Kochs’ New Soft Ads Don’t Cover Up That They Are Responsible For Trump

The Koch brothers have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to create divisive political front groups, elect anti-working families politicians, and push out more negative political ads than any other political operation in the last six years. Today, in their continuing effort to soften their public image and avoid blame for the polarization in American politics, the Koch brothers announced their “End The Divide” ad campaign.

Below are remarks by Eddie Vale, Vice President of American Bridge:

“Kochs’ new PR blitz about being nicer to each other and solving inequality is as unbelievable as calling someone a textbook racist but still supporting them. Charles and David Koch are responsible for creating this environment that has given rise to Donald Trump in becoming the Republican presidential nominee.”

Read more after the jump.

New Report: “¿Cómo se Dice ‘Koch Brothers Front Group’? ANSWER: LIBRE Initiative” by LVP & Bridge Project

For Immediate Release
April 29, 2016

Pili Tobar | 305-890-3076 | pili.tobar@latinovictory.us
Dawn Le | 202-549-6798 | dle@americanbridge.org

 

Latino Victory Project and Bridge Project
Release Report
“¿Cómo se Dice ‘Koch Brothers Front Group’?
ANSWER: LIBRE Initiative”
New Report Reveals How The Kochs Mislead Latinos to Pad Their Bottom Line

Washington, DC – Today, Latino Victory Project and Bridge Project released the report “¿Cómo se Dice Koch Brothers Front Group? ANSWER:LIBRE Initiative.”  The report gives an overview of the billionaires’ “Latino” organization, and their deceiving tactics to rally Latinos to advance the Koch brothers’ financial interests–at the expense of Latino families and communities.

“We know the Koch brothers are no friends of the Latino community. Our families won’t be fooled by LIBRE Initiative’s tactics,” said Pili Tobar, Communications Director of Latino Victory Project. “They’re giving away free turkeys and offering English classes–and that’s nice–but it’s not going to convince any Latino voters to change their […]

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NEW REPORT: “The Kochs Spend Tons of Cheddar Badgering America’s Dairyland”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 27, 2016

CONTACT
Dawn Le, 202-549-6798, dle@americanbridge.org

The Kochs Have Spent At Least $44 Million to Hijack Wisconsin
Bridge Project Releases “The Kochs Spend Tons of Cheddar Badgering America’s Dairyland” about the Koch Brothers’ Corporate Lobbying and Political Front Groups in Their Effort to Maximize Profits

Milwaukee, WI—For the 2016 election cycle, Charles and David Koch have announced they are on track to spend nearly $900 million to elect politicians that would push their self-serving agenda. In Wisconsin, the Koch brothers have spent more than $44 million since 2010, helping to foster the rise of Gov. Scott Walker, Speaker Paul Ryan, Sen. Ron Johnson, and to fund political astroturf groups to carry their water.

“What the Kochs are doing in Wisconsin is emblematic of what they’re doing across the country, all their political efforts and PR shams boil down to self-interest and higher profit shares,” said Eddie Vale, the […]

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UPDATED Kochs vs Puerto Rico report

As the House takes up new legislation about the financial crisis in Puerto Rico, lawmakers will be tested: Will they help Puerto Ricans in the Commonwealth recover from the $72 billion budget shortfall to rebuild their economy, or will they let billionaire investors from the Koch network pull their strings and block any relief to the island?

The Bridge Project is releasing an updated report today, “The Kochs’ Wealth vs The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico” about how the Kochs sided with debt vultures over Puerto Rican families. The report gives an overview of the financial crisis, past due dates where Puerto Rico defaulted and upcoming payment deadlines that the Commonwealth will again default on if Congress does not act fast.

Included are descriptions of the various Koch-backed front groups that have tried to delay and block solutions to help Puerto Ricans, resulting in forced school closures and American citizens in Puerto Rico […]

Read more after the jump.

MEMO: One Year Out: Kochs Put Their Anti-Middle Class Agenda & Actions On Center Stage

TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Eddie Vale, Vice President of American Bridge 21st Century
RE: One Year Out: Kochs Put Their Anti-Middle Class Agenda & Actions On Center Stage
DATE: November 3, 2015

With a year until Election Day, the billionaire Koch brothers are sitting down for their first-ever joint television interview with MSNBC’s Morning Joe. The Kochs’ step into the pubic limelight, albeit pre-taped from their childhood home and not live and on set, serves as a reminder that if Republicans and the Kochs win in 2016, the middle class loses.

While Republican candidates will spend the next year sucking up to the Kochs to try to get a piece of the nearly $900 million they plan to spend on 2016, they’ll also be forced to defend the Kochs’ anti-middle class actions and agenda that hurt real Americans.

