Leonard Leo, who operates an enormous community of conservative nonprofits, known as on his teams to begin “weaponizing” their concepts, one thing he mentioned the left has been championing over time.
A letter sent to groups supported by Leo’s 85 Fund on Wednesday mentioned it will be present process a “complete overview” of entities it helps, and “can be adjusting the extent to which it funds concepts and coverage improvement.” The purpose, based on Leo’s letter, is to make sure their philanthropic efforts usually are not overly targeted on “ideation,” or as Leo describes it, “the event of and schooling about conservative concepts and insurance policies.” Somewhat, Leo needs his teams to undertake extra aggressive ways that “weaponize” their concepts and produce extra tangible outcomes, one thing he steered liberals have championed successfully for his or her causes.
“The Left constructed highly effective networks of activists, teachers, journalists, and philanthropists, together with professionals from different disciplines, who might collaborate to affect public attitudes and generate political stress on public officers,” Leo mentioned. “They invested in expertise pipelines to populate the facility facilities inside authorities, the place coverage could be carried out. They incubated litigation as a method of leveraging the legislation to provide change. And, past politics and legislation, left-wing philanthropy constructed or took over huge infrastructure to regulate varied cultural chokepoints.”
“In distinction,” Leo continued, “vastly inadequate funds are going towards operationalizing and weaponizing [conservative] concepts and insurance policies to crush liberal dominance.”
‘STOP PRETENDING’: CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST WANTS DEMS BEHIND SCOTUS ETHICS RULES TO TAKE THEIR OWN MEDICINE
Leonard Leo speaks on the Nationwide Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., on April 23, 2019.
Leo, the co-chairman and former government vice chairman of the Federalist Society, a gaggle specializing in advancing the rules of a restricted, constitutional authorities, controls a $1.6 billion struggle chest. The cash was given to him by industrialist Barre Seid to fund his community of conservative teams.
Leo’s letter cited the George Soros-funded Tides Basis and the Hansjörg Wyss-backed Arabella Advisors as examples of teams that “incubate action-oriented campaigns.” He pointed to their help of nationwide NGOs like College students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the World Skilled Affiliation for Transgender Well being (WPATH). SJP has been on the forefront of drumming up anti-Israel sentiment in school campuses throughout the nation since Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror assault that killed over a thousand harmless Israelis and took a whole lot hostage. In the meantime, WPATH has been on the forefront of the transgender motion, publishing requirements of care that medical doctors and public officers alike have used to justify “gender-affirming care” for minors.
“With donors like Hansjörg Wyss and the Arabella Advisors community having billions at their disposal, the left is ready to considerably outspend the conservative motion to shift American society,” Leo instructed Fox Information Digital. “Consequently, we have to do extra with much less, specializing in leveraging the conservative motion’s expertise to have affect, if we need to achieve success.”
Leo has been credited with remodeling the Federalist Society into the powerhouse lawfare group it’s immediately with greater than 70,000 members. In the meantime, Leo has additionally been thought-about one of many foremost influences on former President Trump’s Supreme Courtroom nominations. Previous to Trump’s choice of Federalist Society-backed Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, Leo drew up an inventory of potential judges that Trump launched throughout his 2016 marketing campaign.
LEONARD LEO WARNS BIDEN-HARRIS EFFORTS TO RADICALLY OVERHAUL SUPREME COURT COULD ‘BACKFIRE’
From left: Supreme Courtroom Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson attend a personal ceremony for late Supreme Courtroom Justice Sandra Day O’Connor within the Nice Corridor on the Supreme Courtroom in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 18, 2023. (Jacquelyn Martin-Pool/Getty Photographs)
After Trump was elected, Leo stepped away from his day by day duties with the Federalist Society, however remained its co-chair. In the meantime, in 2022, Leo’s Marble Freedom Belief obtained a $1.6 billion reward from American businessman and GOP donor Barre Seid. Leo nonetheless has roughly $1 billion left to spend, the Financial Times reported this week after analyzing public monetary disclosures. A consultant for Leo declined to share what number of whole NGOs obtain monetary help from the 85 Fund.
“[W]e have to do extra with much less, specializing in leveraging the conservative motion’s expertise to have affect, if we need to achieve success.”
“Count on us to extend help for organizations that decision out firms and monetary establishments that bend to the woke thoughts virus unfold by regulators and NGOs, in order that they must pay a value for placing excessive left-wing ideology forward of shoppers,” Leo mentioned throughout a uncommon interview he granted to the Monetary Instances.
Leo instructed the outlet that his Marble Freedom Belief has been more and more targeted on going after “woke” banks and China-friendly entities throughout a variety of sectors, akin to meals manufacturing and synthetic intelligence. Leo additionally indicated he plans to put money into native media within the U.S. over the subsequent 12 months.
Protesters show an indication to protest conservative billionaire philanthropist Leonard Leo.
The decision from Leo for his teams to “operationalize” and “weaponize” their concepts has been met with anger from liberal critics.
“Leonard Leo’s brazen name to ‘weaponize’ the conservative motion additional exposes his technique of utilizing his darkish cash community to pressure his right-wing agenda on on a regular basis People and stack the deck in favor of the highly effective few,” said Carolina Ciccone, president of NGO watchdog Accountable.US. “Let’s be very clear: This is not nearly shaping conservative thought — it’s about weaponizing the very establishments which can be set as much as defend the rights of on a regular basis People to serve the pursuits of right-wing particular pursuits.”
Jay Willis, former GQ author and present editor-in-chief of progressive commentary web site Balls & Strikes, accused Leo of attempting to rebrand “as an Elon Musk-style tradition warrior who rants concerning the ‘woke thoughts virus.’”
