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Koch Brothers: doing away with America

 

The Koch Brothers, David and Charles, are the fifth richest people in the United States. They get their revenue from Koch Industries. The Koch’s are philanthropists and also use their vast wealth to  promote right wing political organizations including several that they have created. Their political beliefs are Libertarian, [1] believing in the least amount of government. They are major funders of the Tea Party, thus belying its “grass roots” origins.

See: Romney Campaign Memo: The Koch Brothers Are the ‘Financial Engine Of The Tea Party’ [2] 

Perhaps the reason for their activism is there desire to not have a government that would interfere with their business. Their record shows that they do not want follow the laws that exist and would like to have them rescinded.

See Koch Brothers, Top Tea Party Funders, in Bed With Iran [3]

They are definitely anti-union. See Tea Party (Koch Brothers) begin push for “Right-to-Work” constitutional amendment for 2012 [4]  

See also: Koch brothers: secretive billionaires to launch vast database with 2012 in mind [5]  

Perhaps their goal of reducing government is best exemplified in the following article, which, near the end, points out their role as one of the nations top 10 polluters. They apparently want there capitalism unfettered by any requirement to keep from poisoning the planet.

See Koch Brothers’ Products — We’re Surrounded [6]  

From a report at the Center for American Progress Action Fund,  “The Koch Brothers, What You Need to Know About the Financiers of the Radical Right,” [7] the following claims are made.

• 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.

One might come to the conclusion that the Koch Brothers are attempting to buy the government of the United States, perhaps the biggest Pay-to-Play political game in the world. It remains to be seen if the American public will allow this to happen.