InfluenceWatch Podcast

Hello, I’m Michael Watson and this is the 400th episode of the InfluenceWatch Podcast. For us, it is a time for looking back and a time for looking forward—we will have a special announcement at the conclusion of today’s episode. Joining me to discuss their work at Capital Research Center are our director of communications and external relations and my usual co-host Sarah Lee, investigative researcher Parker Thayer, and senior research analyst Robert Stilson.Big Philanthropy “decolonizes” itselfTrump’s labor agencies get to work for independent workersSuspicious immigration NGO rakes in tax dollars in Columbus

You may have seen news reports that California is facing something called “outmigration,” in which residents – including some of that state’s most wealthy – are picking up and moving to greener pastures in states not dedicated to taxing them to death. California’s billionaires are most recently eyeing a ballot measure to be voted on this November that would essentially serve as a 5% excise tax for the crime of being billionaires. This has led to many of the state’s prominent entrepreneurs like Google’s Sergey Brin, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and Paypal’s Peter Thiel to make their objections known with their feet and their moving trucks. But what if a federal wealth tax were imposed, like the one recently introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna, and there was nowhere to run? And, given how much these individuals give to philanthropy – for better or worse – what would happen to that giving if Sanders and Khanna were to succeed? Joining us to discuss is Andrew Wilford, Director of State Policy at the National Taxpayer Union Foundation, who has been writing about the possible calamities surrounding a wealth tax for many years. California Wealth Tax Proposal Achieves a New Feat in Tax Policy: Losing the State Money Before It Even Becomes LawThe Wealth Tax's Impact on Private CharitiesBernie Sanders’s Radical Wealth TaxBig Labor’s bid to kill its Golden State

As we speak—it’s February 25th as we record, so commentary on the current situation may be out of date when you hear this—a naval armada of two fleet carriers and their accompanying surface-ship escorts sits off the Middle East as American diplomats pressure the Islamic Republic of Iran to renounce its nuclear ambitions and its expansionist agenda to dominate the region. Given the brutality of the Iranian regime—estimates suggest the regime killed at least 6,000 and perhaps in excess of 30,000 Iranians who protested against it earlier this year—you would think that Americans, even those who oppose armed conflict to depose the regime, would universally acknowledge the Mullah-ocracy’s evil. But you would be wrong. Joining us today to discuss those who don’t is our colleague Robert Stilson.Iran and the anti-American leftThe Anti-American Left: CommunophilismCRC News: Congress asks CRC about foreign funding of American NGOsCommunist Party USA (CPUSA)

That teachers’ unions are more interested in radical leftist political power than student achievement is increasingly recognized, and today’s guest brings two new pieces of evidence to pile on the scales. First, AFT president Randi Weingarten, the under-recognized villain of the COVID-19 pandemic, announced to a videoconference of radical-left activists that she was leveraging teachers’ pensions against Target to get the company to denounce immigration enforcement. Then, we dive deeply into Union del Barrio, a radical anti-immigration-enforcement group that may take control of Los Angeles’s teachers union. Stu Smith of the Manhattan Institute, who surfaced the Weingarten clip and recently wrote on UdB, joins us to discuss.Meet the Radicals Running to Lead the Los Angeles Teachers’ UnionMeet the radicals who ran to lead LA’s teachers union, Unión del Barrio and its offshoots.Randi Weingarten’s Fight With Target Isn’t Remotely About Education

Foreign influence in American nonprofit organizations. It’s real, it has influence on our public life, and Congress has taken note of it. Joining me to discuss the influence of foreign funding of voter registration, ballot initiatives, and the rest of the American nonprofit sector are three of Capital Research Center’s experts on the topic: Senior Research Analyst Robert Stilson, Investigative Researcher Parker Thayer, and last but not least President Scott Walter, who testified to the House Ways and Means Committee last week.(Congressional testimony) Foreign Influence in American Nonprofits: Unmasking Threats from Beijing and BeyondPeople’s Support Foundation (PSF)Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF)Hansjorg WyssThinking About Fiscal Sponsorship: The Form 990 Black HoleThinking About Fiscal Sponsorship: Potential Reforms

