A group of deep-pocketed progressive millionaires seeks to "fundamentally reset" America's ideology and economy and "expose the dogma of free enterprise, limited government, and traditional family values," according to a brochure obtained by the Washington Free Beacon at a secretive progressive dark money donor conference.
The group, called Patriotic Millionaires, is a Washington, D.C.-based organization that consists of wealthy liberals with an income of at least $1 million. The organization initially formed in 2010 to "demand an end to Bush tax cuts for millionaires" and has launched a recent campaign against the Republican tax cut plan.
Patriotic Millionaires's newest organizational overview, which is not the same brochure that is currently available on its website, was obtained by the Free Beacon at the Democracy Alliance's fall investment conference held last week at the swanky La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, Calif. Each Democracy Alliance member vows to steer hundreds of thousands in funding to approved left-wing organizations the group supports.
The group is led by Morris Pearl, a former managing director at BlackRock, one of the world's largest investment firms, and identifies its core values as pushing for "equal political representation," a "livable minimum wage," and a "fair tax system" that rejects free enterprise, limited government, and traditional family values.
"We hope to facilitate a wholesale rejection of modern conservatism, exposing the dogma of 'free enterprise, limited government, and traditional family values' for what it truly is: a thin veil concealing rapacious capitalism, social Darwinism, and a profound misunderstanding of—and disinterest in—the human condition," the group writes in its brochure.
Patriotic Millionaires—Organizational Overview by Washington Free Beacon on Scribd
Race, immigration, reproductive freedom, social equality, mass incarceration, and global climate change are labeled as the group's most pressing issues, suggesting they can be dealt with if "a political economy capable of meeting the basic needs of our citizens" is established. The group hopes to establish these tenets as the dominant political system in the United States by 2026, when America celebrates its 250th birthday, its brochure states.
"In a political system that has become more an oligarchy than a democracy, our power lies in being seen as members of the 'elite' class arguing against our perceived self-interest," the brochure reads. "The truth, however, is that values we support will make the country more stable and more prosperous for all its citizens, including rich ones."
The wealthy progressive activists say that the country is facing an "unstable president, a volatile political climate, and an almost wholesale capture of government" by moneyed interests, and wants to capitalize by leveraging their position to promote a "powerful new governing framework" in public debate and "fundamentally reset" America's ideology and economy.
"The 2016 election sparked a profound awakening, creating a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fundamentally reset America's ideological course and its political economy," they write. "Voters are rejecting the wholesale capture of government that began 50 years ago, and they are demanding their elected officials focus on the fundamental issues of power and money that have always been at the heart of the Patriotic Millionaire's work."
Patriotic Millionaires writes this is "once in a lifetime opportunity" to relentlessly push for a "new American paradigm around two things that matter the most in a capitalistic democracy: Power and money."
The organization also boasts of its issues on the national, state, and local level, ranging from the minimum wage to tax policy. Patriotic Millionaires joined former President Barack Obama at the White House for his 2012 Tax Day address and his 2014 signing of an Executive Order raising the wages of federal contract employees.
In order to become a member of the group, an individual must have an income of more than $1 million and/or assets of more than $5 million, which can include funds in family foundations, and can choose to have their names public or private.
The organization's members operate through education, which includes providing perspective and analysis to journalists and members of the media; advocacy, such as testifying in front of lawmakers on the national, state, and local levels; and funding, with each member providing annual donations to support their education and advocacy work.
The group boasts of generating hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of media attention and has appeared on national television programs. Most recently, the organization has popped up in outlets such as the Atlantic, Vox, Huffington Post, Newsweek, and others, pushing back against the Republican tax cut plan.
Patriotic Millionaires did not return a request for comment on its operations or what kind of American ideology and economy they would like to see instead of one that supports "free enterprise, limited government, and traditional family values."