Billionaire funded anti-ACORN hoaxster

You want astroturfing? It doesn't get any more turfed than this.

Peter Thiel is a right-wing billionaire who helped found PayPal and has invested in numerous Internet startups. Thiel describes himself as "libertarian", but he's as much of a right-wing ideologue as the rest of the conservative brain trust.

Now it turns out that Thiel has been bankrolling James O'Keefe - the right-wing "filmmaker" who made the ACORN videos that have been debunked as a hoax.

O'Keefe's other projects have been funded by the Leadership Institute, a right-wing think tank.

This despite O'Keefe's claim that he's just some Joe Sixpack who pays for his projects out of his own pocket. So O'Keefe lied. Big surprise.

It's the same self-writing story that's been told for years: Whenever you see some "grassroots" conservative project, follow the money. You can bet your bottom dollar it's bankrolled by either a very wealthy investor, a right-wing think tank, or the Republican National Committee - if not all of the above.

(Source: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/politics/Facebook-Backer-Linked-to-ACORN-Sting-jw-60771702.html)