AlterNet: Cruz Courts ‘Pro-Israel Extremists,’ But Radical Liberal Donors No Problem

December 2nd, 2014 4:40 PM

Liberal politicians often get a free pass from the media when they receive millions in support from billionaire activists like Tom Steyer. But when Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, associates with pro-Israel donors and activists, liberal bloggers call this a "political nightmare."

AlterNet criticized Cruz in an article December 1 for being overly pro-Israel. Cruz was reportedly "courting" conservative billionaire Sheldon Adelson and "a wide set of pro-Israel extremists in New York City."

According to the article, these supposed "extremists" included "Home Depot founder Bernard Marcus, Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, U.S. News and World Report publisher Mort Zuckerman, Pastor John Hagee, celebrity lawyer Alan Dershowitz, and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) confidante rabbi Shmuley Boteach."

Apparently religious leaders, entrepreneurs, and Holocaust survivors make AlterNet more nervous than liberal mega-donor and "climate change crusader" Tom Steyer. The New York Times even called Steyer "the most influential environmentalist in American politics," while The Washington Post classified him as a "climate change radical."

In the 2014 midterm elections, Steyer spent an incredible $74 million trying to get candidates elected who agreed with his extreme environmental agenda. Steyer’s contributions made him the single largest contributor during last year’s election cycle. Yet ABC, CBS and NBC only ran one story on Steyer’s political contributions between September 2011 and the midterm election.

In addition to AlterNet, other media outlets also mentioned the alleged relationship between Adelson and Cruz within the last month, including CBS News on November 25 and NBC News on November 13. Liberal blogs that mentioned the story included Slate Magazine on November 28, Vox on November 26, and The Huffington Post on November 25.