsible for the massacre of Palestinians that took place in the Shatila and
Sabra refugee camps in Lebanon in 1982.’
He writes that, ‘Under the Bush administration, the United States has
also become a victim-turned-perpetrator, although the American public would be
loath to recognize it.’” (Ira
Stoll, “Soros Says Israel Was Likely Motive For War,” The New York Sun,
12/4/03)
The Wall Street Journal
Reported That Soros “Views America As The Gravest Threat To World Freedom.” “More recently, since September 11, Mr.
Soros has made it his goal to burst what he has called ‘the bubble of American
supremacy.’ He has said that having
helped to liberate Communist countries, he now views America as the gravest
threat to world freedom.” (Editorial,
“Who Is George Soros?” The Wall Street Journal, 11/10/03)
Soros: “America, Under Bush, Is A Danger To The World.” “‘America, under Bush, is a danger to the
world,’ Soros said. Then he smiled:
‘And I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is.’” (Laura Blumenfeld, “Soros’s Deep Pockets Vs. Bush,” The
Washington Post, 11/11/03)
In June 2003, Soros Called Bush Doctrine Orwellian And As
Dangerous As Communism. “Above
all, Soros warned, [the Administration] has introduced the ‘very dangerous’
Bush doctrine which claims the right to preemptive military action. ‘Taken to its logical conclusion, this means
that there are now two kinds of sovereignty in the world: the sovereignty of
the United States that overrides all international obligations and treaties,
and the sovereignty of other countries which is subject to the Bush
doctrine. This is reminiscent of George
Orwell’s dictum in “Animal Farm” that all animals are equal, but some are more
equal than others.’ The current
view in Washington that ‘there is only one model of democracy, that of the
United States’ is ‘as false, and potentially as dangerous, as that of the
Communists’ belief that there is only one way to organise society,’ Soros
said.” (Bernard Besserglik,
“Soros Cuts Open Society Aid To Russia, Targets US,” Agence France Presse,
6/9/03)
Soros Wrote The Bush Administration “Deliberately Fosters
Fear Because It Helps To Keep The Nation Lined Up Behind The President.” “Terrorism is the ideal enemy. It is invisible and therefore never
disappears. An enemy that poses a genuine
and recognised threat can effectively hold a nation together. That is particularly useful when the
prevailing ideology is based on the unabashed pursuit of self-interest. Mr Bush’s administration deliberately
fosters fear because it helps to keep the nation lined up behind the president.” (George Soros, Op-Ed, “Bush’s
Inflated Sense Of Supremacy,” Financial Times, 3/13/03)
Soros “Believes That Both At Home And Abroad, The
American Government Has Put In Jeopardy The Values Of Openness And Democracy In
A Search For ‘Invisible Enemies.’” “[Soros] believes that both at home and abroad, the American
government has put in jeopardy the values of openness and democracy in a search
for ‘invisible enemies.’” (Mark Gimein, “George Soros Is Mad As Hell,” Fortune,
10/27/03)
Soros
Claimed Bush Administration Is Following A Policy Of “Dominating The World In
The Guise Of Fighting Terrorism.” “[T]he bigger bubble that Soros sees is ideological. ‘The crisis now, the one that I’m
predicting, the crisis of global capitalism, latest version, is a political and
military crisis,’ an agitated Soros told me.
‘It has been brought about by the exploitation of Sept. 11 by the Bush
administration to pursue its policy of dominating the world in the guise of
fighting terrorism.’ In his
writings, Soros discusses how bubbles or ‘self-reinforcing’ trends develop when
a wrong idea – whether in finance or politics – survives a comparatively easy
test, making an idea that’s unsustainable in the long term appear prescient in
the short. That’s how Soros thinks of
the Iraq war: A quick military victory reinforces the wrongheaded idea that
thanks to an unbeatable military, the U.S. can achieve its international
objectives by going to war. In a draft
of the forthcoming The Bubble of American Supremacy, Soros puts it more
strongly: ‘[W]e are becoming enmeshed in a vicious circle of escalating
violence.’” (Mark
Gimein, “George Soros Is Mad As Hell,” Fortune, 10/27/03)
In March 2003, Soros “Denounced The Bush Administration
Friday For What He Called Its ‘Imperialist Vision.’” “George Soros, who made billions as a
currency trader, denounced the Bush administration Friday for what he called
its ‘imperialist vision.’
‘President Bush is pushing the wrong buttons when he says, “Those who
are not with us are against us,”‘ Mr. Soros said in a speech at Carnegie Mellon
University in Pittsburgh. ‘This is
an imperialist vision in which the U.S. leads and the rest of the world
follows.’ The Bush administration has a
‘visceral aversion to international cooperation,’ which is why it is
willing to confront Iraq militarily even though much of the world opposes such
action, he said.’” (Greg
Pierce, “Inside Politics,” The Washington Times, 3/3/03)
In September 2003, Soros Called For “Regime Change” In
The United States.
“Left-wing billionaire George Soros is urging Americans to oust George
W. Bush in next year’s presidential election.
That is the only way to put an end to ‘extremist’ policies by the
United States, Mr. Soros told BBC radio.
‘It is only possible if you have a regime change in the United States
– in other words if President Bush is voted out of power,’ Mr. Soros said
on an interview program. ‘I am very
hopeful that people will wake up and realize that they have been led down the
garden path, that actually 11 September has been hijacked by a bunch of
extremists to put into effect policies that they were advocating before, such
as the invasion of Iraq,’ he said.” (Greg Pierce, “Inside
Politics,” The Washington Times, 10/1/03)
In September
2003, Soros Said “Extremists” In The Bush Administration Believe That The
United States “Should Impose Its Power, Impose Its Will And Its Interests On
The World And It Should Do It Looking After Itself.” “Mr. Soros added that there was a ‘false ideology’
behind the policies of the Bush administration. ‘There is a group of – I would call them extremists – who have
the following belief: that international relations are relations of power, not
of law, that international law will always follow what power has achieved,’
he said. ‘And therefore [they
believe] the United States being the most powerful nation on earth should
impose its power, impose its will and its interests on the world and it should
do it looking after itself. I think
this is a very dangerous ideology.
It is very dangerous because America is in fact very powerful.’” (“Soros Calls For ‘Regime Change’
In US,” BBC News Website, http://news.bbc.co.uk/, 9/30/03)
Soros
Called Bush’s Foreign Policy “Both False And Dangerous.” “‘The fate of the world depends on the
United States and President Bush is leading us in the wrong direction,’
he said in a statement issued Friday from his New York investment office. ‘The Bush doctrine is both false and
dangerous. The rest of the world is
having an allergic reaction to it, as we have seen in Iraq. We need to change direction.’” (Thomas Hargrove, “Financier
Donates $10M To Defeat Bush,” The Record [Bergen, NJ], 8/10/03)
In September 2003, Soros Stated Bush’s “Extremist
Ideology” Was “Very Dangerous For The World.” “[Soros] added that he felt US actions in
the build-up to the war on Iraq was evidence of an extremist element in the
Bush administration. ‘Probably
President Chirac would not disagree with this philosophy but he is not so
powerful – so I am not so worried about what France is doing,’ Mr. Soros said,
referring to France’s opposition to the war.
‘But America being really the dominant power to be in the grips of
such an extremist ideology is very dangerous for the world and that is my major
concern.’” (“Soros Calls For ‘Regime Change’ In US,” BBC News
Website, <http://news.bbc.co.uk/>,
9/30/03)
Soros: “To Claim We Are Invading Iraq For The Sake
Of Establishing Democracy Is A Sham, And The Rest Of The World Sees It As
Such.” “Given the country’s recent track record in countries like
Afghanistan, ‘to claim we are invading Iraq for the sake of establishing
democracy is a sham, and the rest of the world sees it as such,’ Soros
said. He said Bush is really interested
in Iraq as an antidote to this country’s myriad problems: the decreasing value
of the dollar, the fading stock market, out-of-control gas prices and increased
tensions between Israelis and Palestinians and with North Korea.” (Michael
Ko, “Billionaire Blasts Administration Over Iraq Policy,” The Seattle Times,
3/14/03)
In March 2003, Soros Criticized “Bush Doctrine” As A
Contradiction To American Values While Expressing Hawkish Views Toward Iraq. “I’m a bit of a hawk also on Iraq. And I’m very concerned about the fact that
we’re going about it the wrong way. How
is it that basically most of the world agrees that Saddam is a threat, that we
have to deal with, yet, most of the world is opposed to our policies? There must be something wrong with the
way we’re doing it. And that, I think,
is the Bush doctrine, which basically arrogates to us the right of preemptive
action. And that, I think,
contradicts the United Nations. It
contradicts our values, American values. … I would also be very happy to
see Saddam gone, if that were possible. … There’s something wrong with the
Bush doctrine, with the dominant fashion within the Bush administration that
believes that international relations are relations of power, not law, that
legality and legitimacy are just decorations.” (George
Soros, CNN’s “Lou Dobbs Moneyline,” 3/12/03)
In March 2003, Soros Accused Bush Administration Of
Waging Convenient War On Iraq Instead Of Following Proper Priorities. “[T]he inspections were making progress. They
could make more progress. And the
only reason we must go to war now is because the troops are lined up and ready
to go. And that’s the way the First
World War started. It is not a very
good way to go about it. In other
words, there are other issues in the world. There’s North Korea. There is the war on terrorism. The link between the war on Iraq and the war
on terrorism has not been properly made. … I think that there are certain
priorities and we got our priorities wrong by pushing too hard on this
particular issue, when for instance, as I say, North Korea is a much more
serious threat because they not only do they have nuclear weapons but
they’re known proliferators.” (CNN’s “Lou Dobbs Moneyline,”
3/12/03)
In March 2003, Soros Accused President Bush Of
Precipitating The North Korean “Crisis.” “I think that they are all involved, but the North Koreans want
to talk to the United States. And we
– this is a crisis that actually was
precipitated by President Bush, who established the discontinuity with the
Clinton administration’s agreed framework.
