Dave Johnson uncovers something extremely disturbing about Tim Roemer:The Mercatus Center, for example, at George Mason University describes itself as promoting the

"use of market-based tools and analysis to discover workable solutions to pressing economic problems."

And just look at who is funding them, as well as the amounts! (Click here, and see the reports linked at the end of this post, for some background on who these funders are and what they stand for. Carthage Foundation is a Richard Mellon Scaife (more here) foundation, for example.)

As I wrote above, before this update, Tim Roemer is "a distinguished scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University." Roemer's bio at Mercatus also states:

"Roemer is a key spokesperson for the Mercatus Center's Capitol Hill Campus outreach and education program, which seeks to improve public policy outcomes by teaching economics and policy analysis to congressional staff."

Scaife is known in conservative circles as one of the "Four Sisters." Along with a handful of other uber-rich donors, his funding serves as the backbone to the "think tank" branch of the Republican Noise Machine. He has personally donated over $340 million to conservative causes. Adjusted for inflation, that total rises to over $620 million. And Tim Roemer is one of the people he is funding.

It gets worse:

Dear Fellow Democrats,

I would like to encourage you to join me in Philadelphia on February 4th and 5th, 2005 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel for the 2005 Chief of Staff Retreat. This Retreat is probably the best opportunity of the year for gathering with other senior-level congressional staff both from our party but also with our colleagues across the aisle.

The Retreat is hosted by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. I have been affiliated with this organization for the past two years in an effort to promote sound economic thinking that leads to a more prosperous and fiscally responsible America. The Mercatus Center is a non-profit and non-partisan group that seeks to educate congressional staff about markets, global prosperity for the poor and economics as they relate to the issues you are working on in your congressional or committee office.

This year's program is highly relevant to the issues facing the 109th Congress. We will discuss topics ranging from drug reimportation to Social Security, tax and pension reform, to understanding learning disparities between black and white children. I will be there to discuss national security and intelligence reforms. While we have made important progress in modernizing our intelligence system, there are several important issues confronting congress.

At a time of partisan divide, this is an opportunity to share thoughts and ideas. Any time that you can get away from the Hill to view issues from different angles, you should do it. I look forward to seeing you there.

If you are interested in learning more, or registering, please click here:

http://www.mercatus.org/capitolhillcampus/article.php/933.htm

Best regards,

Tim Roemer

That's right--Roemer is actively encouraging Democratic congressional chiefs of staff to drop their partisan attitudes and come to a swanky retreat in Philadelphia hosted by a foundation supported by the ultimate right-wing donor to learn about, among other things, market-based solutions to Social Security. Dave Johnson asks:Here are some things that this humble blogger would like to know. What will be going on at this "retreat?" What kind of "sound economic thinking" is a right-wing-funded organization going to be promoting at the retreat? What sort of "Social Security, tax and pension reform" is a right-wing-funded organization going to be promoting to Democratic Chiefs of Staff? Who is funding this retreat (and why?)? And, most important to me, what is a candidate for head of the Democratic Party doing working for this crowd? Anyone interested in the race to become head of the Democratic National Committee deserves answers to these questions, and a full explanation. While we are trying to save Social Security, Tim Roemer is actively working to destroy it on behalf of the Republican Noise Machine. I will be personally organizing a protest against this retreat starting later today. I will not allow people to get away with this shit when it happens in my party, especially when it happens in my city.