Axios Presented by Koch Industries is a news?site created by Politico's co-founders, which opened shop this year, having, it seems, pretty easily come up with $10 million to get going late last summer. According to a celebratory launch piece in Vanity Fair, Axios collected its pile of cash in a "round" led by Lerer Hippeau Ventures, which is described a main backer of Huffington Post and BuzzFeed.
So sheltered is my life I had not heard of either Lerer or Hippeau of said Ventures. Apparently, LHV was "founded by the incredibly liberal and politically minded Huffington Post crew" -- that, according to Pando. (Pando?) Lerer, it turns out, is a high-rev media leftist, raising big bucks for Democrats, launching an anti-NRA site, and, as chairman of Buzzfeed, prohibiting the RNC from buying adspace for then-GOP-nominee Trump, that kind of thing. Trump is "a dangerous reckless person who must be defeated in my view. A serial liar and someone who has racist views. But everyone knows that," said Ken Lerer last year. "I agree with Kenny," said Eric Lippeau. "However, as a firm we don't make political statements."
Seriously.
Back to Axios, which, of course, is the Greek word for "worthy." (What else?)
Here are other backers of Axios/Worthy/Presented by Koch Industries/ mentioned by Vanity Fair:
1) NBC News, "which is a media partner and whose president, Andy Lack, will sit on the board"
2) Laurene Powell Jobs's Emerson Collective (Jobs is a Hillary SuperPAC contributor, and her Emerson Collective bills its mission in part as "securing human rights for immigrants")
3) Greycroft Partners, which is Clinton-funder and Russian mark Alan Patricof's hedge fund (which as of December 2015 had raised $100,000 for Hillary's presidential run)
4) David and Katherine Bradley, whose Atlantic Magazine departed from non-partisan tradition to publish an endorsement of Hillary Clinton that was "more condemnation of the Republican nominee," as the Daily Beast put it. (The last time the magazine departed from tradition it was to take a similar stand against GOP presidential nominee Barry Goldwater.)
Axios, in other words, is more spawn of left-wing advocacy playing at "mainstream" journalism, as presented by Koch Industries," which is listed as a "launch partner."
All of which prelude to the lead item in this morning's Axios e-blast.
Headline:
"1 big thing: Building walls -- around Trump"
The story (emphasis in the original):
White House officials talk freely about putting "fences" around President Trump and his decision-making to protect him from his self-indulgent instincts.
The wall strategy has worked pretty well so far on national security. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster demanded and got control of the National Security Council, and set up a process for keeping SecDef Mattis, SecState Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary Kelly in the loop — and, as importantly, keeping others outside it.
Inside the defense wall, the principals work hard to present Trump with black-and-white options in brief, visual ways. The wall has successfully guarded against unforced international errors.
No such wall exists on the home front, which helps explain unexplainable mistakes like the handling of the Comey firing. So governing by grievance runs unimpeded. An overnight AP headline captures the madness: "Trump contradicts White House."
Sound smart: The one idea floating for tighter control on domestic policy is an even bigger role for the Jared/Ivanka/Gary Cohn wing. BUT Trump so far has resisted an internal push for more order.
I hate to say it, but that sounds like a casually insolent description of a coup! If there are such "White House officials" talking this way to Axios and the rest, they better be history before Trump is.