Great points.
If it were true that donations drive results, all we'd have to do is donate enough to Focus on the Family, or for that matter, Al Qaeda, and they'd become rational libertarian organizations.
Having been associated with several organizations that receive donor funds, I know firsthand that I had no idea who was funding me and was never told what research results & conclusions I should find.
The only times I've seen such pressure was when when working for a private firm on government-funded projects, where pushy federal bureaucrats often told us what results they wanted. Fortunately our management had sufficient integrity to tell them (diplomatically) to go to hell.
I am working with one think tank now and in our prospectus to donors we say we will consider specific projects if they wish to fund them but that their funding will not determine what we write and that our analysis will be based on classical liberal principles. So if George Bush dropped $50,000 on us for a report on some of his big government policies he will be disappointed by the results he gets. I am a rabid anti-smoker personally but have defended the rights of people to smoke on private property they own or which others wishes to make available to them. I have done so contrary to what my personal preferences are (you all should stop smoking --- except socialists and conservatives who should smoke a lot more) and I have done so without every benefitting from funds from the tobacco industry. If they decide to fund a project I'm working on it won't change my views anymore than their lack of funding in the past had any impact on my views.
Which think tank are you with?
I think conservatives should also eat plenty of pretzels, and inhale with every bite.
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