We were actually containing North Korea, not perfectly, but we were
containing it. And then – and North Korea – the president of South Korea, came
here and asked President Bush to endorse his sunshine policy. And that policy was working. The North Koreans actually want to come in
from the cold. They’re anxious. … [T]he
only thing they have got is the threat.” (George Soros, CNN’s “Lou Dobbs Moneyline,” 3/12/03)
Soros: “A Global Open Society Requires Affirmative Action
On A Global Scale, While The Bush Approach Is Restricted To Punitive Action.” (George Soros, Remarks At The
Seattle Town Hall, Seattle, WA, 3/13/03)
Fortune Magazine Describes Soros As
“Fierce, Angry, Partisan Critic” Who Compares Bush’s Rhetoric To That Of
Soviets, Calling Bush’s Speeches “Orwellian.” “At the age of 73, George Soros has found
new purpose: He has recast himself as a fierce, angry, partisan critic of
the Bush administration and American policy. In what amounts to a barnstorming tour that has taken him from
town halls in Seattle to a school of international relations in Baltimore to
the World Economic Forum in Athens, Soros has argued that the U.S. right now is
in the midst of a crisis. … ‘I lived through both German and Soviet
occupation … When I hear President Bush say that those who are not with us are
against us, I hear alarm bells.’ He
calls Bush’s speeches ‘Orwellian’ and compares the Bush vision of international
democracy – ‘You can have freedom as long as you do what we tell you to do’ –
to Soviet rhetoric about ‘people’s democracies.’” (Mark Gimein, “George Soros Is Mad
As Hell,” Fortune, 10/27/03)
From Soros’ New Book, “The Bubble
Of American Supremacy”
Execution Of 9/11 Attacks “Could Not Have Been More
Spectacular.” “Admittedly, the
terrorist attack was a historic event in its own right. Hijacking fully loaded airplanes and using
them as suicide bombs was an audacious idea, and the execution could not
have been more spectacular.” (George
Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy, 2004, p. 2)
2004 Election “A Matter Of Life And Death.” “It may be surmised from the closing
remarks of the last chapter that I have become rather rabid in my political
views. This is a novel experience
for me. I used to be rather balanced
between the two main parties, seeing some good and some bad in each and leaning
only slightly toward the Democrats.
Even today, I remain rather even-handed by finding much to criticize in
the leadership of the Democratic Party.
Certainly I did not use to consider it a matter of life and death which
party won the elections. I do now.” (George Soros, The Bubble Of
American Supremacy, 2004, p. 176)
Compares Bush Administration To Nazis. “My own sensitivity to the excesses of
the Bush administration may be attributed in part to my background. I grew up as a Jew in Hungary during World
War II. I lived though both German
and Soviet occupation and learned how political systems can affect your very
survival. When I hear President Bush
say that ‘either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists,’ I hear alarm
bells. … I am distressed that the public is not as alarmed as I am. This is not the America I chose as my
home.” (George Soros, The
Bubble Of American Supremacy, 2004, pp. viii-ix)
Bush Administration Is Guided By “Supremacist Ideology.” “The supremacist ideology of the Bush
administration is in contradiction with the principles of an open society
because it claims possession of an ultimate truth. It postulates that because we are stronger than others, we must
know better and we must have right on our side. That is where religious fundamentalism comes together with market
fundamentalism to form the ideology of American supremacy.” (George Soros, The Bubble Of
American Supremacy, 2004, p. 10)
Under President Bush, America Is A Danger To The World. “The Bush dream of American supremacy is
both unattainable and in contradiction with the principles that America has
traditionally stood for. It endangers
our values as well as our security.
And it endangers the world because America is so powerful.” (George Soros, The Bubble Of
American Supremacy, 2004, p. vii)
America Should Have Treated 9/11 Attacks As Crime,
Responded With Police Work. “War
is a false and misleading metaphor in the context of combating terrorism. Treating the attacks of September 11 as
crimes against humanity would have been more appropriate. Crimes require police work, not military
action. To protect against
terrorism, you need precautionary measures, awareness, and intelligence
gathering – all of which ultimately depend on the support of the populations
among which terrorists operate. Imagine
for a moment that September 11 had been treated as a crime. We would have pursued Bin Laden in
Afghanistan, but we would not have invaded Iraq. Nor would we have our military struggling to perform police work
in full combat gear and getting killed in the process.” (George Soros, The Bubble Of
American Supremacy, 2004, p. 18)
Declaring War “Wrong Way To Deal With Terrorism.” “Declaring war on terrorism suited the
purposes of the Bush administration better because it invoked our military
might. But it is the wrong way to deal
with terrorism. Military action
requires an identifiable target, preferably a state. As a result, the war on terrorism has been directed primarily
against states harboring terrorists.
Yet terrorists are nonstate actors by definition, even if in many cases
they are sponsored by a state. By
turning the hunt for terrorists into a war, we are bound to create some
innocent victims. The more innocent
victims there are, the greater the resentment and the better the chances that
some victims will turn perpetrators.” (George
Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy, 2004, pp. 18-19)
“Far From Reducing The Terrorist Threat, The War On Terrorism
Has Actually Increased It.” (George
Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy, 2004, pp. 186-187)
Nazi Germany, Israel, Arab Terrorists And Post-9/11
America Are All Examples Of “Victims Turning Perpetrators,” And In Arab-Israeli
Conflict, “Perpetrators Are Now In Charge On Both Sides.” “Victims turning perpetrators is a
well-known syndrome both in individuals and in groups. … Perhaps the most
poignant and difficult case is Israel.
Jews were the victims of the holocaust, which can itself be ascribed, in
part, to a process of victims turning perpetrators: Hitler rose to power by
capitalizing on a wave of resentment cause by an onerous peace treaty and
runaway inflation. He appealed to
the German people’s sense of being victimized.
Whether the Germans’ sense of victimization was imaginary or not, there
can be no doubt that the Jews were victims in the literal sense. In the holocaust, many Jews went to their
death helplessly and naively obeying orders, something I witnessed personally
as a thirteen-year-old in Budapest. After
the war, Jews resorted to terrorism against the British in Palestine in order
to secure a homeland in Israel.
Subsequently, after being attacked by Arab nations, Israel occupied
additional territory and expelled many of the inhabitants. Eventually, the Arab victims also turned to
perpetrators, and Israel started suffering terrorist attacks. Israel made the habit of retaliating
vigorously, enlarging the circle of Arab victims. … The situation deteriorated
until suicide bombings became commonplace.
Perpetrators are now in charge on both sides. … Under the Bush administration, the United
States has also become a victim-turned-perpetrator, although the American
public would be loath to recognize it.
On September 11, America was the victim of a heinous crime and the whole
world expressed spontaneous and genuine sympathy. Since then, the war on terrorism has claimed more innocent
lives in Afghanistan and Iraq than have the attacks on the World Trade Center. That comparison is rarely made at home:
American lives are valued differently than the lives of foreigners, but the
distinction is less obvious to people abroad.”
(George Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy,
2004, pp. 19-22)
Oil And Israel Were Likely Secret Reasons For War In
Iraq. “The true
motives for the Bush administration’s determination to overthrow Saddam Hussein
remain shrouded in mystery. … One motive may have been the assertion of
American supremacy – a demonstration that the United States sets the
agenda. Iraq may have been chosen as a
demonstration project for the simple reason that it was doable. … [T]here are
more realistic geopolitical considerations that can be adduced in favor of
toppling Saddam. Perhaps the single
most important impediment to America’s control of its own destiny is its
reliance on foreign oil. … By occupying Iraq and moving American military
bases from Saudi Arabia to Iraq, the United States could establish a secure
alternative to Saudi oil. … The other important consideration was Israel. A large number of religious fanatics in the
United States believe that the rebirth of Israel presages the apocalypse and
the second coming of the Messiah.
Hence, in addition to the traditional pro-Israel lobby, Israel also has
strong support from the evangelical right – and that is the core of the
president’s constituency. … President Bush, however, felt obliged to pay
attention to his constituency.
Establishing a strong military presence in Iraq would help to transform
the political complexion in the entire region.
This would reassure Israel and weaken the Palestinian extremists
sufficiently to allow some progress toward a settlement on terms acceptable to
Israel and its U.S. supporters. … Oil and Israel likely loomed large in the
administration’s policy deliberations, but these were not the reasons publicly
offered by Bush and his advisers for the invasion of Iraq. … Only by
skillfully weaving the themes of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction
together and raising the specter of terrorists gaining access to weapons of
mass destruction could the president justify going to war with Iraq. Whatever the case for invading Iraq, the
American public has every reason to feel deceived.” (George Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy,
2004, pp. 51-54)
President Bush Exploited 9/11 To Foster Fear, Keep Nation
United Behind Him In Quest For “American Supremacy.” “[T]he Bush administration proceeded to
exploit the terrorist attack for its own purposes. To silence criticism and keep the nation united behind the
president, the administration deliberately fostered the fear that has
gripped the country. It then used the
war on terrorism to pursue its dream of American supremacy.” (George Soros, The Bubble Of
American Supremacy, 2004, p. 9)
“I Contend That The Bush Administration Has
Deliberately Exploited September 11 In Order To Pursue Policies That The
American Public Would Not Have Otherwise Tolerated.” (George Soros, The Bubble Of
American Supremacy, 2004, p. vii)
“[T]he Bush Administration Was Able To Carry The Nation
Behind It By Playing Up The Terrorist Threat.”
(George Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy,
2004, p. xi)
War On Terrorism Cannot Be “Centerpiece Of Our National
Strategy.” “The
most powerful country on earth cannot afford to be consumed by fear. To make the war on terrorism the
centerpiece of our national strategy is an abdication of our responsibility as
the leading nation in the world.
The United States is the only country that can take the lead in addressing
problems that require collective action: preserving peace, assuring economic
progress, protecting the environment, and so on. Fighting terrorism and controlling weapons of mass destruction
also fall into this category.” (George
Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy, 2004, p. 30)
America Is “In The Hands Of A Group Of Extremists” Who
Are Making Our Nation “Weaker, Not Stronger.” “The United States enjoys a dominant
position in the world today that cannot be challenged by any other state or
combination of states for the foreseeable future. It can lose its dominance only as a result of its own
mistakes. At present the country is in
the process of committing such mistakes because it is in the hands of a group
of extremists whose strong sense of mission is matched only by their false
sense of certitude. By abusing the
position that the United States occupies in the world, the extremists have made
our nation weaker, not stronger.” (George
Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy, 2004, p. viii)
American Government Has “Fallen Into The Hands Of
Extremists Who Are Guided By A Crude Form Of Social Darwinism.” “The government of the most powerful country
on earth has fallen into the hands of extremists who are guided by a crude form
of social Darwinism: Life is a struggle for survival, and we must rely mainly
on the use of force to survive.” (George
Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy, 2004, p. xi)
Bush Doctrine Is “Orwellian Doublespeak” – Which Soros Is
Sensitive To Because Of His Upbringing Under Nazi And Communist Rule In
Hungary. “The Bush
doctrine, first enunciated in the president’s speech at West Point in June 2002
and then incorporated in the national security strategy in September 2002, is
built on two pillars: First, the United States will do everything in its power
to maintain its unquestioned military supremacy and, second, the United States
arrogates the right to preemptive action.
