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Behind David Horowitz’s Crusade to Defund Progressives
New York, New York: Comparing today’s Busheviks to yesterday’s Bolsheviks started out as a joke that began to take on an appearance of truth. Many of the most strident neo-con ideologues and others shaping the ideology of the Bush crusade were one time leftists turned rightists. They found a new God when their old ones failed—and brought the authoritarianism, certainty of conviction and righteous fervor once associated with Marxism to their own often self-serving Marketism.
Many members of the Administration made the long march from left to right. Today’s World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz first marched on Washington with Dr. King in 1963 to change the world, only to end up orchestrating the march on Baghdad in 2003. Eliot Abrams ran with SDS at Harvard before enlisting as a patron of the contras in Nicaragua and running Middle East Policy at the State Department Today. The list of converts to conservatism is long, predictable and depressing.
But no one in government has the chutzpah and cantankerousness of former Ramparts editor and New Left booster David Horowitz, who slid from one side of the spectrum to the other with an entrepreneurial energy and zeal matched by few. He has turned his conversion into a crusade, then a business and now a brand. His publications have gone from skeptical heterodoxy to his own orthodoxy. He formed “research” Centers that once aimed at countering counter-cultures, promoting a conservative world view and taking refuge in his own cult of personality. His work increasingly became self referential with memoirs that make him sound like the martyr of Freedom.
Scott Sherman wrote in The Nation: “By 1989 Horowitz was comparing himself to Gifford Maxim, the Whittaker Chambers character in Lionel Trilling’s novel The Middle of the Journey, an ex-Communist who confronted the radical tendencies of his time ‘with what he knew, from his experience, of the reality which lay behind the luminous words of the great promise.’” Horowitz had arrived at the final destination of his journey.
His latest ploy has been to come front and center, naming his latest incarnation after himself. May be all genuflect to the The David Horowitz Freedom Center! The name testifies to his ambitions—or is it pretensions? The anti-Stalinist has adopted one hallmark of Stalinism, the great leader syndrome.
When he is not busy advising Republicans, or trying to cleanse campuses of the Red and the radical, he is quietly assisting the Administration in its defunding of terrorists strategy. As a one time investigative reporter, Horowitz, like the rest of us, “followed the money.” He now follows other people’s money while busily gobbling up as much of it as he can.
(Disclosure: I once worked with the “former” David at Ramparts Magazine in the 60’s and early 70’s. When I first met him in London he was an acolyte of Trotsky historian Isaac Deutscher whose main subject—the ex-Bolshevik taking on the Bosheviks—has been his role model ever since. At that time he worked for the Bertand Russell War Crimes Tribunal. Today, he would have been tried before it as a penultimate Bushevik. We have tangled occasionally ever since with him at one point attempting, but failing, to suppress the South Africa Now TV series I founded because of its favorable coverage of Mandela who he deemed “the Marxist.” He repeatedly insists he saw me wearing a T-shirt backing Pol Pot. I think he was smoking too much pot.)
For over a quarter of century this former Berkley radical has worked tirelessly, if always self-promotionally to purge the left which in an earlier life rejected his theories and willingness to become its theoretician, savior and messiah. From trying to revive the credibility of the Black Panthers after most activists abandoned them, to offering a manifesto for a new socialist movement that no one took seriously, he moved steadily rightwards where his recantation was welcomed the way fundamentalist churches encourage the redemption of sinners.
What a romance with Trotsky began ended in an embrace of Reagan. At that point, then dollars started dropping into his many ventures, $15 or more million of them. As he found, there’s more gold in them thar hills than Beverly Hills.
“In 2004, Horowitz launched Discover the Networks, a conservative watchdog project that monitors funding for, and various ties among, individuals and organizations of the left. Part of the motivation for Discover the Networks is Horowitz’s view that leftist individuals and groups support, whether consciously or not, Islamic terrorism, and thus require ongoing scrutiny. This theme is explored in Horowitz’s 2004 book, Unholy Alliance.
It aims to “expose” and undermine “the individuals and organizations that make up the left and also the institutions that fund and sustain it.” The project also seeks to “define the left’s…programmatic agendas,” which it contends are often concealed. The project’s contributors contend that the political left in the United States commonly applies a “deceptive public presentation” of itself that conceals a network of affiliations and shared political views with “radical agendas”. It views these as communist, socialist, environmentalist, “anti-capitalist”, and “anti-American” causes. Discover the Network is associated with the Center for the Study of Popular Culture and FrontPageMag.com, which have received numerous grants from right-wing foundations.”
