David Koch, just your average everday billionaire fighting for the little guy, teabagger, trying to make his way through this life.
After reading this column in my Hightower Lowdown Newsletter yesterday, I have become even more scared of the right-wing extremists and the lies their movement is built on. I guess it explains the sea of white at tea pary rallies across the country;
Jim Hightower, the populist muckraker editor of The Hightower Lowdown, explains that it’s not caused by fickle and spineless politicians, but rather by their corporate handlers. He asks “Who, specifically, are these plotters, and how do they impose their narrow agenda of self-interest over the public interest? Most Americans are totally unaware of these interests which have . . . quietly embedded themselves . . . in our society’s governing institutions.”
It may come as a surprise that Kansas is central to this scheme. For although the folks at Radio Free Kansas have probably probed this matter, how many Kansans have ever heard of the multi-billionaire Koch brothers (pronounced “coke”)?
Koch Industries of Wichita Kansas is one of the key players in the shift to government “of, by, and for the corporations”. Koch is a major producer of oil, gas, timber, coal, and cattle. It’s a petroleum refiner, controls some 4000 miles of pipeline including a piece of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, manufactures asphalt, chemicals, polyethylene, nitrogen fertilizers, concrete, lumber products, and myriad consumer goods. It has 700,000 employees in 60 countries. Why do you know so little of this giant? Because it is purposefully a “closely held company”, which means there is no stock ownership for sale, all financing being family controlled. And that means there are few public disclosure requirements. But with it’s sales topping $100 billion a year, it is bigger than corporate giants like Verizon and Morgan Stanley.
Charles and David Koch, who control this family-owned business, are tied as the 19th richest billionaires in the world, just below the four heirs of the WalMart fortune. They also have a burning right-wing ideology, following their daddy Fred, who co-founded the John Birch Society. Since 1973, they have strategically funneled more than $1 billion to right-wing groups through their three Koch Family Foundations. Hightower writes “These “charitable” foundations are dedicated to achieving the brother’s anti-government, corporate-controlled vision for America. This stealth force includes national and state-level think tanks, Astroturf front groups, academic shills, university centers, political-training programs, fundraising clearinghouses, publications, and lobbyists. Their extremist ideas have never had strong public support, yet they’ve moved from the back burner in the 1970’s to the front burner in the Bush years.”
“The Kochs are not the only right-wing funders, of course, for other far-right family foundations as Bradley, Coors, Olin, and Scaife are also major players. But the size, scope, strategic purpose, and secrecy of the Koch investments make the brothers worthy of special attention.” And beyond the dollars, the brothers take an active role in running many groups. David is board chair of Americans for Prosperity who bankrolled the Tea Bagger “revolution”. He’s also on the board of the Cato Institute and the Reason Foundation. While Charles is chair of the Institute for Humane Studies and a director of the Mercatus Center. Read more at - The Corporate Money That Took Over Washington. And to learn more affiliations, go to Koch Industries financial-political connections.
A little blast from the past, the John Birch Society;
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg6ixwmcMcc[/youtube]
I met some John Birch in Pensacola late 90’s. Strange concept, control government from outside. Seemed arrogant but made sense. It takes a jerk to come into office. Manipulate the jerk to preserve democracy yet make subtle gains for yourself and the population at large.
You are missing the bigger point. The Koch Brothers, mult-Billionaires are funding these ‘supposed’ grassroots orgs. It is a farce.
Munson needed a better manipulator. His is going bankrupt from east side underdevelopment.
PG- Wrong thread.
It is strange that the Birchers are coming out of the woodwork now. Who even knew they were still around?!!
Rachel has talked about Koch on her show.
The really crazy right wingers are coming out in droves. Thinkprogress had a story about them. It is very scary.
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/03/02/right-wing-extremist-244/
A new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center has unearthed shocking data about the rise of militias, antigovernment groups, and other right-wing extremist groups. The report, titled “Rage on the Right,†has found that there has been an increase of 244 percent in the number of these extremist groups in 2009:
I just find it interesting that most of these people who are getting involved have no clue about where the seed money is coming from. I guy who has a lot to lose when it comes to a ‘green economy’. There is a special place in Hell for the Koch Brothers.
The threat is real. It was the radical right wingnuts who planned and failed in the Plot to Overthrow the White House. Since then, they have just been buying it – and they succeeded in buying congress, most of the supreme court, and the white house.
You mean to tell me massive amounts of money are influencing our political system including specific politicians?
Alert the media!
No different than all the “grass roots” efforts we saw on the Left from Code Pink to ACORN to Earth First.
All of them have been funded directly or indirectly from billionaires like George Soros & Ted Turner.
At least the Koch’s didn’t bankrupt entire 3rd world economies in the process like Soros did.
Lest you missed it SY the Acorn story was a hoax. It is a shame you parrot the republican’t talking points all the time. George Soros…and Ted Turner, now that is laughable.
The video that unleashed a firestorm of criticism on the activist group ACORN was a “heavily edited” splice job that only made it appear as though the organization’s workers were advising a pimp and prostitute on how to get a mortgage, sources said yesterday.
The findings by the Brooklyn DA, following a 5½-month probe into the video, secretly recorded by conservative provocateurs James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles, means that no charges will be filed.
Many of the seemingly crime-encouraging answers were taken out of context so as to appear more sinister, sources said.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/acorn_set_up_by_vidiots_da_x16IroTf4AsXCI19nttFLL
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7728
Yeah, but Ted Turner’s father didn’t start a racist organization, and Ted doesn’t have anything to lose from a green economy. The Koch brothers truly are the scum of the earth.
The pimp vid was the least of their issues, Helga and you know it.
Yes I know it Sy and I know that pigs can fly.