Taken together, these two pillars support two classes of sovereignty:
the sovereignty of the United States, which takes precedence over international
treaties and obligations, and the sovereignty of all other states, which is
subject to the Bush doctrine. This is
reminiscent of George Orwell’s Animal Farm: All animals are equal, but
some animals are more equal than others.
To be sure, the Bush doctrine is not stated so starkly; it is buried in
Orwellian doublespeak. The
doublespeak is needed because of the contradiction between the Bush
administration’s concept of freedom and democracy and the actual principles of
freedom and democracy. Talk of
spreading democracy looms large in the national security strategy. When President Bush says, as he does
frequently, that “freedom” will prevail, in fact he means that America will
prevail. I am rather sensitive to
Orwellian doublespeak because I grew up in Hungary first under Nazi and later
Communist rule.” (George
Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy, 2004, p. 11)
President Bush Has “Simplistic View” Of Right And Wrong
Contrary To “The Principles Of Open Society.” “President Bush equates freedom with
American values. He has a simplistic
view of what is right and what is wrong: We are right and they
are wrong. This is in contradiction
with the principles of open society, which recognize that we may be
wrong.” (George Soros, The Bubble
Of American Supremacy, 2004, pp. 12-13)
Aftermath Of Iraq War A “Dismal Failure.” “As brilliant as the military part of the
plan was, the aftermath has been a dismal failure.” (George Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy,
2004, p. 60)
Compares Iraq To Vietnam. “We find ourselves in a quagmire that is
in some ways reminiscent of Vietnam.
Having invaded Iraq, we cannot extricate ourselves. Domestic pressure for withdrawing is likely
to build, just as it did in the Vietnam War, but withdrawing would inflict
irreparable damage to our standing in the world. In this respect, Iraq is worse than Vietnam because of our
dependence on Middle Eastern oil.” (George
Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy, 2004, p. 62)
America’s Position Has Declined Since Bush Became
President. “All in all,
at no other time has America’s position declined as dramatically in as short a
period as it has since George W. Bush became president. The swing in our international position
matches the swing in our budget deficit.
Whatever the flaws in the ideology that has guided the Bush
administration, the practical results have been nothing short of
disastrous.” (George
Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy, 2004, p. 74)
“President Bush Is Leading The United States And The
World In A Very Dangerous Direction.” (George Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy,
2004, p. 10)
“The Forthcoming Elections Provide An Excellent
Opportunity To Deflate The Bubble Of American Supremacy.” (George Soros, The Bubble Of
American Supremacy, 2004, p. 74)
World Needs To Reconcile Principle Of Sovereignty With
Protecting Common Interests Through Multilateral System Guided By
“International Public Opinion.” “The
prevailing world order has a great unsolved problem: how to protect the common
interest in a world consisting of sovereign states that habitually put their
own interests ahead of the common interest. … It would be utopian to try
and devise a solution that would do away with sovereign states and replace them
with international institutions. Yet
a way must be found to reconcile the common interest with the principle of
sovereignty. The most promising
democratic way is to establish a multilateral system in which all states submit
to the same rules and participate in the same arrangements. We could then rely on international public
opinion to determine and protect the common interest to a greater extent than
today. The task of leading such an
effort must fall to the United States, in view of its dominant position.” (George Soros, The Bubble Of
American Supremacy, 2004, pp. 81-82)
Bush Administration Has “Visceral Aversion To All Multilateral
Agreements.” “[The Bush
Administration] has a visceral aversion to all multilateral arrangements. It believes that international relations are
purely relations of power, not law, and since America is the most powerful
nation, multilateral treaties and institutions impose undue limitations on the
exercise of American power. The only
form of cooperation the Bush administration can live with is one in which the
United States decides and others follow.
This attitude has led to the Bush doctrine.” (George Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy,
2004, p. 82)
While Soros Supported Intervention In Kosovo Without UN
Authorization, He Holds That “Unilateral Action That Goes Against International
Public Opinion Cannot Be Justified.” “I believe we were justified in intervening in Kosovo without UN
authorization, and we would have done better if we have relied on NATO and not
the United Nations in Bosnia. But
unilateral action that goes against international public opinion cannot be
justified, and it can endanger our national security by turning the world
against us. This is what the Bush
administration has accomplished by its rabid unilateralism.” (George Soros, The Bubble Of
American Supremacy, 2004, p. 118)
Proposes Cutting Defense In Favor Of Increased Foreign
Aid, Domestic Spending. “An
alternative U.S. foreign policy would differ from the present one in much more
than being multilateral rather than unilateral. It would involve a radical reordering of our priorities. Instead of devoting the bulk of the
budget to military expenditures to implement the Bush doctrine, we would engage
in preventive actions of a constructive nature. This would require incomparably smaller budgetary expenditures,
leaving room for greater domestic spending within a balanced budget. After all, it would be unacceptable to
increase foreign aid without a comparable improvement in social benefits at
home.” (George Soros, The
Bubble Of American Supremacy, 2004, pp. 123-124)
Supports New Arms Control Agreement. “At present we spend almost as much on
defense as do all the other countries in the world combined. We are way ahead of them in technology. Naturally they try to catch up with us the
best they can, so we keep on pushing ahead on technology in order to maintain
our superiority. This is an arms
race between unequals that could be slowed down by international agreement.
… We are in a position to dictate the terms that would satisfy us. We are prevented from doing so only by our
own attitude: Nothing would satisfy us, because under the influence of
extremists, we are opposed to the process.”
(George Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy,
2004, pp. 174-175)
Believes That A Boom-Bust Process, Or Bubble, Is
Occurring With Regard To “The Bush Administration’s Pursuit Of American
Supremacy.” “I believe
something akin to a boom-bust process, or bubble, is occurring now in
connection with the Bush administration’s pursuit of American supremacy. … In
my view, the Bush administration’s quest of American supremacy qualifies as a
bubble.” (George Soros, The
Bubble Of American Supremacy, 2004, pp. 177-179)
Iraqi Insurgents’ Guerilla Tactics “Forced The Invaders
To Behave Like Occupying Powers … Inflicting Insults And Injuries That Turned
The Population Against Them.” “Saddam
Hussein appears to have planned on waging a guerilla war. He may have had that in mind as early as
October 2002, when he released all the prisoners from Iraqi jails. The guerilla tactics forced the invaders
to behave like occupying powers, suspicious of the civilian population and
inflicting insults and injuries that turned the population against them.” (George Soros, The Bubble Of
American Supremacy, 2004, p. 61)
9/11 Provided President Bush With “Enemy He Was Looking
For.” “Once
September 11 provided President Bush with the enemy he was looking for he
became a man with an ordained mission.
It suited his personality. Being
a reformed substance abuser and a born-again Christian, he had personal
acquaintance with the devil. The devil
took the form of suicide bombers who tried to destroy him personally in the
White House; this gave him an intensely felt sense of personal
engagement.” (George
Soros, The Bubble Of American Supremacy, 2004, p. 34)
War On Terrorism Cannot Be Won, Will Bring About
“Permanent State Of War.” “The
war on terrorism as pursued by the Bush administration cannot be won, because
it is based on false pretenses. The
war on terrorism is more likely to bring about a permanent state of war. Terrorists are invisible; therefore, they
will never disappear. They will
continue to provide a convenient pretext for the pursuit of American supremacy
by military means. That pursuit, in
turn, will continue to generate resistance, setting up a vicious cycle of
escalating violence. In this respect,
there is a parallel between the war on terrorism and the war on drugs: the
remedy is inappropriate to the disease.
In the case of drugs, we are confronted by a public health problem, not
a problem of crime. The public health
problem cannot be properly addressed if we treat drug addicts as
criminals. In the case of terrorists we
are dealing with a crime. We
need detective work, good intelligence, and cooperation from the public, not
military action. In both cases,
waging war is a false metaphor that can be used to justify repressive measures.” (George Soros, The Bubble Of
American Supremacy, 2004, p. 26)
“There Can Be No Doubt That We Invaded Iraq On False
Pretenses.” “The
quagmire in Iraq ought to serve as the moment of truth. Whatever the justification for removing
Saddam Hussein, there can be no doubt that we invaded Iraq on false pretenses. Wittingly or unwittingly, President Bush
deceived the American public and Congress and rode roughshod over the opinions
of our allies. The gap between the
administration’s expectations and the actual state of affairs could not be
wider. The fallacy in waging war on
terrorism has been demonstrated on the ground in Iraq.” (George Soros, The Bubble Of
American Supremacy, 2004, pp. 185-186)
“Soros Has Said He Has Given $15 Million To Pro-Marijuana
Efforts Over The Years.” (Ed
Vogel, “Health Board Opposes Question,” Las Vegas Review-Journal,
10/5/02)
Soros “Contributed More Than $15 Million To Initiatives
And Propositions Pushing For Drug Legalization” (Robert Weiner and Amy Rieth,
“Canada, Maryland Going To Pot,” The Washington Times, 7/2/03)
Soros Has Bankrolled At Least Nineteen Drug Legalization
Ballot Initiatives.
