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| The Koch Brothers: Charles and David |
They represent everything that is wrong with democracy and capitalism.
They are two old white men from Kansas with a lot of money, and a libertarian streak which rubs liberals, progressives, and statists the wrong way.
The New Yorker published an article declaring "The Koch Brothers' War with Obama".
The first picture caption of the article reads:
David H. Koch in 1996. He and his brother Charles are lifelong libertarians and have quietly given more than a hundred million dollars to right-wing causes.
Libertarianism is on the rise, from the decriminalization of controlled substances like marijuana, to the expansion of concealed carry laws, to the tax cut and spending restraints in statehouses throughout the country.
Libertarianism is on the rise, and not a moment too soon, since President Obama is more like the Evil Empire of Star Wars mythology, expanding a death-like grip of more government and greater regulations over all Americans.
One quote from the New Yorker article cannot be ignored:
Rob Stein, a Democratic political strategist who has studied the conservative movement’s finances, said that the Kochs are “at the epicenter of the anti-Obama movement. But it’s not just about Obama. They would have done the same to Hillary Clinton. They did the same with Bill Clinton. They are out to destroy progressivism.”
God bless the Koch Brothers!
Sources suggest, however, that the Koch Brothers were trying to take over the Cato Institute, a well-known and well-respected libertarian Washington think-tank. The New York Times reports that the research institute fought to retain its political independence. The Koch Brothers dropped two lawsuits, and one of the leaders at odd with the brothers resigned. The LA Times advanced the same conspiracy arguments about the Koch Brothers taking over the Cato Institute. Any sense of political connections is nothing but bad news. Think tanks by their very existence must seek information before promoting advocacy of any kind.
The Times quoted this statement from Charles Koch:
"I have every confidence that John's leadership will enable Cato to reach new levels of effectiveness. The alarming increase in the size and scope of government is undermining freedom, opportunity and prosperity for all. Effective action is required to limit government to its proper role.
The Koch Brothers maintain a strong libertarian streak, and their connection with the libertarian Washington think tank is nothing unusual.
God bless the Koch Brothers. They know when to call it quits. Donald Trump also felt the blow of individual rights, which trump corporate and self-interest. The Donald tried to acquire an old lady's home through eminent domain. A judge stuck down his land grab. Fine and good. If the Koch Brothers were rebuffed from taking over a think-tank, then what is everyone afraid of?
Congressman Henry Waxman slammed the Koch Brothers by arguing that the Koch Brothers' influence in Congress was hurting the rest of the country. Waxman criticized Koch Industries for science denial, partisanship, and the rising power of special interests. Waxman then denounced the Koch Brothers because they would profit from the rollback of EPA regulations.
Congressman Waxman has been dishonoring science, hyping up climate change as a serious issue, even though the growing academic consensus disputes climate change as a serious, let alone manmade matter. Waxman's ruthless pursuit to expand the federal government at the expense of the United States Constitution, the power of the several states, and the rights and authorities of individual Americans, is the more lethal threat which voters need to pay attention to
Frankly, the vast majority if Americans would profit from not just the rollback but the demise of the sclerotic, frustrating, hyper-bureaucratic EPA, which has made it nearly impossible for businesses to expand, and even legitimate homeowners to build on their own property.
God bless the Koch Brothers!
The Koch Brothers also support the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, as do other business interests, labor groups, and even the State Department, which has found that the pipeline would have a minimal adverse effect on the environment. Henry Waxman criticized their interest in the project.
At the time that Congress was investigating whether to approve the project or not, the now retiring Congressman was looking for any strawmen to distract detractors from his decades of crony political maneuvering, along with the ongoing failures of Obamacare, Cap and Trade, and the failure of nineteen green tech companies: "I'm sorry Solyndra happened."
Despite Waxman's attempt to draw the Koch Brothers into a Committee-subpoena drama, Waxman retracted his outrageous claims of cronyism.
God bless the Koch Brothers!
The same LA Times which insists on drawing the Koch Brothers into the miasma of political contributions and corruptions, none of which is substantiated, is going bankrupt. While Congressman Henry Waxman demanded information from the publisher and leaders of the company regarding the slagging fate of the newspaper, the Koch Brothers considered purchasing the newspaper and reviving its coverage. With their conservative understanding of how business and markets work, plus their appreciate for libertarian values, their leadership of the paper would have saved the moribund publication, as only conservative and right-leaning media sights are surviving and thriving, while left-leaning newspapers and radio stations are falling away or closing down altogether.
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| The Koch Brothers, in earlier days. |
Either way, God bless the Koch Brothers!
The influence not just of the Koch Brothers, but a growing resurgence for freedom from Big Government, has drawn the ire of embattled and embittered Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. During the October 2013 government shutdown, the Nevada senator blamed the oil magnates for instigating the stand-still in Washington.
Reid thundered on the billionaires:
"By shutting down the government, and that's what happened, we're satisfying the Koch brothers and Ed Meese, but millions of people in America are suffering,"
Reid's comments better describe the deleterious effects of President Obama and the Democrat Party's policies on the American people, especially Obamacare.
