Pseudo.com: Mark Zuckerberg is mounting a Koch Bros.-like effort to influence American politics in the direction of immigration amnesty–he’s apparently funding “Americans for a Conservative Direction,” an ersatz insta-group of Beltway parasites veteran Republican operatives who support the amnesty project. One of the two ads financed by the group is running in South Carolina. It’s in effect a campaign ad for Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, praising him for attacking Obamacare and Obama’s “seedy, Chicago style politics.”
Is Zuckerberg anti-Obama?** Almost certainly not. He hosted a town hall with the President, for example. The ad is pure Beltway bad faith, a triple bank shot disingenuously attacking Obama in order to boost Graham to give him room to support Obama’s immigration amnesty project (which would financially benefit Zuckerberg’s firm by allowing him to import more inexpensive tech workers). Yecch.
P.S.: Ben Smith points out, the Koch Bros. may have been secretive, but have they ever “started competing liberal and conservative groups”?
P.P.S.: Is this a big win for the amnesty project, or a big win for Beltway’s consultant class, which has finally found a way to sluice into Zuckerberg’s Facebook billions? I tend to favor the latter interpretation. I doubt the ad buy in “seven-figures” across multiple states will move the needle much among voters. But “the former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee who serves as the campaign manager” for Zuckerberg’s effort will get his mortgage paid.
Beltway, FTW!
[Via Erick Erickson at Red State, who had the same reaction I did.]
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** –Does Zuckerberg support the Keystone pipeline, which the Graham ad also boosts? If so, maybe I’ve buried the lede-that would be a coup for pipeline supporters. A lot of environmentalists in Silicon Valley might disagree with Zuckerberg on that one.