“University of Phoenix founder John Sperling and investors George
Soros and Peter Lewis have contributed the bulk of the money to finance
Proposition 203. The three have
funded 19 initiatives in other states with a high rate of success.” (Elvia Diaz, “Wealthy Trio Back
Marijuana Initiative,” The [Phoenix] Arizona Republic, 10/17/02)
In 1996, Former Carter Administration Secretary Of
Health, Education And Welfare, Joseph Califano, Called Soros “The Daddy
Warbucks Of Drug Legalization.” “And the award for best supporting role goes to billionaire George
Soros, the Daddy Warbucks of drug legalization.” (Joseph A. Califano
Jr., Op-Ed, “Devious Efforts To
Legalize Drugs,” The Washington Post,
12/4/96)
In 1997, Soros Compared Joseph Califano To Slobodan
Milosevic Accusing Him Of “Totalitarian Mind-Set.” “Hysteria has replaced debate in the
public discourse. It was left to
the voters of California and Arizona to introduce a note of sanity into our
drug policy. [Joseph] Califano
asserts that they were bamboozled but, in doing so, he reveals a totalitarian
mind-set. When he claims that the
voters of Arizona and California did not know what they were voting for when
they supported the two initiatives, he reminds me of the way Serbia’s
President Slobodan Milosevic reacted to recent election results in that country.” (George Soros, Op-Ed, “A Look
At … The Drug War Debate,” The Washington Post, 2/2/97)
In 1997, Soros Called United States Drug Policy “Insane.” “‘[U.S.] drug policy is insane,’
[Soros] says. ‘And no politician can
stand up and say what I’m saying, because it’s the third rail – Instant
electrocution.’” (William
Shawcross, “Turning Dollars Into Change,” Time, 9/1/97)
Soros Compared The War On Drugs To The Vietnam War,
Calling A Drug-Free America “A Utopian Dream.” “I believe that a drug-free America is a
utopian dream. Some form of drug
addiction or substance abuse is endemic in most societies. Insisting on the total eradication of drug
use can only lead to failure and disappointment. The war on drugs cannot be won; but, like the Vietnam War, it has
polarized our society.” (George
Soros, Op-Ed, “A Look At … The Drug War Debate,” The Washington Post,
2/2/97)
Soros: “I Firmly Believe That The War On Drugs Is Doing
More Harm To Our Society Than Drug Abuse Itself.” (George Soros, Op-Ed, “A Look
At … The Drug War Debate,” The Washington Post, 2/2/97)
In 2002, Soros Funded Ballot Initiative That Would
“Require Arizona State Police To Hand Out Free Marijuana To The Ill.” “In their quest to loosen drug laws, three
wealthy men have shelled out most of the $1.1 million spent so far to promote a
November ballot initiative that would require Arizona state police to hand
out free marijuana to the ill.
University of Phoenix founder John Sperling and investors George Soros and
Peter Lewis have contributed the bulk of the money to finance Proposition
203.” (Elvia Diaz, “Wealthy
Trio Back Marijuana Initiative,” The [Phoenix] Arizona Republic,
10/17/02)
In August 1997, Soros Donated $1 Million To Finance
Needle Exchange. “Soros
did his lightning-rod act again last month, giving $1 million to the Tides
Foundation in San Francisco to finance needle exchanges for addicts.” (William Shawcross, “Turning
Dollars Into Change,” Time, 9/1/97)
Favors Making “Heroin And Certain Other Illicit Drugs
Available On Prescription To Registered Drug Addicts.” “If public opinion were ready for it, I
would advocate ‘hollowing out’ the black market for drugs by making heroin and
certain other illicit drugs available on prescription to registered drug
addicts while discouraging non-addicts with social opprobrium, the
dissemination of reasonable and persuasive information on the harms caused by
drugs, and, to the extent necessary, by legal sanctions.” (George Soros, Op-Ed, “A Look
At … The Drug War Debate,” The Washington Post, 2/2/97)
Last Year, Soros Supported A Successful Initiative For The District
Of Colombia That Would “Guarantee Drug Treatment” For Nonviolent Defendants In
Place Of Prison Terms. “Last
year the Drug Policy Alliance, working with funding from philanthropist George
Soros, placed an initiative on the D.C. ballot, informally named Treatment
Instead of Jails. Measure 62 was
designed to guarantee drug treatment for nonviolent defendants charged with
possession of PCP or cocaine. As long
as a person was seeking treatment, such crimes would no longer carry a prison
term. … Nevertheless, the measure was
approved by 78 percent of the local vote on Nov. 5. The D.C. Council voted to set aside the measure, and a D.C.
Superior Court judge later ruled that the measure could not be implemented
because it was legally flawed.” (Tom Schoenberg, “Drug Court Facing Test of Wills,” Legal
Times, 10/6/03)
In 2000, It Was Reported Soros’ Lindesmith Center
Bankrolled Canadian Court Appeal To Allow Medical Marijuana. “In August, 2000, it was revealed the U.S.-based
Lindesmith Center, heavily funded by Mr. Soros, paid for a Canadian’s
successful appeal against marijuana charges on the basis he needed the drug to
overcome pain.” (Michael Higgins, “Critic Of
Capitalism’s Excess On Trial For Insider Trading,” [Canada] National Post,
11/8/02)
In 2002, It Was Revealed State That “Grass-Roots
Campaigns” To “Legalize Marijuana” Were Funded By Soros And His Associates. “Two billionaires and a multimillionaire are
bankrolling campaigns to legalize marijuana in three states and Washington,
D.C. Purported grass-roots campaigns
in Nevada, Ohio, Arizona and the District of Columbia are being run by
political advocacy firms in New York and Washington, D.C., with money from
financier George Soros and University of Phoenix founder John Sperling,
billionaires both, and multimillionaire Peter Lewis, retired CEO of Progressive
Insurance. Opponents say their posse
of soccer moms, anti-drug groups and police officials cannot raise the money to
counter the proponents’ professional media campaign. … In Ohio, Soros,
Sperling and Lewis each donated $271,276, state records show. … The money went
to Progressive Campaigns Inc. of Santa Monica, Calif., a professional political
campaign and petition management group.
Zimmerman says getting signatures in populous states is far too
difficult to do with volunteers. ‘It takes dozens of people working full-time
to get the signatures.’ Of $1.6 million
raised by the initiative group Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, just
$184,000 came from 4,000 small donors, the group’s Web site shows. In Arizona,
Soros donated $406,467, and Sperling, who lives in Phoenix, donated
$590,383. The organizations do not
apologize for their big-money backers.” (Donna Leinwand, “Superrich
Trio Put Cash Into Marijuana Initiatives,” USA Today, 11/5/02)
Long
Time Supporter Of Drug Legalization. “In 1996,
the California ballot initiative passed, making the state the first to remove
criminal penalties for qualifying patients who grow, possess and use medical
marijuana. But such initiatives are
funded by people like George Soros, who has contributed more than $15 million
to initiatives and propositions pushing for drug legalization.” (Robert Weiner and Amy Rieth,
“Canada, Maryland Going To Pot,” The Washington Times, 7/2/03)
Criticized U.N. Drug Control Measures. “The Open Society Institute, a private
foundation started by financier George Soros, said the U.N.’s strict drug
control treaties are undermining efforts to prevent the spread of AIDS because
they discourage countries from introducing effective public health measures.” (William
J. Kole, “Critics At U.N. Narcotics Conference Say ‘No’ To American Anti-Drug
Campaign,” The Associated Press, 4/15/03)
Soros “Equates The American Government’s Abuse Of Power
In The Drug War With The Fascist Regimes In Hungary And Nazi Germany.” (Alex Beam, “The Money Behind
Question 8,” The Boston Globe, 11/2/00)
For Soros, The Drug War “Is Something That Has Resonance
With What He Was Exposed To Under Totalitarian Government.” “Nadelmann, director of the Soros-funded
Lindesmith Center on Drug Policy in New York, says the theme is consistent for
the Hungarian-born philanthropist. ‘Soros
is the single most significant philanthropist in the world,’ he said. ‘For him, the drug war – and this issue of
asset forfeiture – is something that has resonance with what he was exposed to
under totalitarian government.’” (Judy
Fahys, “Initiative B Funded By ‘Outsider,’” Salt Lake Tribune, 10/16/00)
Soros Opposes Tougher Laws
Against Drug Trafficking Near Schools
Soros-Funded Drug Policy Alliance Opposes Tougher
Penalties For Drug Trafficking Within 1,000 Feet Of Schools, Colleges, Public
Libraries, Drug Treatment Or Daycare Facilities. “At a
time when many states are reconsidering harsh mandatory-minimum sentences, the
U.S. House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Wisconsin Congressman
Sensenbrenner’s cruel sentencing bill, the Safe Access to Drug Treatment and
Child Protection Act (HR 4547), next week. If enacted, HR 4547 would impose
new federal mandatory-minimum sentences, swelling federal prisons with more
low-level, nonviolent drug offenders while increasing your tax burden. As a
Wisconsin resident, we need your help: Please call Congressman James
Sensenbrenner and co-sponsor Congressman Mark Green today. URGE THEM TO CANCEL
THE VOTE ON HR 4547. … HR 4547 would reduce judicial discretion while
increasing racial disparities in the criminal justice system. The bill would
increase to five years the federal mandatory-minimum-sentence for the sale of a
controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school, college, public library,
drug treatment facility (or any place where drug treatment, including classes,
is provided), or private or public daycare facilities. (Since almost
anywhere in a major city is within 1,000 feet of one of these facilities, the
effect will be to sentence non-violent drug offenders from inner cities to
long, mandatory prison terms.) The bill would also impose a
mandatory-minimum sentence of ten years on any person 21-years old or older who
sells drugs (including marijuana) to any person younger than 18, even if they
are friends or family. If the person has a previous felony drug offense,
the sentence would be automatic life imprisonment. Finally, the bill would
tighten the federal ‘safety valve,’ making it harder for judges to use their
constitutional discretion to show leniency to deserving first-time, low-level
drug offenders.” (Drug Policy Alliance Website, “Wisconsin Residents: Stop
Mandatory-Minimum Sentence Bill In Congress,” www.drugpolicy.org,
9/20/04)
ü
Soros Funds Drug Policy Alliance, Sits On Group’s
Board Of Directors. (Drug Policy Alliance Website, www.drugpolicy.org,
Accessed 9/27/04; Patty Henetz, “Prosecutors, Police Reluctantly Comply With
Asset Seizure Law,” The Associated Press, 7/17/04)
“Mr. Soros Provided $15
Million For The Death In America Project, Which Supports Euthanasia.” (Toni Marshall, “Enigmatic Billionaire,” The Washington Times, 11/9/97)
