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National Cancer Institute funds study calling Tea Party tobacco-funded AstroTurf
Washington Free Beacon
Critics of a new study on the Tea Party movement that was funded by a federal agency are lashing out at what they see as improper taxpayer funding for academic work with an overtly political message.
The study in question purports to show that the Tea Party movement was created by and works to advance the interests of the tobacco industry.
Its critics have rejected the study’s findings and expressed particular concern that taxpayer funds were used to support “politically motivated attacks,” in the words of one Tea Party-aligned congressman.
The study, conducted by three academics at the University of California San Francisco’s Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, claims that the Tea Party was actually created in the 1990s by conservative groups fighting anti-tobacco policies with money they had received from tobacco companies.
“Rather than being purely a grassroots movement, the Tea Party has been influenced by decades of astroturfing by tobacco and other corporate interests to develop a grassroots network to support their corporate agendas, even though their members may not support those agendas,” the study states.
The study says it “was funded by [two] National Cancer Institute grants.” The NCI is a division of the National Institutes of Health, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Tea party sympathizer or not, liberal or conservative, every taxpayer should be outraged that their money is used to editorialize on the politics of the day,” Rep. Tim Huelskamp, (R., Kan.), a member of the House Tea Party caucus, said in a statement to the Washington Free Beacon.
“Instead of spending money to research cancer—as the National Cancer Institute is supposed to do—they are engaged in politically-motivated attacks on Americans engaged in the political process,” Huelskamp added
MORE http://freebeacon.com/critics-slam-taxpayer-funded-political-attack/
Dr. Tar
February 16th, 2013
Boy the corruption sure runs deep. The Dems are cheating yet again using a respected institution with public money to advance their political agenda.
Any government institute so corrupted should be shut down immediately.
Tim
February 16th, 2013
National Cancer Institute, just like the parent organizations have ALWAYS had a socialist agenda.
HHS should never have been made – it’s a spinoff of the old HEW.
Claudia
February 16th, 2013
Whaaaa???
I’ve seen guys pull rabbits out of hats, but whose butt did this come from?
Milwaukee Mike
February 16th, 2013
It was the stinking democrats that promoted the whole “Smokes for Votes” campaigns.
Maudie N Mandeville
February 16th, 2013
‘In 1971, the “War on Cancer” was launched by the US government to cure cancer by the 200-year anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, July 1976.’
What else do you need to know? And, oh by the way, thanks for the hundreds of billions of donations. It’s been nice. Really nice.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2794506/
Maudie N Mandeville
February 16th, 2013
Why am I sweating watching the clock count down my edit time?
Jerry Manderin
February 16th, 2013
Bowel cancer on their house!
PAvolley
February 16th, 2013
oooooh, big bad evil tobacco industry. Let’s all bash tobacco & TEA party cause the Lib’s created a connection between them. But don’t look over their shoulder at the push for little cool organic POT industry they’re trying to legalize. Let’s start calling them the POT party! How’s that work, identify, freeze, demoralize…
sablegsd
February 16th, 2013
The solution to these problems involves brick walls and blindfolds.