Democratic Party Civil War Coming?

8/31/17 New Republic (which is sort of the more responsible wing of the hard left):

Open Markets, a division at the public policy think tank the New America Foundation, had been an intellectual force in progressive circles in recent years, leading to a heightened awareness of the damaging effects that monopolization is having on both consumers and businesses. Its work focused on everything from hyper-consolidation in the airline industry to a growing concentration of book publishers, but where it really stirred things up was by targeting America’s giant tech companies, particularly Amazon, Facebook, and Alphabet (the umbrella company for Google). Now, Google has apparently struck back, revealing a growing divide between progressives and an industry that has long claimed a home in the Democratic Party.

On Wednesday, The New York Times’s Ken Vogel reported that New America had parted ways with Open Markets following complaints from Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Alphabet, a major New America donor. (Schmidt has also made personal donations to New America, and was its chairman until 2016.) In an email reviewed by the Times, Anne-Marie Slaughter, who leads New America, informed Barry Lynn, the head of Open Markets, that “the time has come for Open Markets and New America to part ways.” Slaughter told Lynn that the decision was “in no way based on the content of your work,” but that Lynn was “imperiling the institution as a whole.” In a statement released after the Times published its story, Slaughter said Lynn has been let go for insubordination—for failing “to adhere to New America’s standards of openness and institutional collegiality.”

What did they do?

But it appears the nail in the coffin was when Open Markets praised the $2.7 billion antitrust fine the European Union levied against Alphabet in June. The statement was briefly taken down from New America’s website, and “word of Mr. Schmidt’s displeasure rippled through New America,” according to the Times. The Times reports that Slaughter also objected to a 2016 Open Markets conference on consolidation in the tech sector, telling Lynn that it could hurt New America’s relationship with Google: “We are in the process of trying to expand our relationship with Google on some absolutely key points ... just THINK about how you are imperiling funding for others.”

Interesting.  Even libertarians regard monopoly as a bad thing (too much like government), but usually point to the part that governments play in encouraging or creating monopolies--and Alphabet-Google is among the many examples.

Several years ago, World Vision, an evangelical worldwide poverty relief organization responded to pressure from these SJWs on their board by giving benefits to their gay employees.  World Vision claimed that they had spent several years "prayerfully" considering this change.  The overwhelming response from donors like my wife and me caused a dramatic about face--and Google's SJW left the board, presumably taking vast amounts of donations with her.