“Billionaire George Soros Has Contributed $250,000 To
Retain Oregon’s Assisted Suicide Law …” (Corky Siemaszko, “Dave’s Top
Cop Leads Houston Ballot,” [New York] Daily News, 11/4/97)
ü
In 1995, “Soros Voiced Disapproval Of His Father’s
Reluctance To Die.” “In an
interview with the New Yorker in 1995, Mr. Soros voiced disapproval of
his father’s reluctance to die, even though he was gravely ill. ‘My father unfortunately wanted to live …
and I was kind of disappointed in him. … I wrote him off,’ he said.” (Toni Marshall, “Enigmatic Billionaire,” The
Washington Times, 11/9/97)
Financed Efforts To Obtain Voting Rights For Felons. (Rebecca Carr, “Superdonors’
Super Power,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/11/01)
Soros Funds RU-486 Manufacturer
Soros Financed Manufacturer Of Abortion Pill, RU-486. “[F]or-profit Danco and its nonprofit
partner, the Population Council Inc., a New York-based organization that
promotes family planning world-wide, have received grants and loans to develop
mifepristone [RU-486] from some prominent investors, including foundations set
up by Warren Buffett, George Soros and the late David Packard.” (Rachel Zimmerman, “Choice
Allies: Awaiting Green Light, Abortion-Pill Venture Keeps To The Shadows,” The
Wall Street Journal, 9/5/00)
Soros Funded Delivery Of RU-486 Through Advocacy Group
Abortion Rights Mobilization (ARM). “The American company licensed to market RU-486 says it has found
manufacturers willing to produce the French ‘abortion pill’ and is working with
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for final approval. … Largely
unnoticed by the public, some women are already using RU-486 in a special
research program. Women early in
their pregnancies can get the drug today at more than a dozen sites across the
country, including the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore. In the past 18 months, more than 3,000 women
in the United States have taken RU-486 under this program, sponsored by an
advocacy group known as the Abortion Rights Mobilization (ARM). The group’s efforts, funded by nonprofit
organizations including the John Merck Family Foundation and the George Soros
Foundation, have provided the drug to 15 centers from Seattle to Bellevue,
Neb., to Cherry Hill, N.J.” (Marc
Kaufman, “Abortion Pill Inches Closer to Production,” The Washington Post,
3/23/99)
Contributed $1 Million To Planned Parenthood For
“Outreach, Education And Training” Relating To RU-486. (Marc Kaufman, “Abortion Pill
Deliveries Begin Soon,” The Washington Post, 11/16/00)
Soros Pledged $600,000 To National Abortion Federation To
“Alleviate The Shortage Of Abortion Providers.” (Capital Research Center Website, www.capitalresearch.org, Accessed
11/19/03)
Soros Has Argued “The Sovereignty Of States Must Be
Subordinated To International Law And International Institutions.” “Soros identifies a problem: ‘Our global
open society lacks the institutions and mechanisms necessary for its
preservation.’ The solution? ‘Some global system of political
decision-making’ in which ‘the sovereignty of states must be subordinated to
international law and international institutions’ when ‘collective
interests’ are at stake.” (Matthew
Rees, “Saving Capitalism From Soros,” The Ottawa Citizen, 12/9/98)
“In The Crisis Of Global Capitalism (1998) And Open
Society (2000), [Soros] Argued That A Vision Of ‘Open Society Idealism’
Must Supersede Traditional State Sovereignty If Globalization Is To Benefit
All.” (Carlin
Romano, “George Soros Offers A Plan To Help Poor Via Globalization,” The
Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/24/02)
Soros Has Given Millions To Support Gun Control Efforts. “After many years of being outspent and
outmuscled by the National Rifle Association, the gun control movement has
begun the most ambitious campaign in its history to raise money, recruit foot
soldiers and build public support for stronger gun laws in preparation for this
fall’s national elections. … At the same time, wealthy proponents of gun
control seem more willing to contribute to the cause. Several major philanthropists, including George Soros, have
given millions of dollars over the last two years to groups that are providing
intellectual and strategic support to the organizations and politicians who
advocate more regulation of guns.” (James
Dao, “Gun Control Groups Use N.R.A. Tactics For Fall Elections,” The New
York Times, 7/24/00)
Soros’ Open Society Institute Was The First Private Group
To Finance Lawsuit Against Gun Manufacturers. “Some of the nation’s leading private
foundations and philanthropists such as billionaire George Soros are pouring
millions of dollars into research and support in the battle to control gun
violence. The infusion of private
money has raised the wrath of the National Rifle Association, which in a
publication this month named Soros and another private foundation as part of a
‘vast conspiracy’ to bankrupt gun manufacturers with lawsuits. But anti-gun advocates say the private money
has helped ‘level the playing field’ between gun manufacturers and shooting
victims and their families, according to Elisa Barnes, a plaintiffs’ attorney
in a successful Brooklyn, N.Y., lawsuit against gunmakers. Soros’s Open Society Institute became the
first private group to directly help finance a lawsuit against a weapons
manufacturer when it contributed $300,000 to plaintiffs in the Brooklyn
case. Barnes said Soros’s contribution
‘made all the difference in the world’ in winning the February verdict, which
held nine gunmakers liable for practices that allowed criminals to obtain guns.
… Soros is among the major philanthropic givers who have recently decided to
take on the gun lobby, Mahon said, because they believe gun violence is a ‘massive
public health problem’ and that the government is ‘paralyzed’ by the NRA. ‘It’s really something whose time has
come,’ said Stephen P. Teret, a gun safety litigation expert whose Center for
Gun Policy and Research at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore is supported
by foundation grants. … Since January, Mahon’s center has helped organize
the Funders Collaborative for Gun Violence Prevention, a consortium that has
raised $11 million in seed money. ‘The
strategy is to show leadership from the philanthropies and say this is an
important issue for our country,’ said Mahon.
The campaign is making inroads.
Buoyed by successful lawsuits against the tobacco industry, five cities
launched a similar strategy last year against gun manufacturers, trying to
force the industry to pay the costs of gun violence. … Soros, whose wealth
was built on foreign currency exchange dealings, established the Center on
Crime, Communities and Culture in 1996 to fund crime prevention programs. It has dispensed $13 million, with its most
notable contribution the money put into the Brooklyn lawsuit. ‘The courts are the place where David and
Goliath can go at it and David can win,’ said Mahon. ‘That’s why the gun industry is so spooked by this suit.’ … The
difference a foundation can make in such costly litigation became clear in the
landmark Brooklyn case. Plaintiffs’
attorney Barnes said the major foundations she initially approached for funding
regarded the case as ‘too risky’ politically.
These foundations, which included some of the biggest in the country,
were willing to finance research into gun violence ‘but never litigation,’ she
said. She then turned to Soros’s Center
on Crime. It was the only one
‘iconoclastic’ enough to align itself with a lawsuit that cost $1.5 million,
even with lawyers working pro bono and ‘cutting every corner,’ she said. A spokesman for Soros’s group said the
decision to get involved was an easy one.
‘Given the fact [that] youth gun violence is a priority area for us, it
was a no-brainer,’ said Andrew J. Martin.”
(David B. Ottaway, “Legal Assault On Firms Is Armed By
Foundations,” The Washington Post, 5/19/99)
Soros Helped Fund The Million Mom March In 2000. “Bent on breaking the congressional deadlock
over gun legislation, a newly aroused lobbying force converges today on the
nation’s capital and dozens of other cities nationwide: fed-up moms. Their numbers may not live up to the name
organizers gave the event – the Million Mom March – but 150,000 or more
demonstrators are expected to gather this Mother’s Day for the largest gun
control rally in U.S. history. … Organizers of the march had raised about
$1.8 million through last week, including $1 million from an anonymous New York
donor and $500,000 from the Funders Collaborative for Gun Violence Prevention,
set up by billionaire George Soros, philanthropist Irene Diamond and an
anonymous donor, said Andrew McGuire, executive director of the San
Francisco-based Bell Campaign, a victim-led gun control group helping with the
march. The budget for all of the rallies around the country is $2.3
million.” (Richard
Simon and Nick Anderson, “Million Mom March Expected To Draw 150,000
Nationwide,” Los Angeles Times, 5/14/00)
Soros Urged Opposes The Death Penalty, Pushed For
Moratorium. “Just weeks ago,
40 prominent death-penalty opponents, including Nobel peace laureate Elie
Wiesel and billionaire philanthropist George Soros, urged a moratorium on
federal executions.” (Andrew
Gumbel, “Death Penalty Opponents Target U.S.,” Hamilton [Ontario] Spectator,
12/19/02)
Soros Called The 1996 Welfare Reform Bill A
“Mean-Spirited Attack On Immigrants” And Contributed $50 Million To Aid Those
Affected By The Legislation. “George Soros, a billionaire immigrant philanthropist, pledged
Monday to donate $50 million to aid legal immigrants affected by welfare
reform, which he says is unjust and unwise.
His pledge, unprecedented in size and target, is intended to fund
charities and organizations across the country that advocate for immigrants or
help them become citizens through English-language and civics classes. ‘The Statue of Liberty embraces those
‘yearning to breathe free,’ but the current mean-spirited attack on immigrants
threatens to choke them,” said Soros, who left Hungary for England in 1947,
then the USA in 1956. The money will be
doled out through Soros’ newest charitable foundation, the Emma Lazarus Fund,
named for the 19th-century writer of mostly forgotten sentimental poetry. Her best known work is a sonnet inscribed on
the Statue of Liberty, welcoming ‘your huddled masses yearning to breathe
free.’ Soros said he is ‘appalled’ by
the just-signed welfare reform law, which reverses longstanding U.S. policy of
treating legal immigrants the same as citizens in handing out welfare
benefits. Now, current and future
immigrants can be barred from major welfare programs or see their benefits
reduced. The states will have some
flexibility in implementing the law.
‘This is the first time legal immigrants are being discriminated
against,’ said Soros, a naturalized citizen.