Their latest target are organizations and foundations that support peace movements. The charge: they are covertly supporting terrorism. A one-time promising intellectual had now joined the forces he had once feared and despised. He’s retrofitted himself for a new role. A one-time provocateur for the left now plays that same role on the right and is being paid well to do so.
When once he was baited for his unpopular stances, he now baits others.
I watched him recently on CSPAN debate the polemical Native American radical Ward Churchill. What struck me about him was his shiny new suit and pathetic attempt to deny any censorious intent, cloaking his arguments with a reasonableness they did not merit. He seems to love attention more than anything. It was a performance piece, not a serious discussion. One blog noted: “Churchill and Horowitz both belong in the Shameless Self Promoters Hall of Fame.”
In many ways, his binary–with us or against us–Bushian worldview has won converts in the once liberal intelligentsia, as Tony Judt observes: “They may see themselves as having migrated to the opposite shore; but they display precisely the same mixture of dogmatic faith and cultural provincialism, not to mention the exuberant enthusiasm for violent political transformation at other people’s expense, that marked their fellow-travelling predecessors across the Cold War ideological divide.”
The real problem is that in this climate of fear, many progressive funders, when under attack, may just back away from controversy or cancel support for new foreign policy initiatives because they don’t want to be dragged into the mud or targeted by the annoyingly persistent righteous renegades of the right.
As a word, Horowitz is going from a noun to a verb. To be Horowitzed is like getting that piece of gum on your shoe that you can never somehow scrape off. When he went after Bill Moyers some years back, Moyers felt he had to take out a full page magazine ad to refute his errors, and defend his honor and good works. Being Horowitzed is like having cat pee sprayed on a new couch. It leaves a stain and smell that never quite goes away. He delights in poking, prodding and delivering pain. He’s having fun and with a healthy budget to draw on. He has, taking a page from the Bolshie handbook and built a cadre organization of acolytes and admirers. He runs the cell as his delusional attitude hardens into cellulite.
The big question: will his targets prove tough enough to fight back or, to use another unfortunate phrase associated with his latest political hero, “stay the course?”
News Dissector Danny Schechter edits the global media issues network Mediachannel.org, makes films and writes books. Comments to dissector@mediachannel.org
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One Response to “Behind David Horowitz’s Crusade to Defund Progressives”
Posted on 27 Dec 2006 at 10:58 pm by Jay O'Callaghan
Speaking of the great American patriot, Whittaker Chambers,I am concerned that his historical farm is in danger of being destroyed by a Carroll County MD planner.
A good friend of mine sent me the following:
I wish you and your family many Christmas blessings.
I am sending this from my home email so that I can ask for your help in saving this important historical landmark that was the home of that great American, Whittaker Chambers. Also, please feel free to pass it on to whomever you think may help. I know you know of the famous struggle between the anti-Communist Whittaker Chambers and the ultimately proven Communist agent Alger Hiss and the pumpkin patch used by Chambers to hide the proof. This farm holds special significance to me and I hope to you as well. I think of this land as holy and patriotic land.
Please read the articles and editorial below regarding a Carroll County government plan to build a reservoir which will destroy Pipe Creek Farm, the former home of Whittaker Chambers.
I would be happy to provide more information if requested but the basic facts are these; 1) Pipe Creek Farm is the former home of Whittaker Chambers and the site of the famous pumpkin patch, 2) it was declared a National Historic Landmark by President Reagan and the National Park Service (one of only 2,000 Landmarks in the US), 3) Whittaker’s son John Chambers is preserving and farming the farm as a living memorial to his father and is working on setting up an educational center for people to study the written works of Whittaker Chambers, 4) John Chambers is fighting to stop this planned reservoir from destroying this national treasure - Pipe Creek Farm and he would appreciate any assistance he can get in this struggle.
What I am asking you to do is to contact the Carroll County Commissioners and urge them to stop this reservoir from destroying or harming this National Landmark.
The County has other options for sources of water such as well water and also there is a reservoir already built that is not being used for water that could be tapped. But development and growth issues are local issues and you and I do not live there (unless you do live in Carroll County) and it would not be right for us to be telling them what they should do. What I am hopeful people write about is how this farm is an American historic treasure and must be preserved. Here is a private person, (Chambers) who out of his own time and money is preserving a recognized piece of American history. The County should be trying to help him instead of trying to destroy this National Historic Landmark.
