Mike Benz spotlights Media Matters' evolution as a DNC front group hellbent on killing free speech

Mike Benz spotlights Media Matters' evolution from a DNC front group targeting and silencing conservative media figures to its current efforts against Elon Musk,
X, and free speech on the internet.

Initially, the organization operated as a tool to undermine analog TV-era conservative voices, such as @glennbeck and @BillOReilly, using tactics like advertiser boycotts and economic pressure.

After the 2016 election, David Brock, the founder, recognized the significance of social media in shaping political narratives.

Brock's assessment led to the conclusion that Trump's popularity was largely an internet-driven phenomenon. In response, he launched initiatives to artificially boost Clinton's social media presence, realizing the power of online influence.

He ran "Correct the Record," a Super PAC supporting Hillary Clinton, which aimed to counter the online influence driving Trump's success.

Following Clinton's defeat, Brock published a 49-page memo in 2017 outlining a strategy to bring economic coercion and de-platforming tactics into the digital age. The goal was to dismantle the institutional capacities of opposition media and stifle their messages by targeting their funding sources.

This plan was developed at a summit in Florida in January 2017, with the involvement of around 120 major political backers, not limited to Democrats.

Brock, initially a Republican, represents a broader coalition of political interests united against populism, both in the U.S. and globally.

Mike Benz uses the Yankee-Cowboy Alliance concept that explains the economic and political collaboration between two historically opposed factions in American politics.

The "Yankees" represent the traditional Northeast Corridor power base, associated with Democrats and old money, including finance and transatlantic connections.

On the other hand, the "Cowboys" are primarily Republicans, centered around Houston, Texas, and historically California. The Cowboy faction merges energy and military industries, symbolizing the Republican stronghold.

Historically, these factions were in tension, with differences in ideology, taxes, and corporate interests. However, they found common ground in the face of a common enemy: populism.

The alliance solidified when both the Bush dynasty (representing the Cowboys) and the Clinton dynasty (representing the Yankees) were defeated by Trump in the 2016 election.

This unexpected outcome led these once-opposed power bases to unite against the perceived threat of domestic populism in the U.S. embodied by the Trump movement.

In reality, Trump supporters and populists are mostly working-class individuals opposed to a corrupt elite who had subjected them to decades of endless wars, trade agreements that eroded the U.S. manufacturing sector, and levels of wealth inequality not seen since the 1930s.

Media Matters exploits its network, using advertiser connections with corporations reliant on government or DNC support to organize ad shakedowns, suppressing these populist voices and undermining free speech on the internet.

@MikeBenzCyber