‘It won’t save money because immigrants will naturalize (and thus regain
eligibility for welfare). It’s a
gimmick.’” (Maria
Puente, “Philanthropist Pledges $50M For Immigrants,” USA Today,
10/1/96)
Soros Recently Gave $150,000 To Proposition Campaign
Seeking To “Tone Down” California’s “Three Strikes” Law. “The
effort to pass a ballot measure that would tone down California’s tough ‘three-strikes’
sentencing law has received three $150,000 donations from some of the nation’s
largest backers of Democrat-oriented political groups. International financier
George Soros, insurance magnate Peter Lewis and private university founder John
Sperling each gave $150,000 to help pass Proposition 66, according to campaign
finance records. The contributions were received Friday. In a written
release, the ‘The Yes on 66 -- Fix Three Strikes’ campaign said the $450,000
came via the Drug Policy Alliance Network, a national drug-law reform
organization. The proposition’s backers argue that the three-strikes law
unjustly ensnares small-time drug users with lifetime sentences. They want the
stiff sentencing guidelines to apply only to people convicted of ‘serious or
violent’ felonies such as rape and murder -- what they call the ‘original
intent’ of voters who passed the law a decade ago. Lewis, chairman of the board
of the suburban Cleveland-based insurer Progressive Corp., and Soros have
donated millions this election cycle to Democratic-leaning causes. Sperling is
founder of the University of Phoenix. Proponents said their donations would
finance ‘a vigorous media campaign,’ starting next month.” (“Soros,
Lewis, Sperling Give To Proposition 66 Fund,” The Associated Press,
9/13/04)
Soros On Anti-Semitism And Israeli, American Policy
Soros Compared The Bush Administration To Nazis. “Soros believes that a ‘supremacist
ideology’ guides this White House. He
hears echoes in its rhetoric of his childhood in occupied Hungary. ‘When I hear Bush say, ‘You’re either
with us or against us,’ it reminds me of the Germans.’ It conjures up memories, he said, of Nazi
slogans on the walls, Der Feind Hort mit (‘The enemy is listening’). ‘My experiences under Nazi and Soviet rule
have sensitized me,’ he said in a soft Hungarian accent.” (Laura Blumenfeld, “Soros’s
Deep Pockets Vs. Bush,” The Washington Post, 11/11/03)
Soros Said That American And Israeli Policy Contribute To
Anti-Semitism, Prompting Sharp Response From Jewish Leaders. “A reported comment by billionaire
philanthropist George Soros asserting that the policies of America and Israel
are to blame for the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe is sparking outrage
everywhere from the White House to the American Jewish leadership and prompting
concern about a wider backlash against Israel. … Mr. Soros’s comments came last
week at a conference of Jewish philanthropists. According to a report that moved Sunday on the Jewish
Telegraphic Agency, a venerable news wire service, Mr. Soros said, ‘There is a
resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe.
The policies of the Bush administration and the Sharon administration
contribute to that. If we change that
direction, then anti-Semitism also will diminish,’ Mr. Soros said, according
to the JTA report. … The chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major
American Jewish Organizations, James Tisch, called the Soros remarks ‘an
outrage.’ ‘It boggles the mind,’ Mr.
Tisch said, invoking the precedent of the early Third Reich, when Jews were
told that if they’d just be quiet anti-Semitism would abate. ‘Soros may be wealthy and he may be
brilliant with the markets but he obviously hasn’t learned his history,’ Mr.
Tisch said. … The national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham
Foxman, using some of the strongest language he has ever uttered to condemn
remarks by an American public figure, called Mr. Soros’s remarks ‘obscene.’” (Ira Stoll, “Outrage Greets
Soros Remarks,” The New York Sun, 11/11/03)
Soros Wrote That Israel “Likely” Was A Big But Secret
Reason For America’s War In Iraq. “Billionaire money manager George Soros says that Israel
‘likely’ was a big but secret reason for America’s war in Iraq. … The comments – in a new book, ‘The Bubble
of American Supremacy,’ published by Public Affairs – represent sentiments that
until now have mainly been on the fringes of the American policy debate. But Mr. Soros is a famous New York
philanthropist who regularly hobnobs with Manhattan’s elite. He’s also a big player in Democratic
politics, a backer of Howard Dean’s presidential campaign who has vowed to
spend at least $15 million of his own money to defeat President Bush in the
2004 election. … ‘The true motives for
the Bush administration’s determination to overthrow Saddam Hussein remain
shrouded in mystery,’ Mr. Soros writes.
‘Oil and Israel likely loomed large in the administration’s policy
deliberations, but these were not the reasons publicly offered by Bush and his
advisers for the invasion of Iraq. A
person could not even raise these issues without being called
unpatriotic.’ In his chapter ‘The
Iraqi Quagmire,’ a section on ‘the motives’ describes Israel as an ‘important
consideration.’ ‘A large number of
religious fanatics in the United States believe that the rebirth of Israel
presages the apocalypse and the second coming of the Messiah,’ he writes.” (Ira Stoll, “Soros Says Israel
Was Likely Motive For War,” The New York Sun, 12/4/03)
Soros Wrote That Nazis, Israel, Arab Terrorists And
America After September 11 Are All Cases Of “Victims Turning Perpetrators.” “He also says that the Nazis, Israel,
Arab terrorists, and America after September 11 are all cases of ‘victims
turning perpetrators.’ The comments
– in a new book, ‘The Bubble of American Supremacy,’ published by Public
Affairs – represent sentiments that until now have mainly been on the fringes
of the American policy debate. But Mr.
Soros is a famous New York philanthropist who regularly hobnobs with Manhattan’s
elite. He’s also a big player in
Democratic politics, a backer of Howard Dean’s presidential campaign who has
vowed to spend at least $15 million of his own money to defeat President Bush
in the 2004 election. ‘Victims turning
perpetrators is a well-known syndrome both in individuals and in groups,’ Mr.
Soros writes. ‘Perhaps the most
poignant and difficult case is Israel.
Jews were the victims of the Holocaust, which can itself be ascribed, in
part, to a process of victims turning perpetrators: Hitler rose to power by
capitalizing on a wave of resentment caused by an onerous peace treaty and
runaway inflation.’ Mr. Soros writes,
‘After the war, Jews resorted to terrorism against the British in Palestine in
order to secure a homeland in Israel.
Subsequently, after being attacked by Arab nations, Israel occupied
additional territory and expelled many of the inhabitants. Eventually, the Arab victims also turned
perpetrators, and Israel started suffering terrorist attacks.’ Mr. Soros writes that ‘Perpetrators are now
in charge on both sides,’ noting that Prime Minister Sharon ‘has been held
responsible for the massacre of Palestinians that took place in the Shatila and
Sabra refugee camps in Lebanon in 1982.’
He writes that, ‘Under the Bush administration, the United States has
also become a victim-turned-perpetrator, although the American public would be
loath to recognize it.’” (Ira
Stoll, “Soros Says Israel Was Likely Motive For War,” The New York Sun,
12/4/03)
In December 2002, Soros Was Convicted Of Insider Trading
In France And Fined $2.3 Million. “After a 14-year investigation, a French court today convicted
the American financier George Soros of insider trading and fined him 2.2
million euros ($2.3 million), the amount prosecutors said he had profited from
the trading. Mr. Soros, who was not
present in the courtroom, called the verdict unfounded and said he would
appeal.” (John Tagliabue, “Soros
Is Found Guilty In France On Charges Of Insider Trading,” The New York Times,
12/21/02)
Soros Has Been Accused Of “Destabilizing World Currencies
And Wrecking The Economies Of Nations.” “George Soros is one of the most successful investors of all
time. Even now, though he manages little or no money besides his own, he can
move markets with a ten-minute appearance on cable television. Detractors have accused him of
destabilizing world currencies and wrecking the economies of entire
nations. He is appealing a French
conviction for insider trading.” (Mark Gimein, “George Soros Is Mad As Hell,” Fortune,
10/27/03)
Soros Has Been Known As the “Man Who Broke The Bank Of
England.” “George
Soros got the first part right. As a
detached and mysterious currency speculator, he made billions by moving markets
in a manner that made him a whipping boy for besieged bankers and
ministers. In one famous week in
1992, he made $1 billion betting against the British pound, earning him the
grudging title of the Man Who Broke the Bank of England.” (William Shawcross, “Turning
Dollars Into Change,” Time, 9/1/97)
Soros
Is “Widely Blamed In Thailand For Triggering The Collapse Of The Economy In
1997.” “Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra,
meanwhile, reiterated his ban on foreign NGOs travelling to Thailand for the
duration of the meeting. The Prime
Minister stressed that he had clearly announced that Thailand had the names of
all NGOs known to organize protests during international meetings, stating that
they would not be welcome in Thailand during the Summit period. The Prime Minister also personally picked
out US financier George Soros – widely blamed in Thailand for triggering the
collapse of the economy in 1997 – as an alleged backer of NGOs.” (“All Involved Stand Ready To Host
APEC Meeting,” Thai Press Reports, 10/14/03)
Soros’
Writings
In His 1998 Book “The Crisis Of Global Capitalism,” Soros
Predicted The “Disintegration Of The Global Capitalist System.” (Robert J. Dowling, “Will The
Real Soros Please Stand Up,” Business Week, 12/21/98)
Newsweek Columnist Robert Samuelson
Writes That Soros “Delivers Drivel” In Atlantic Monthly Essay, Asserting
“If Soros Weren’t The Author, This Gibberish Wouldn’t Have Made It Into Print.” “Americans recall how basketball great
Michael Jordan did in baseball. He
bombed. There’s an insight here. Call it the Jordan principle: genius
doesn’t travel well. Applying the
Jordan principle to George Soros – the fabulously successful investor who is
among the world’s wealthiest men – we find that getting rich doesn’t make you
an economic philosopher. In Soros’s
case, just the opposite: as a seer, he’s a crackpot. … I know this because
I’ve recently read his essay ‘The Capitalist Threat’ in the February Atlantic
Monthly. It argues that ‘the
spread of market values into all areas of life’ is now the main threat to ‘open
and democratic society.’ Powerful
stuff. Also rubbish. Soros’s essay is rambling and incoherent. …
The truth is that if Soros weren’t the author, this gibberish wouldn’t have
made it into print. … Soros might have advanced this ongoing debate with
specific ideas over where government is – and isn’t – needed. Instead, he delivers drivel. Yes, this is the same Soros who helped
finance California’s pro-marijuana campaign and whose charities reach around
the world. Others will judge his
politics and philanthropy. But as an
economic prophet Soros is no more entitled to be taken seriously than Jordan is
to play major-league baseball. Unless
he makes sense, we shouldn’t listen.”
(Robert J. Samuelson, “Crackpot Prophet,” Newsweek,
3/17/97)
Soros Is Largest Donor To Democrat 527 Groups,
Contributing A Total Of $18.5 Million. “By mid-August, Mr. Soros had given more than $15 million to
advocacy groups like America Coming Together.
At that time, he said in an interview on Monday, he fully expected Mr.