The second of the two articles seen below appears to be slanted against Whittaker Chambers family and their beloved Pipe Creek Farm and makes no mention of the National Historic Landmark status even though John Chambers raised it in his presentation.
The article reads “The commissioners opted to leave open the public record on the master plan for 30 days. Once all of the comments have been received and compiled, the commissioners will consider the plan and can make changes, Horn said.”
That means we have an opportunity to let Carroll County Commissioners know how important Pipe Creek Farm is to the whole Country and urge them not to harm it or destroy it. Please take a moment to write a positive letter in favor of saving Pipe Creek Farm to the Carroll County Commissioners.
Please write your comments about the planned Union Mills Reservoir before January 14, 2007. Written comments should be addressed to the Clerk to the Carroll County Board of Commissioners, County Office Building, 225 North Center Street, Westminster, MD 21157-5195. Questions concerning the draft Plan should be addressed to Jeanne S. Joiner, Carroll County Department of Planning, telephone (410) 386-2145; TT (410) 848-3017; email jjoiner@ccg.carr.org.
Please do your letter of support ASAP so the Carroll County Commissioners has it shortly after the beginning of the year. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Mauricio Tamargo
6448 Lake Meadow Drive
Burke, VA 22015
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From the Baltimore Sun
2 oppose putting farms in plan
Draft includes their land within area of proposed Union Mills reservoir
By Laura McCandlish
Sun Reporter
December 17, 2006
Two Westminster-area residents object to Carroll County’s decision to include their preserved farms within the boundaries for the proposed Union Mills reservoir, part of the 2006 county water and sewer master plan.
The draft plan stresses the need to acquire land for potential reservoirs at Gillis Falls and Union Mills — projects first envisioned in the 1970s — to meet future water demands in Westminster, South Carroll and the Hampstead/Manchester area.
“We’ve been talking about this ongoing need for water supply in the county, particularly in the Westminster area,” county Planning Director Steven C. Horn said in a public hearing on the plan last week. “Recent changes at the state Department of the Environment has really, hopefully, let us realize the benefits of this long-range planning.”
But the Union Mills plan conflicts with the goal of John Chambers, son of former Soviet spy Whittaker Chambers, who said he wants to save his family’s 300-acre farm off Bachmans Valley Road in Westminster and its 1860s-era farmhouse.
Chambers also questioned the county commissioners about the reservoir’s planned location along a polluted stretch of Big Pipe Creek and the John Owings landfill — a former dump that leaches chemicals.
“The quality of the water is not good: aquatic life has died out,” Chambers said during the public hearing. “It seems to be strange why you would go ahead and build it now.”
The water and sewer master plan is undergoing a revision that is required every three years. It has not been adopted.
Westminster, in particular, is grappling with a water deficit that has effectively shut down development. The city is negotiating ways to enhance its water supply with the state Department of the Environment.
A direct intake at Big Pipe Creek and an eventual reservoir at Union Mills are “projects we’ve got our eye on,” said Matthew B. Davis, Westminster’s manager of planning.
The county’s plan also focuses on the proposed emergency waterline connecting the Medford Quarry to Cranberry Reservoir in Westminster and a modernized water-treatment plant the city is scheduled to construct.
While most of Carroll’s municipalities build and operate their own water and sewer facilities, the commissioners are responsible for coordinating the overall planning for these systems throughout the county.
A Mount Airy resident on the town’s water commission joined Chambers and George Mulinix, his Saw Mill Road neighbor, at the public hearing. Mount Airy, which might expand restrictions for “large water users” that use more than 1,000 gallons per day, has submitted some minor revisions to the county plan.
“Given what Mount Airy went through, the county has realized it has to be clear in terms of where we are headed with water,” Rita Misra, the Mount Airy resident, said later. “Nobody wants to pay for these big projects in advance of need, but you can’t wait until you’re overdrawn.”
The county considers the Gillis Falls site key to meeting Mount Airy’s water needs. But some residents are still debating the merits of building a direct intake versus a large reservoir there.
The county has bought 95 percent of the land around Gillis Falls and owns two-thirds of the designated Union Mills property, Horn said.
After the public hearing, Commissioner Julia Walsh Gouge asked that the public have 30 days, 20 more than the standard 10-day period, to comment on the master plan.