While Morning Joe promises a discussion centering on the role of money in politics, the billionaire Koch brothers are poised to disguise how their […]

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NEW REPORT: A Koch Confessional

Or How The Kochs Have Attacked Pope Francis While Pushing A Self-Enriching Agenda That’s On The Wrong Side Of The Holy Father

As Pope Francis arrives in Washington, Bridge Project is releasing a new report titled, “A Koch Confessional, Or How The Kochs Have Attacked Pope Francis While Pushing A Self-Enriching Agenda That’s On The Wrong Side Of The Holy Father.”

The Kochs are terrified of the pope’s teachings because they threaten what the billionaire brothers worship most, their bank accounts. Bridge Project’s new report, reveals how the Koch network has attacked Pope Francis and targeted his teachings on the economy, immigration, climate change, fair pay, and more.

At the crux of the differences between the billionaire Koch brothers and Pope Francis is their starkly contrasting world views. While the pope has pleaded for his followers to reject the “trickle-down” policies championed by billionaires like the Kochs, and pushed immigration as a “hallmark for our society,” the Kochs have […]

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The Koch Conspiracy To Cut Off Millions Of Americans’ Access To Healthcare

It’s Medicaid’s 50th birthday, and the Koch brothers planned something special: a death panel.

In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Medicaid, Bridge Project today released a new report, “The Koch-Backed Effort to Kill Medicaid,” highlighting the Koch brothers ongoing assault on Medicaid, which they would give just about anything — hundreds of millions of dollars, anyway — to destroy.

And unlike some of their other, more subversive campaigns of destruction that prioritize their profit margins over the interests of the American public, the Kochs haven’t been too subtle on this one: the Kochs and Koch-funded groups have explicitly spoken out against Medicaid, advocated Medicaid-crippling budgets, and even attacked Republicans (!) for not supporting their Medicaid-destroying agenda.

This time, the Kochs are all-in. All-in to block state-level Medicaid expansions that would extend healthcare access to millions of Americans. All-in to strip healthcare from the millions who already benefit from the program […]

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Koch-Backed Concerned Veterans of America Launches Attacks Against Rep. Tim Walz

The shady group called Concerned Veterans of America is launching a six figure attack ad campaign against three Members of Congress including Representative Tim Walz (MN). But who is CVA and what do they stand for?

Enter Bridge Project and VoteVets.org, who have teamed up to expose the political agenda of Concerned Veterans of America with the recently released report titled, “The Vets Group That Fights Against Veterans.”

CVA promotes extreme right-wing policies that stand in opposition to nearly every other veterans group, as reported in the Military Times.

From pushing a plan to privatize the VA healthcare system to proposing a transition from the current military retirement system to a private 401(k)-like plan, CVA follows the radical conservatism of the Koch brothers, working to advance the billionaires’ self-interest at the expense of veterans.

​Bridge Project will be working with partners to hold CVA and the Koch brothers accountable as they plan to spend millions propping up GOP candidates and trying to buy elections.

Read about CVA attacking Rep. Walz here:

 

Read more after the jump.

REPORT: The Vets Group That Fights Against Veterans

Bridge Project and VoteVets.org have teamed up to expose the political agenda of Concerned Veterans of America in a new report titled, “The Vets Group That Fights Against Veterans.” CVA promotes extreme right-wing policies that stand in opposition to nearly every other veterans group, as reported in the Military Times today.

From pushing a plan to privatize the VA healthcare system to proposing a transition from the current military retirement system to a private 401(k)-like plan, CVA follows the radical conservatism of the Koch brothers, working to advance the billionaires’ self-interest at the expense of veterans.


Already, Marco Rubio has participated in a CVA town hall in New Hampshire. Bridge Project will be working with partners to hold CVA and the Koch brothers accountable as Jeb Bush, Rubio, Scott Walker, and the rest of the Republican field audition for a slice of the $900 million the Kochs plan to spend propping up GOP candidates and trying to buy the White House.

Read “The Vets Group That […]

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Kochs Still Preventing 600,000 From Getting Medicaid in North Carolina

The Kochs took a hit with the announcement of an Obamacare win in the King v. Burwell Supreme Court decision, but don’t expect that to stop them from doing their damnedest to prevent more people from getting covered. In response to the decision, the Kochs’ political strong arm, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) has already released a new ad against Obamacare. AFP and the Kochs are also campaigning hard to prevent the expansion of Medicaid around the country. The latest ACA news has brought back that fight into focus, with North Carolina as one of the key decision states.
 
North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory already rejected the expansion back in 2013, but now the state has a second chance to help cover its nearly 600,000 uninsured residents. The latest calls for change have been met by AFP-North Carolina with dismissal. In a December post on their website, AFP-North Carolina Director Donald Bryson said that “refusing Medicaid […]

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