Kerry to win the election. But
recently, Mr. Soros saw what he called the outrageous and slanderous Swift boat
commercials against Mr. Kerry and how they had damaged his standing in the polls. Since then, the Hungarian-born Mr. Soros
said, he has become so worried that Mr. Bush will win the election that he
increased his giving, to $18.2 million, and has scrapped a trip in October
to Russia to work against the president's re-election. … Mr. Soros, whose $7.2
billion fortune makes him the 24th richest person in the United States, has
become the biggest donor to the 527 advocacy groups, a category named
for the section of the tax code that covers them. He pledged $10 million to America Coming Together for a
registration and get-out-the-vote drive, but gave a total of $14.5
million. His other contributions to
Democratic 527’s are $2.5 million to MoveOn.org Voter Fund; $325,000 to Young
Voter Alliance; $325,000 to 21st Century Democrats; $300,000 to the Real
Economy Group; and $250,000 to Democracy for America.” (Katharine Q. Seelye,
“Anti-Bush Billionaire Plans To Give More,” The New York Times, 9/29/04)
Soros: “I Have Ulterior Motives, But They Are Clear: I
Want A Hearing For My Views.” “‘Why should a rich guy give
money without ulterior motives?’ he says. In fact, he adds, ‘I have ulterior
motives, but they are clear: I want a hearing for my views. ... I want a
referendum on the Bush doctrine’ in foreign affairs.” (Rick
Hampson, “George Soros Putting His Fortune Behind A New Cause: Ousting Bush,” USA
Today, 6/1/04)
Since 1999, Soros has contributed $205,750 To National
Democrat Party Committees, Including $7,750 To DNC, $83,000 To DSCC And
$115,000 To DCCC. (Center
For Responsive Politics Website, www.opensecrets.org,
Accessed 12/10/03)
Soros: “I’ve Come To The Conclusion … That One Can Do A
Lot More About The Issues I Care About By Changing The Government Than By
Pushing The Issues.” “‘I’ve
come to the conclusion,’ Soros told Fortune, ‘that one can do a lot more
about the issues I care about by changing the government than by pushing the
issues.’ In short, he has become the
world’s angriest billionaire.” (Mark Gimein, “George Soros Is
Mad As Hell,” Fortune, 10/27/03)
Soros Initially Pledged $15.5 Million In Soft Money To
Liberal Activist Groups, Including $10 Million To America Coming Together, $3
Million To The Center For American Progress And $2.5 Million To MoveOn.org. “Soros, who has financed efforts to promote
open societies in more than 50 countries around the world, is bringing the
fight home, he said. On Monday, he
and a partner committed up to $5 million to MoveOn.org, a liberal activist
group, bringing to $15.5 million the total of his personal contributions to
oust Bush. … Standing on the back deck, the evening sun angling into their
eyes, Soros took aside Steve Rosenthal, CEO of the liberal activist group
America Coming Together (ACT), and Ellen Malcolm, its president. They were proposing to mobilize voters in 17
battleground states. Soros told them
he would give ACT $10 million. … Soros also promised up to $3 million to
Podesta’s new think tank, the Center for American Progress.” (Laura
Blumenfeld, “Soros’s Deep Pockets Vs. Bush,” The Washington Post,
11/11/03)
Soros Will Reportedly Spend $100 Million To Defeat Bush. “George Soros, the richest of the liberal
philanthropists, has publicly declared that his good work on behalf of building
‘open societies’ worldwide is at risk because of George Bush’s assaults on an
open society at home. So Soros will
spend about $100 million trying to oust Bush.”
(Robert Kuttner, “Growing Power Of Small Money,” The
Boston Globe, 11/12/03)
Would Spend Entire $7 Billion Fortune To Defeat Bush “If
Someone Guaranteed” Outcome. “Asked
whether he would trade his $7 billion fortune to unseat Bush, Soros opened his
mouth. Then he closed it. The proposal hung in the air: Would he
become poor to beat Bush? He said, ‘If
someone guaranteed it.’” (Laura
Blumenfeld, “Soros’s Deep Pockets Vs. Bush,” The Washington Post,
11/11/03)
Soros Is Largest Contributor In American Political
History. (Byron
York, “Democrats Throw The Spirit Of Reform Out The Window,” The Hill,
11/5/03)
Soros Said Defeating Bush Is “The Central Focus” Of His
Life And 2004 Election Is A Matter Of Life And Death.” “George Soros, one of the
world's richest men, has given away nearly $5 billion to promote democracy in
the former Soviet bloc, Africa and Asia. Now he has a new project: defeating
President Bush. ‘It is the central
focus of my life,’ Soros said, his blue eyes settled on an unseen target. The
2004 presidential race, he said in an interview, is ‘a matter of life and
death.’ (Laura Blumenfeld,
“Soros’s Deep Pockets Vs. Bush,” The Washington Post, 11/11/03)
NM Governor Bill Richardson Stated That The New Soft
Money 527s “Have Become The Replacement For The National Democratic Party.” “‘These groups are crucial’ to the anti-Bush
effort, says Governor Bill Richardson (D-New Mexico), who has a group of his
own called Moving America Forward. ‘Now
that campaign finance reform is law,’ he says, ‘organizations like these have
become the replacement for the national Democratic Party.’” (Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, “The New
Soft Money,” Fortune, 10/27/2003)
SOROS & AMERICA COMING TOGETHER (ACT)
Soros “Pledged $10 Million To America Coming Together For
A Registration And Get-Out-The-Vote Drive, But Gave A Total Of $14.5 Million.” “Mr. Soros, whose $7.2 billion fortune makes
him the 24th richest person in the United States, has become the biggest
donor to the 527 advocacy groups, a category named for the section of the
tax code that covers them. He
pledged $10 million to America Coming Together for a registration and
get-out-the-vote drive, but gave a total of $14.5 million.” (Katharine Q. Seelye,
“Anti-Bush Billionaire Plans To Give More,” The New York Times, 9/29/04)
Soros’ Commitment To America Coming Together Makes Him A
“Key Player In The Huge ‘Soft Money’ Push That The Democrats … Hope Will Be One
Of The Keys To Matching Bush’s Formidable Fundraising Apparatus In The 2004
Election.” (Mark
Gimein, “George Soros Is Mad As Hell,” Fortune, 10/27/03)
America Coming Together’s $75 Million Fundraising Goal Is
“Unprecedented.” “Labor,
environmental and women’s organizations, with strong backing from international
financier George Soros, have joined forces behind a new political group that
plans to spend an unprecedented $75 million to mobilize voters to defeat
President Bush in 2004.” (Thomas
B. Edsall, “Liberals Form Fund To Defeat President,” The Washington Post,
8/8/03)
America Coming Together Running “‘Massive Voter Contact’
Program To Defeat Bush.”
“Activists recently formed America Coming Together, with a pledge to
raise $75 million for a ‘massive voter contact’ program to defeat Bush. George Soros will give $10 million for the
effort, but names of other donors may not be disclosed.” (Julia Malone, “Activists Race
To Fill ‘Soft Money’ Gap,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9/21/03)
America Coming Together Will Mount “The Largest Field
Operation This Country Has Ever Seen.” “Rosenthal, ACT’s chief executive, calls it ‘the largest field
operation this country has ever seen.’
Drawing on the lessons from labor’s political efforts, it aims in large
part at expanding the likely base for progressive Democratic candidates.” (David Moberg, “Decisions,
Decisions,” In These Times, 9/15/03)
ü
America Coming Together Intends To “Hire Hundreds
Of Organizers, State Political Directors And Others As The 2004 Election
Approaches” And Concentrate Its Activities In 17 “Battleground” States. “Steve Rosenthal, whose mobilization of
union members from 1996 through 2002 has been widely praised, will be ACT’s
chief executive officer. He said
that ACT will hire hundreds of organizers, state political directors and others
as the 2004 election approaches. ACT
plans to concentrate its activities in 17 states, all of which are likely to be
presidential battlegrounds: Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, Wisconsin, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida,
Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio and West Virginia.” (Thomas B. Edsall, “Liberals
Form Fund To Defeat President,” The Washington Post, 8/8/03)
Soros Contributed $3 Million To John Podesta’s New Think
Tank, The Center For American Progress. “Soros also promised up to $3 million to Podesta’s new think
tank, the Center for American Progress.
Soros will continue to recruit wealthy donors for his campaign. Having put a lot of money into the war of
ideas around the world, he has learned that ‘money buys talent; you can
advocate more effectively.’” (Laura
Blumenfeld, “Soros’s Deep Pockets Vs. Bush,” The Washington Post,
11/11/03)
The Center For American Progress Has A 501(c) 3 Think
Tank Component And A 501(c) 4 “Rapid Response And Communications Operation That
Will Dabble More Heavily In Campaign Politics” – Both Of Which Can Collect
Unlimited Contributions With No Disclosure. “The organizational structure is split into
two components: a 501(c)3 think tank and a 501(c)4 rapid response and
communications operation that will dabble more heavily in campaign politics. Both divisions are referred to by their
designation within Internal Revenue Service tax code. Fundraising for the 501(c)3 is already in full swing while the
501(c)4 money-gathering has just begun, according to Laura Nichols, former
communications director for Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) and now senior vice
president of CAP. Both entities can
accept unlimited donations and do not have to reveal their donors.” (Chris Cillizza, “Clark To
Keynote Forum For Podesta Group,” Roll Call, 9/30/03)
The Center For American Progress “Appear To Be Another
Part Of Soros’ [Anti-Bush] Campaign.” ““Fighting back could well be the theme of the Center for
American Progress. Supporters of the
project seem to sincerely believe that they are up against a pervasive
conservative bias in the nation’s media that can only be answered by an
aggressive public-relations counter-offensive, which they call ‘pushback.’ And although it bills itself as a
traditional think tank – scholarship and all – for now, at least, the Center
appears to be all about pushback. … But perhaps the biggest buzz coming from
the new Center for American Progress has nothing to do with a party, a
conference, or a movie premiere.
Recently the Center began sending out a daily e-mail commentary on
events known as ‘Progress Report.’ An
exhaustive collection of news bits wrapped in stridently anti-Bush rhetoric, the
report, which Podesta calls ‘one of our flagship products,’ resembles nothing
so much as a collection of the most aggressive, most energetic opposition
research in politics. … But by any common-sense standard, Podesta’s group is
as partisan as they come. … The Center’s funding also suggests its
deeply political orientation. One of
the organization’s top donors is the financier George Soros, who this year has
devoted his enormous financial resources to defeating George W. Bush in
2004. So far, Soros has contributed $10
million to the new anti-Bush group America Coming Together, which will
coordinate voter turnout efforts in key states. [Ed.: See Mr. York’s article “By George” in our last issue.] The Center appears to be another part of
Soros’s campaign. … Don’t say that too loudly at a Center for American
Progress event. Yes, organizers say
they are searching for new ideas.