Chambers and Mulinix said they hoped their conservation-district farms, which have joined the county’s agricultural preservation program, would be exemptfrom the Union Mills plan.
Chambers said such preserved land would prevent development from encroaching upon a future reservoir, a problem now faced by Piney Run Lake in South Carroll.
“We’ve taken the step to affirm that there’s no chance we’re going to build back in there,” Chambers told the commissioners.
The Whittaker Chambers farm has been designated a National Historic Landmark since 1988, John Chambers said.
There, Chambers’ father hid secret documents, purportedly stolen by accused spy Alger Hiss, in a hollowed-out pumpkin on the farm. They were known as the Pumpkin Papers.
“In my judgment, that says we are under some federal protection, to maintain it for historical purposes,” Chambers said.
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Friday December 15, 2006
Residents Oppose Reservoir Plan
By Marjorie Censer, Times Staff Writer
Two Westminster residents don’t want to give up their land that the county says would be needed as part of a buffer around a proposed Union Mills reservoir. John Chambers and George Mullinix, both Saw Mill Road East residents with hundreds of acres of agricultural property, appeared at Thursday’s public hearing on the draft Carroll County Master Plan for Water & Sewerage to urge the Carroll County Board of Commissioners to reconsider the reservoir plan.
The county has long anticipated building a reservoir at the Union Mills site, north of Westminster, said Steve Horn, the county’s planning director, and it already owns about two-thirds of the almost 2,200 acres needed. The draft master plan reiterates the county’s plan to build reservoirs at Union Mills and at Gillis Falls. The Union Mills reservoir itself would be about 325 acres, but the additional land around the reservoir would protect the water quality, Horn said. The reservoir is slated to be larger than the existing Piney Run and the planned Gillis Falls reservoirs, he said.
“We’ve identified this as basically the ultimate water supply for future growth and development in the northern part of the county,” Horn told the commissioners.
But Chambers said he wants to hold on to the roughly 300 acres he owns. He and Mullinix said their properties are in an agricultural preservation program and won’t ever be developed. “How much ground do you really need?” he asked the commissioners. Chambers said the county shouldn’t take land from long-term Carroll residents to provide for future residents. Neither Chambers nor Horn was able to estimate exactly how much of Chambers’ and Mullinix’s land would be affected by the proposed reservoir plan, but Horn said it would be a substantial portion. Chambers said it would be too much. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s a huge chunk,” he said. In an interview after the meeting, Horn said the county has in the past acquired land on the site as it became available. If the county sticks with the reservoir plans, it may have to work harder to buy the necessary land, he said. He said he’d hope the county could come to a resolution with Chambers and Mullinix.
“This is a project that is for the larger community, the general public’s benefit,” he said. The commissioners opted to leave open the public record on the master plan for 30 days. Once all of the comments have been received and compiled, the commissioners will consider the plan and can make changes, Horn said. The adopted version will be forwarded to the Maryland Department of the Environment, which has final authority over the plan, he said.
Reach staff writer Marjorie Censer at 410-857-7886 or censer@lcniofmd.com.
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Editorial for Monday, December 18, 2006
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Monday, December 18, 2006
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More talk needed on reservoir
Opposition by two residents to their land being used for a proposed reservoir opens a new concern that county leaders will have to weigh carefully as they move forward with their plans.
At a hearing on the county’s master plan for water and sewage last week, two residents said they didn’t want to give up their land for a proposed Union Mills reservoir.
That reservoir, along with a Gillis Falls reservoir, have been on the county’s long-range radar for decades. Changes at the state and federal levels over the years made the reservoirs a less attractive choice, but the tide seems to be shifting back toward such open sources to meet growing water needs in communities.
Over the years, the county already has been able to acquire about two-thirds of the necessary 2,200 acres. The reservoir itself will use only about 325 acres, but additional land needs to be protected around the reservoirs to protect the water quality.
One land owner questioned how the county could on one hand say preserving farmland was a priority, and on the other take away land already in agricultural preservation programs in order to supply water for development. Since the whole idea of having a buffer is to help ensure a good water source, the land surrounding the reservoir would still be protected, although if the area was actively farmed the question of runoff and water quality likely would arise.
Regardless of the reasons, the reluctance of the two land owners opens new issues that the county will have to consider, including the issue of eminent domain and whether the county would move to take the property over the landowners’ objections.
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