InfluenceWatch Podcast

In theory, the case is a simple question: Must fishing rig owners pay the government for the mandatory government inspectors who attend those rigs? But in deciding that question, the Supreme Court must consider a more complicated one: How much “deference” do the courts owe to federal regulatory agencies’ interpretations of the law? The prevailing rules, known as Chevron deference after a Supreme Court case involving the oil company, demand wide deference to agencies, but that is now being questioned in a case before the Supreme Court which might reverse or constrain Chevron deference. Joining us to discuss this is Paige Gilliard, an attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation.Links: 7 Takeaways From Arguments In The SCOTUS Case That Could Slay The Administrative StateThe Separation of Powers: {Explained}Three Chevron Deference nightmares: What happens when courts defer to federal agenciesFollow us on our Socials:Twitter: @capitalresearchInstagram: @capitalresearchcenterFacebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenterYouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

The podcast discusses CAIR's leader praising Hamas attacks. They explore the distinction between Islam and Islamism, the ties between CAIR and Islamism, the Biden administration's response to Islamist hostility towards Israel, and the rise of victimhood mentality. They also discuss the challenges facing the Muslim American community in addressing extremism.

It is the final week of 2023, a time when many will reflect on the year rapidly passing by. Joining me to reflect on the past year in Big Philanthropy and its influence in public policy are two of my senior colleagues: Capital Research Center president Scott Walter and CRC Center for Strategic Giving director Mike Hartmann.Links:https://capitalresearch.org/article/best-of-2023-how-charities-secretly-help-win-elections/https://capitalresearch.org/article/best-of-2023-everybody-votes-campaign-masquerading-as-a-charity-to-register-democrat-voters/https://capitalresearch.org/article/a-mandate-for-labor-error-part-3/https://thegivingreview.com/legislation-proposed-to-increase-taxes-on-large-university-endowments/https://capitalresearch.org/article/influencewatch-podcast-292-surprised-by-campus-radicals-you-shouldnt-be/https://capitalresearch.org/article/paying-for-hate-on-college-campuses/https://capitalresearch.org/article/my-problem-with-effective-altruism/

In the wake of the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 and Israel’s military response, America’s higher education institutions have been riven by radical pro-Palestinian demonstrations and a donor revolt against administrations that seem to be indifferent to antisemitism. To give some background on the strife in higher education and how we got to the point where Ivy League presidents could not explicitly condemn calls for genocide before Congress, the Manhattan Institute’s Heather Mac Donald joins us.Links: When Race Trumps Merit How the Pursuit of Equity Sacrifices Excellence, Destroys Beauty, and Threatens LivesDEI Drives Campus AntisemitismIt’s Time for Congress to Open Harvard’s BooksFeatured Video: Affirmative Action Hurts Those It’s Intended To HelpFollow us on our Socials:Twitter: @capitalresearchInstagram: @capitalresearchcenterFacebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenterYouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

As some follow the siren song of statism promoted by activist groups funded by liberal foundations and push for stronger and more coercive labor unions, the National Right to Work Foundation stands athwart, defending the right of all workers to choose whether union representation is right for them or not. Joining us to discuss the state of Big Labor and the right, as well as other labor-related issues is National Right to Work Foundation vice president Patrick Semmens.Links: NLRB Rules Union Officials Violated Federal Law by Forcing Nonmember Workers to Pay for Union Lobbying ActivitiesU.S. House Holds Hearing Today on Landmark Worker Freedom BillA Mandate for Labor Error: Big Labor RadicalizesIn Defense of Taft-Hartley: The Taft-Hartley ConsensusThe Myth of the “Nonpolitical” Labor UnionFollow us on our Socials:Twitter: @capitalresearchInstagram: @capitalresearchcenterFacebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenterYouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

Are prominent environmentalist groups working on behalf of foreign powers—and wouldn’t that mean they have to declare it under the Foreign Agents Registration Act? That is the question that Senator Ted Cruz (Republican of Texas) and Representative James Comer (Republican of Kentucky and chairman of the House Oversight Committee) are asking in light of some groups’ penchant for criticizing the United States while going easy on the People’s Republic of China. Joining me to discuss these concerns are my colleague Sarah Lee and Kevin Mooney, who wrote about Cruz and Comer’s questioning for the Daily Signal.Links: EXCLUSIVE: Ted Cruz Wants Answers on Left-Wing Actors Who May Violate Foreign Agent Registration ActNatural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)Follow us on our Socials:Twitter: @capitalresearchInstagram: @capitalresearchcenterFacebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenterYouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

Since 2018, Big Philanthropy has offered great praise for one particular politician without an office to hold: Stacey Abrams, the Georgia Democrat who claimed her 2018 loss in an election for governor was marred by improprieties. Her claims of supposed “voter suppression” brought millions from liberal foundations and mega-donors into the nonprofit voter registration group she founded, New Georgia Project, and directorships at prominent left-wing groups like the Center for American Progress and Marguerite Casey Foundation. But now Politico, the trade newspaper for D.C. political types, has released a long expose on poor management and financial practices at New Georgia Project when it was flush with cash following Abrams’s loss. Joining me to discuss these developments are my colleagues Parker Thayer and Sarah Lee.Links:Voting group founded by Abrams, once led by Warnock, faces financial scrutinyThe New Georgia ProblemREPORT: How Charities Secretly Help Win ElectionsInfluenceWatch: Stacey AbramsInfluenceWatch: New Georgia ProjectGeorge Soros’ Open Society Nixes $67 Million Proposal from National Latino Groups Leaving 2024 Funding Uncertain (Exclusive)Follow us on our Socials:Twitter: @capitalresearchInstagram: @capitalresearchcenterFacebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenterYouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

Scott Walter, an expert in liberal journalism, joins the podcast to discuss the ‘Press Forward’ initiative by the MacArthur Foundation, aiming to align local news with a left-wing agenda. The discussion explores the challenges of permanent foundations, the power of leftist billionaires, funding liberal journalism and smearing Supreme Court justices, and the left's struggle to find an audience in America.

Since the horrific Hamas terrorist massacres in southern Israel in early October, American observers have been horrified by something that really should not be happening: Mass marches of left-wing students expressing solidarity with the “Palestinian cause,” if not the Hamas regime that perpetrated the attacks itself. But a close analysis of the ideological currents in academia should have warned us that something like what we have seen on campus would, in fact, come to pass. Joining me to discuss these developments are my colleague Sarah Lee and Jay P. Greene of the Heritage Foundation.Links: No One Should Be Surprised By The Depraved Radicalism On College CampusesFormer Campus Radicals Now Teach Your ChildrenHamas’s American Allies: Far-Left SupportersWhy Are Some Social Justice Unionists Backing the Palestinians?Paying for Hate on College CampusesFollow us on our Socials:Twitter: @capitalresearchInstagram: @capitalresearchcenterFacebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenterYouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

Guest Robert Stilson discusses the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and their radical agenda, exploring their evolution, influence in academia, and affinity for authoritarian regimes. The podcast covers the growth of the DSA through supporting Bernie Sanders and the impact of Trump's and Ocasio-Cortez's elections. It also highlights the DSA's focus on defunding the police and their anti-Israel stance.