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Valued Poster
Join Date: Jan 5, 2010
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 3,860
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I am sorry I should have said "I am pretty sure he is talking about the Koch Brothers."
Any attempt to understand the modern conservative movement will eventually
lead to billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. Using their vast wealth and
connections, the Koch brothers are key players in bankrolling right-wing political action groups, think tanks, and individual politicians, using this array of political power to advance their ideological agenda of limited government and less regulation. Chances are they are part of any recent right-wing attack you have seen lately.
The Koch brothers, leaders of a vast family oil-and-gas conglomerate, use this
political network to pursue their right-wing agenda at nearly every level of
government. Whether they are contributing millions in campaign contributions,
spending millions on lobbying, or investing millions in right-wing think tank and
advocacy groups, the Koch brothers’ influence is pervasive.
Charles and David Koch would prefer to keep their influence behind the scenes
but recent reporting by the Center for American Progress Action Fund’s Think
Progress and a variety of media and advocacy organizations shed light on the
enormous breadth and reach of their network. This report will showcase the players involved in the Koch network, where they operate, and the vast amounts of money involved. The report also exposes the Koch right-wing ideological agenda that often protects their business interests at the expense of everyone else.
But cutting to the chase, here is a brief summary of the report’s findings:
• The Koch brothers, whose wealth, when combined, is the fourth highest in the nation, run one of the largest private companies in the country. Koch Industries is involved in industries ranging from oil and gas, refining and chemicals, minerals, fertilizers, forestry, consumer products, polymers and fibers, and ranching.
They have operations in 45 states.
The Koch brothers use their considerable wealth to bankroll the right wing, including the Tea Party. This serves the purpose of furthering not only their right-wing ideology but also their bottom line. Koch Industries has a lot to gain from gutting government oversight and electing candidates who oppose government regulation, especially in the oil-and-gas industry.
• Chances are the Koch brothers are part of any recent right-wing attack as of late as they have fought health reform, Wall Street reform, collective bargaining rights, and efforts to curb climate change, to name just a few.
• We have identified at least $85 million the Koch brothers have given to at least 85 right-wing think tanks and advocacy groups over the past decade and a half.
• Their main advocacy group, Americans for Prosperity, has chapters in 32*states and spent $45 million in the last election, predominantly to help elect Republicans.
• The Kochs donated directly to 62 of the 87 members of the House GOP
freshman class.
• The Koch brothers are active at the state level, spending $5.2 million on candidates and ballot measures in 34 states since 2003. They donated directly to 13*governors that won election last year.
• The Kochs are not going away. In fact, they have already pledged to raise $88*million for the 2012 election and have started scheduling events for
potential Republican presidential candidates.
As this report will demonstrate, the Koch brothers’ network works hard to advance a right-wing ideological agenda that helps their businesses reap more profits at the expense of our environment, our economy, and the American middle class.
Understanding how they operate is the first step in countering their efforts to
reshape our nation’s laws to benefit the wealthy even more than they do today.
Charles and David Koch are not newcomers to the right-wing ideological movement. Their father, Fred Koch, was an original member of the ultra-conservative John Birch Society. For decades, the vast Koch wealth financed and built the rightwing movement in America. In 1977, Charles Koch co-founded the Cato Institute.
David Koch was the 1980 vice presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party.
In 1984, David Koch created Citizens for a Sound Economy, an advocacy group established to pursue the Koch agenda.
In 2004, Citizens for a Sound Economy split into two entities: FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity Foundation. The Kochs remain active with Americans for Prosperity Foundation. Americans for Prosperity Foundation, along with its sister organization, Americans for Prosperity, pursues the right-wing ideological agenda through education efforts, and holds rallies and events across the states as well as runs television ads and other voter mobilization efforts. FreedomWorks is a similar organization that is now headed by former Rep. Dick Armey (R-TX).
But the Cato Institute and Americans for Prosperity are not the Koch brothers’ only avenues to pursue their ideological agenda. Not by a long shot. Indeed,
the Koch contributions read like a “who’s who” of the right-wing movement
(see table on pages 9-10). An examination of the Koch nonprofit organizations
records show they have given at least $85.9 million to more than 85 different
right-wing organizations over the past decade and a half.
Charles and David Koch and their company, Koch Industries, do not limit their
political donations to right-wing think tanks and advocacy groups. They also donate millions directly to candidates. Since 1990, the Koch network has donated $11 million to federal candidates, $9.8 million, or 89 percent, of which went to Republicans.
The Koch network spent $2.1 million on last year’s midterm elections, almost $2 million, or 93 percent, of which went to Republicans. The 2010 elections ended with an emboldened Republican Party that won the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and made gains in the U.S. Senate. Koch Industries PAC donated to 62 of the 87 members of the House Republican freshman class and to 12 of the new members of the U.S. Senate. One could argue these donations give Charles and David Koch considerable access to Congress. David Koch, for example, attended the swearing-in ceremony for Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner (R-OH).
The Kochs have contributed significantly to the House Energy and Commerce
Committee. In fact, they are the single-largest oil-and-gas donor to members of the committee, giving $279,500 to 22 Republicans on the committee and $32,000 to five of its Democrats, according to the Los Angeles Times. Tim Phillips, the head of Americans for Prosperity, even co-authored an op-ed with chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), detailing how Congress could stop the EPA from ensuring a cleaner environment.
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) noted the Koch influence over the Republican
Party, saying that “it apparently no longer matters in Congress what health experts and scientists think [on energy]. All that seems to matter is what Koch Industriesbthinks.” Indeed, one could argue the House Energy and Commerce Committee isbreally the “Committee from Koch” given its outsized influence. It can be argued,bhowever, that the Republican members of Congress in general are also wholly owned subsidiaries of Koch Industries
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