Refusing to endure these infantile attacks, the Koch Brothers punched back:
“A great deal of what you read and hear about Koch Industries is erroneous or misleading,” wrote Philip Ellender, the president of government
and public affairs at Koch, in a letter to senators on Wednesday.Besides, where were the Democrats in the US Senate, when the Republican leadership in the House was ready to meet in a conference and discuss a comprehensive compromise which would have satisfied both sides, and more importantly the American People, who did not want a shutdown, and they did not want Obamacare.
Not content to blast them over the shutdown, which he instigated, Reid has recently blasted them with the hollow slander that they were "un-American" for a series of anti-Obamacare ads.
The Americans for Prosperity are producing and disseminating these ads, with the financial help of the Koch Brothers. These advertisements feature individual Americans who have lost their health insurance or pay higher premiums because of Obamacare. People throughout the country are suffering because of Obamacare. Any person, any agency who will take the time and trouble to take to task Congress, specifically President Obama and every legislator who supported Obamacare deserves all the support and praise one can muster.
If the Koch Brothers have advanced the cause of #MakeDCListen, if they are investing their funds to bring down liberal-elitist statist, government overreach, then they have nothing to be ashamed of as left-leaning news sites, think tanks, and talking heads reproach them.
Anyone who attacks Obama, Obamacare, and Obamanomics with such concentrated force and faithfulness is not an enemy, is not un-American, but very much American, and embodies all that makes this country great: free markets, free enterprise, free people, the rule of law, the respect for the individual.
God bless the Koch Brothers!
You are a fucking idiot who has gone of the deep end of the fringe-right cesspool. Have a nice trip.
ReplyDeleteLiz wrote:
ReplyDelete"You are a fucking idiot who has gone of the deep end of the fringe-right cesspool. Have a nice trip."
And I retweeted your hate, too:
https://twitter.com/ArthurCSchaper/status/439595309627215873
Repost the reproach! Retweet the hate! God Bless the Koch Brothers, and Breitbart is smiling in heaven, too!
There's no such thing as heaven so Dead Andy Breitbart sure as shit's not there. I'd bet he's probably been eaten by worms somewhere in Brentwood.
ReplyDelete1. The Kochs want to abolish Social Security.
ReplyDelete“Documents and interviews unearthed in recent months by Brave New Foundation researchers illustrate a $28.4m Koch business that has manufactured 297 commentaries, 200 reports, 56 studies and six books distorting social security’s effectiveness and purpose.” Read more
2. The Kochs want to eliminate minimum wage laws.
“According to Charles Koch, the U.S. needs to get rid of the minimum wage, which he counts as a major obstacle to economic growth.” Read more.
3. The Kochs are against extending emergency unemployment benefits.
“It causes employers to face higher taxes, too, which discourages them from hiring new employees.” Read more.
4. The Kochs spent $400 million on misleading attack ads in the last election cycle.
“A labyrinth of tax-exempt groups and limited-liability companies helps mask the sources of the money, much of which went to voter mobilization and television ads attacking President Obama and congressional Democrats, according to tax filings and campaign finance reports.” Read more.
5. The Kochs want to put insurance companies back in charge of your health care.
“In Louisiana, the Koch brother’s Americans for Prosperity was blasted for running anti-Obamacare ads featuring paid actors to play Louisiana residents telling “their” stories about how Obamacare had harmed them.”
6. The Kochs are against measures that would reduce the gap between the wages women and men earn for the same work.
“IWF-affiliated writers have argued that the gender gap in income exists because of women’s greater demand for flexibility, fewer hours, and less travel in their careers, rather than because of sexism.”
7. The Kochs want even more tax breaks for themselves.
“They are known for bankrolling conservative, Libertarian and Tea Party causes and became poster boys for corporate tax reform last year when an Obama Administration official suggested Koch is organized as an S Corp. and so pays no corporate level taxes.”
8. The Kochs made improper payments to win contracts in Africa, India and the Middle East. And they sold millions of dollars of equipment to Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism.
“Internal company records show that Koch Industries used its foreign subsidiary to sidestep a U.S. trade ban barring American companies from selling materials to Iran. Koch-Glitsch offices in Germany and Italy continued selling to Iran until as recently as 2007, the records show.”
9. The Kochs lobbied against recognition of formaldehyde as a cancer-causing carcinogen because it might be bad for their business.
“A prominent philanthropist, cancer survivor, and American businessman, David Koch, has given millions to the cause of cancer research, while his company—Koch Industries—has lobbied against formal recognition of formaldehyde as a carcinogen, The New Yorker reported in a piece published today.”
10. The Kochs rank as one of America’s most toxic air polluters.
11.The Kochs have received over $88 million in government subsidies.
12. The Kochs have admitted they have “a radical philosophy.”
“Charles Koch seems to have approached both business and politics with the deliberation of an engineer. ‘To bring about social change,’ he told Doherty, requires ‘a strategy’ that is ‘vertically and horizontally integrated,’ spanning ‘from idea creation to policy development to education to grassroots organizations to lobbying to litigation to political action.’ The project, he admitted, was extremely ambitious. ‘We have a radical philosophy,’ he said.”