They’re just not searching too hard.
‘We respect the need for debate,’ Podesta said at the Center’s
coming-out party. ‘But our goal is to
win.’” (Byron York, “The War
Room, Cont.: This Time, The Democrats Are Calling It A ‘Think Tank,’” National
Review, 11/24/03)
Podesta Called The Center For American Progress A “Think
Tank On Steroids.”
“[Podesta] is also the leader and architect of a new liberal think tank
in Washington known as the Center for American Progress. … Podesta laid out
his plan for what he likes to call a ‘think tank on steroids.’ Emulating those conservative institutions,
he said, a message-oriented war room will send out a daily briefing to refute
the positions and arguments of the right.
An aggressive media department will book liberal thinkers on cable
TV. There will be an ‘edgy’ Web site
and a policy shop to formulate strong positions on foreign and domestic
issues. In addition, Podesta explained
how he would recruit hundreds of fellows and scholars – some in residence and
others spread around the country – to research and promote new progressive
policy ideas. … American Progress is slated to operate with a $10 million
budget next year, raised from big donors like the financier George Soros.” (Matt Bai, “Notion Building,” The
New York Times Magazine, 10/12/03)
Soros And A Partner Contributed $5 Million To
MoveOn.org’s $15 Million Anti-Bush Ad Campaign. “MoveOn is now poised to be one of the
Democrats’ most effective fundraising vehicles during this year’s presidential
campaign. It has already raised
millions to support candidates and fund ads such as the one criticizing Bush’s
$87 billion commitment to rebuilding Iraq.
In November, billionaire philanthropist George Soros and his business
partner, Peter Lewis, pledged a $5 million matching grant – a dollar for every
two raised by MoveOn members – to create a $15 million advertising campaign to
defeat President Bush.” (Beth
Fouhy, “MoveOn.org Becomes Anti-Bush Online Powerhouse,” The Associated
Press, 1/10/04)
In January, Soros Said He Was “Keen On Dean,” But Also
Considered Kerry And Clark Well Qualified To Be President. “‘There is no doubt about Howard Dean’s
abilities and qualities for being president,’ Mr. Soros said after giving a
speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace sharply critical of
the administration’s foreign policy. ‘Other
candidates are also qualified. I’m also
a great advocate of Clark and Kerry.’
All three, he said, had views very similar to his own. ‘I’m not picking one particular
candidate,’ he added, ‘but I am keen on Dean.’” (Michael Janofsky, “A Wealthy Foe Of Bush Supports Three
Democrats,” The New York Times, 1/13/04)
In September, Soros Hosted A $1,000-A-Person Fundraiser
For Dean At His Westchester County Home. (Marc Humbert, “Dean Takes Presidential Campaign To Banks
Of Hudson River,” The Associated Press, 9/20/03)
This Cycle, Soros Has Contributed To The Presidential
Campaigns Of Dean, Graham And Kerry. (Center For Responsive Politics Website, www.opensecrets.org, Accessed 10/20/03)
Soros Contributions To
Campaign
Finance Reform Advocacy
Groups
Democracy 21’s Fred Wertheimer Said Soros Helped Start “A
Soft-Money Arms Race.” “[Soros] also has alienated his former partners
in campaign-finance reform. ‘George Soros started out as part of the solution,
and he’s ended up as part of the problem,’ says Fred Wertheimer of Democracy
21, an advocacy group for campaign reform to which Soros once contributed. He
says that whatever Soros’ intentions, he has helped start ‘a soft-money arms
race.’” (Rick Hampson, “George Soros Putting His Fortune Behind A
New Cause: Ousting Bush,” USA Today, 6/1/04)
Soros Has Reportedly Contributed A Total Of $18 Million
To Campaign Finance Reform Advocacy Groups Over The Last Seven Years. “Soros has backed altering campaign finance,
an aide said, donating close to $18 million over the past seven years.” (Laura
Blumenfeld, “Soros’s Deep Pockets Vs. Bush,” The Washington Post,
11/11/03)
Soros Has Reportedly Contributed The Following Amounts
To These Reform Groups:
ü
Common Cause: $625,000 (Byron York, “Democrats Throw
The Spirit Of Reform Out The Window,” The Hill, 11/5/03)
ü
Brennan Center For Justice: $2.5 Million (Byron York, “Democrats Throw
The Spirit Of Reform Out The Window,” The Hill, 11/5/03)
ü
Public Campaign: $4.1 Million (Open Society Institute Website,
www.soros.org, Accessed 11/18/03; Michelle
Cottle, “Where Are The Good Guys When We Need Them?” Washington Monthly, 9/97)
ü
Democracy 21: $310,000 (Open Society Institute
Website, www.soros.org, Accessed 4/6/04)
ü
Alliance For Better Campaigns: $650,000 (Byron York, “Democrats Throw
The Spirit Of Reform Out The Window,” The Hill, 11/5/03)
ü
Center For Public Integrity: $1.7 Million (Byron York, “Democrats Throw
The Spirit Of Reform Out The Window,” The Hill, 11/5/03)
ü
Center For Responsive Politics: $75,000 (Byron York, “Democrats Throw
The Spirit Of Reform Out The Window,” The Hill, 11/5/03)
Soros’ Open Society Institute Has Reportedly Contributed
To Reform Groups Such As Common Cause, Public Campaign, Democracy 21, Alliance
For Better Campaigns And Several Others. “One might assume that advocates of reform would not want to take
part in the world of 527 soft money. But
look at Soros. The website of his
foundation, the Open Society Institute, lists lots of grants to reform groups
in the last few years. There is
$625,000 to Common Cause, $2.5 million to the Brennan Center for Justice, $1.2
million to Public Campaign, $125,000 to Democracy 21, $1.7 million to the
Center for Public Integrity, $75,000 to the Center for Responsive Politics and
$650,000 to the Alliance for Better Campaigns. Their common goal, in the words of Public Campaign’s mission
statement, is ‘to dramatically reduce the role of big special interest money in
American politics.’ But now, liberal
advocacy and 527 groups like America Coming Together are accepting huge checks
from Soros. And he has a very special
interest: to get Bush.” (Byron York, “Democrats Throw
The Spirit Of Reform Out The Window,” The Hill, 11/5/03)
Democracy 21’s Fred Wertheimer: “We’re Determined To See
The New Law Work Properly And Are Determined To Fight Any Efforts To Blatantly
Circumvent The Law And Inject Soft Money Into Federal Campaigns.” “[C]ampaign finance groups pledged to
fight alongside Republicans to make sure that 527 groups do not have a major
influence on federal elections.
‘We’re determined to see the new law work properly and are determined to
fight any efforts to blatantly circumvent the law and inject soft money into
federal campaigns,’ said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21. ‘We’re going to fight this every step of the
way throughout the year.’” (Alexander
Bolton, “Senate To Enter 527 Battle,” The Hill, 2/18/04)
Wertheimer Criticized Soros For His Huge Contributions. “‘If this new organization coordinates its
activities with the Democratic party or Democratic presidential candidates,
they will be violating the new law,’ said Fred Wertheimer, president of
Democracy 21, another group that has in the past received Soros money. ‘And if George Soros is contributing
$10-million to an organization for the purpose of defeating George Bush, he
will be violating the spirit of the law,’ said Mr. Wertheimer. Democracy 21 has filed complaints against
‘shadow’ Democratic and Republic party groups, and Mr. Wertheimer said he will
not hesitate to take on Mr. Soros if necessary. ‘We know that some people are going to try to cheat and evade the
law, some will try to do what was done before in new ways, and others will try
legitimately to adapt to the new playing field,’ he said. ‘It’s something that has to be watched
carefully. As much effort is going to
have to be put in to enforcing the law as there was put into passing it.’” (Luiza Chwialkowska, “Soros
Chastised By Liberal Advocates Of Campaign Finance Reform,” The New York Sun,
8/13/03)
Wertheimer Said He Was “Sorry That Mr. Soros Has Decided To Put So Much Money Into A Political Effort … We Will Be Watchdogging Him Closely.” “Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, which promotes changes in campaign finance, has benefited from Soros’s grants over the years. Soros has backed altering campaign finance, an aide said, donating close to $18 million over the past seven years. ‘There’s some irony, given the supporting role he played in helping to end the soft money system,’ Wertheimer said. ‘I’m sorry that Mr. Soros has decided to put so much money into a political effort to defeat a candidate. We will be watchdogging him closely.’” (Laura Blumenfeld, “Soros’s Deep Pockets Vs. Bush,” The Washington Post, 11/11/03)
Wertheimer Expressed Regret That Soros Was Making “Such A
Huge Contribution For A Specific Effort To Defeat Mr. Bush.” “The Soros donation to ACT has disappointed
Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, one of the top backers of the
campaign finance law. ‘I’m sorry
that Mr. Soros chose to make such a huge contribution for a specific effort to
defeat Mr. Bush, given the very valuable role he played in supporting efforts
to enact the soft-money ban,’ Wertheimer said. He added that his group would be carefully monitoring ACT to
ensure that the group complies with laws forbidding coordination with the
Democratic Party or a presidential candidate.” (Julia
Malone, “Billionaires Open Wallets To Defeat Bush,” The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, 11/16/03)
Wertheimer: “We Are Concerned About George Soros’ Large
Contributions To Affect The 2004 Campaign, As We Are Also Concerned About
President Bush’s Decision To Swamp The Country With $200 Million In Spending
For His Uncontested Presidential Primary Race …” (Will Lester, “Gillespie
Challenges Foes In AP Interview,” The Associated Press, 11/17/03)
According To The Open Society Institute’s Website, Soros’
Foundation Contributed $310,000 To Democracy 21 Since 1999. (Open
Society Institute Website, www.soros.org,
Accessed 4/6/04)
Wertheimer Said Soros’ Foundation Gave About $250,000 To
His Group. “Fred
Wertheimer of Democracy 21 said Soros’ foundation has given about $250,000 to
his group, but he was quick to point out that he has called for
investigations of Democrats such as former President Clinton and the DNC as well
as Republicans.” (Will
Lester, “Gillespie Challenges Foes In AP Interview,” The Associated Press,
11/17/03)