Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Think Tank Quickies (#260)

  • Former VP Joe Biden forgoes think tanks but will lead two academic centers at universities.
  • Are think tanks at risk of self-censoring in the new Trump era?
  • Working to take over the Republican Party and remake it as pro-worker, "perhaps as a BuzzFeed-style think tank that distills policy into memes and makes them go viral."
  • Steven Teles, Associate Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, is joining the Niskanen Center (libertarian think tank), as a Senior Fellow.  (He'll remain at Hopkins, too.)
  • Trump supporter and conservative think tank funder Rebekah Mercer funds Trump campaign data science firm Cambridge Analytica (parent is SCL Group); also funds Breitbart News Network.
  • Trump travel "ban" hurting recruitment at think tanks? 
  • Koch network, a huge funder of conservative/libertarian think tanks, plans to spend $400 million on policy and political campaigns in the next two years.
  • How Bach figures into free enterprise at American Enterprise Institute (AEI).  [Some tidbits: AEI did a $100 million renovation, has 220 employees, and gets brings in nearly $50 million/year - relying on a core of about 1,600 donors who contribute an average of about $35,000/year.]
  • 72-page study by bipartisan group of think tankers (including those from CFR, CAP, Brookings, Wilson Center, and CEIP) urges better ties with China.
  • Atlantic Council president Fred Kempe attends 75th birthday party of think tank donor Adrienne Arsht.