It’s Minnesota day, again. Before Minneapolis lit politics on fire with immigration-enforcement-related shootings and associated protests and riots, the story from the land of 10,000 lakes was public-benefits fraud, allegations of which surged to public attention alongside memes about the “Quality Learing Center.” But it’s not just a right-wing internet meme or video investigation—Minnesota has a serious, proven problem with millions if not billions of dollars in public money stolen by scammers, most notably the “Feeding Our Future” nonprofit that ripped off the taxpayer instead of feeding children during COVID-19. This raises a question we have raised in our Minnesota discussions before: Should the government, or should nonprofit groups, carry out the role of Big Government? Stephen Eide of the Manhattan Institute joins us to discuss.A Hidden Lesson of the Minnesota Welfare ScandalMamdani’s NGO Model ArmyThe Union and the Republican Prize Patrol

As Minnesota, the only state not to have voted for Ronald Reagan, continues to dominate the headlines, a question arises: Just how radical is the state, and its largest city, Minneapolis, anyway? A recent decision on the organization of the Minneapolis City Council indicates that the city is extremely radical. While one-party city legislatures in places dominated by Democrats are extremely common, how many have Democratic Socialistsas both the “majority” and “minority” leaders of their city councils? Minneapolis does, a fact brought to public attention by today’s guest, Luke Rosiak of the Daily Wire. Minneapolis City Council Names Socialists As Both ‘Majority’ and ‘Minority’ LeadersCommunism and the Democratic Socialists of AmericaLocal Prosecutors Join Forces to Bring Charges Against Federal AgentsHead Of Soros Prosecutor Group Resigns Following Daily Wire Report On Staff MutinyInfluenceWatch Podcast #379: The Hidden Power Behind Soros DAs

Amid protests over immigration enforcement by leftists in Minneapolis, a group of Black Lives Matter demonstrators allegedly invaded a service at a church whose pastor they claimed was an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official. (Ex-CNN talking head Don Lemon was also there, claiming to be an independent journalist.) The U.S. Department of Justice has issued statements that they are investigating the incident, with the possibility of pressing charges under the FACE Act, a piece of legislation enacted in 1994 to deter protests at abortion clinics that contains a provision extending its provisions to religious worship sites, or the Ku Klux Klan Act, Reconstruction-era legislation that made interfering with Americans’ civil rights a federal crime. Already, the federal government has announced that multiple activists involved in the demonstration have been arrested. Is that reasonable? We are joined by Manhattan Institute legal policy fellow Tal Fortgang to discuss.How the White House Can Crack Down on Radical Groups—LegallyAnti-ICE protesters storm church in Minnesota during serviceMinnesota agitators arrested in wake of church invasion, Bondi saysDispute over Arresting Don Lemon?Don Lemon Just Happens to Make It to Church on TimeThe Rise of Civil TerrorismBlocking the Road Is Civil Terrorism

Just before Christmas, the federal Justice Department secured indictments against four alleged radical-left domestic terrorists alleged to be affiliated with the “Turtle Island Liberation Front.” Our colleague Robert Stilson is deeply familiar with the notion of “turtle island,” a name for the North American continent derived from a Native American myth that radical leftists increasingly use to show they deny the legitimacy of the American and Canadian governments. He joins us today to discuss the radical left’s increasing rejection of America’s existence and how the mainstream center-left appeases the radicals with “land acknowledgments.”https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/grand-jury-charges-four-members-anti-government-group-terrorism-felonies-stemming-newhttps://capitalresearch.org/article/turtle-island-and-the-legitimacy-of-america/https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-ideological-fuel-of-a-new-left-part-1/https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-marguerite-casey-foundation-part-3/statics.teams.cdn.office.net/evergreen-assets/safelinks/2/atp-safelinks.html

In the early morning hours of January 3rd, U.S. military, in an impressively covert operation, captured Venezuela’s self-declared president Nicolas Maduro, and his wife and spirited them away to face narco-terrorism charges in a New York courtroom. In the immediate aftermath, Venezuelans cheered in the streets, celebrating the demise of Maduro’s Marxist regime, one that had decimated their economy and led to huge numbers of Venezuelans fleeing the country since 2013. Leftist groups in the U.S., such as the ANSWER Coalition, The People’s Forum, Code Pink, and the Chicago Teachers Union, also organized quickly,  gathering crowds for protests in prominent American cities, leaving observers wondering just how they were able to mobilize so fast. Here to discuss what happened on Jan 3, what the future looks like now for Venezuela and her relationship with the U.S., and to answer questions about the organizations behind the protests, is our friend Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow for national security and foreign policy at the Heritage Foundation.Mike GonzalezHow the Smithsonian lost its way Trump’s reforms are essentialTrump Announces U.S. Military's Capture of MaduroANSWER CoalitionCode Pink (CODEPINK)The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL)The People’s Forum