Hyatt Hotel Money Funds War on Free Speech

[Geee]

American Spectator:

It's war.

And no less than the Hyatt Hotel chain is funding the War on Free Speech.

Hyatt Hotels? Really?

Yes. Really.

Specifically through the Hyatt money given to Linda Pritzker, a Hyatt heiress whose billionaire fortune comes from ownership of Hyatt stock. Ms. Pritzker is well-known as a left-wing activist and, but of course, a supporter of President Obama. Nothing new there.

What's changed is that Pritzker's Hyatt fortune -- and the fortunes of others that come from some of America's most prominent commercial ventures -- is now being used to fuel a rapidly escalating War on Free Speech. A war with one target: conservatives.

The latest target, as we have documented, was Rush Limbaugh. After a furious assault -- long on the leftist action shelf years before Rush uttered the words "Sandra Fluke" -- the attack not only failed dismally, it backfired. Rush's audience increased between 10%-60%. While his left-wing antagonists at Media Matters, MoveOn.org, and elsewhere in the web of extremist hate groups were busy confecting "lost sponsors" -- 50…100…gasp…150!... -- in fact Rush lost a total of 4 -- 4! -- actual sponsors of his show. And he has sponsors lining up to replace them.

But the game changer here is that the left is no longer content to simply use its own free speech rights to make its case. Now there is an active, intensifying campaign to go after companies that advertise in politically incorrect venues (like The Rush Limbaugh Show) -- or have in any way contributed to any person or group whose activities displease.

As we have noted before, the targets have included Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck, Pat Buchanan and in the last month, Rush Limbaugh. With, as noted here, Sean Hannity and Fox contributor and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on the list.

The other week we profiled how this game was being played with business executive Mark Stevens. Stevens' business -- and Stevens himself -- was abruptly inundated with threatening calls and e-mails demanding he remove his company's advertising from Rush's show as broadcast in the New York area -- or else. An incensed and decidedly heroic Stevens not only doubled down on his advertising as a result, he went on Fox News to directly take on the thugs -- saying in part that what was happening to him was part of a "Battle for America."

Stevens is right -- this is a Battle for America.