Politicians & Pundits: Koch Brothers

Hold your horses — Kochs and GOP will continue to fight ACA

More than six million Americans are breathing a sigh of relief today knowing they’ll be able to keep their affordable health insurance, but the scene at Koch headquarters is undoubtedly whipping into a frenzy. They’re gearing up for the next fight to prevent Medicaid expansion in the states and getting ready to bark orders at GOP politicians like Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush eager to follow their lead.

For people who prioritize return on investment, today’s ruling dealt a huge blow to the Kochs, who spent millions to bring King v. Burwell to the Supreme Court and to stop Medicaid expansion.  Now more than ever, they will work with conservative state governments and GOP candidates to push their extreme agenda.

With this latest defeat, the Kochs and their Republican allies are setting their sights on next year’s court decisions and, of course, the White House.

Read more after the jump.

Bridge Project releases Concerned Women for America report

Bridge Project is releasing an in-depth report on Concerned Women for America, another Koch brothers front group. While the Kochs try to promote an image of themselves as libertarians who stay out of controversial social issues, more than $11.5 million of Koch-connected money has gone to the extremist group CWA. CWA’s self-declared mission is to “protect and promote Biblical values” and to “restore the family to its traditional purpose.”

Read the report here.

CWA garners most of their media attention through the outlandish statements made by the group’s leaders. Recently, a male CWA staffer wrote, “I wish that I was Bruce Jenner’s father,” and suggested that if Caitlyn Jenner had validation from a father figure, she wouldn’t be going through this “Caitlyn fantasy.” CWA staff has also criticized the Disney movie Frozen for empowering women while villainizing masculinity and “tearing men down,” and previously accused Harry Potter of “indoctrinating” students in “paganism and the occult.”

Although these […]

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NEW REPORT: Kochs vs. The Pope

Ever since Pope Francis signaled that he would be issuing an encyclical, or papal teaching, definitively stating that climate change is man-made and calling for swift action, the Koch brothers’ network has been desperately trying to get ahead of the narrative. CNN described the Koch-funded Heartland Institute as “the headquarters for the U.S.-based opposition to Pope Francis’ climate change plans.” Heartland “churned out podcasts, videos, and white papers, and recently arranged a trip to Rome — all in an effort to build opposition to the pope’s environmental message.”

Heartland argued that Pope Francis was “out of his element” and was being misled by UN General Secretary Ban Ki Moon, who “violate[d] the Eighth Commandment” by “bear[ing] false witness” on climate data. And they’re not alone– candidates seeking the approval of the Kochs told the Holy Father to stay out of politics.  Jeb Bush, who cited the pope while defending […]

Read more after the jump.

One More LIBRE Lie: ‘Voter ID Laws Don’t Hurt Latinos’

Image Credit: nshepard

It’s well documented that voter ID laws disproportionately disenfranchise Latinos, the same demographic for which the LIBRE Initiative claims to be advocating. Yet, the Koch-backed organization’s executive director, Daniel Garza, said he was in favor of the policy yesterday, with NBC News reporting Garza claims “he has no problem with requiring identification to vote because he believes in preserving the ‘integrity’ of the vote.”

The truth is: needless voter ID laws only serve to build up barriers to the ballot box for those that aren’t receptive to the Koch brothers’ regressive vision for America. As the New York Times noted on Monday, “There is virtually no in-person voter fraud; the purpose of these laws is to suppress voting.” Even a top RNC official admitted voter fraud is basically a straw-man of the right’s creation.

Read more after the jump.

Bridge Project Wraps Up the “Month’s Supply of Koch”

Bridge Project is wrapping up the “Month’s Supply of Koch,” where we dedicated the month of May to exposing the Koch brothers and their sprawling political organization. Throughout May, Bridge Project released in-depth reports on the Koch brothers’ shady methods that seek to rig the system in their favor in key states and through front groups.

Now that the Kochs are pledging to spend almost $900 million on the 2016 elections, the GOP presidential wannabes are clamoring for the title of most Koch-friendly candidate.  With our “Koch Tank” video, Bridge Project gave you a sneak peak at the Kochs’ auditions to find the best candidate to buy – that is, whoever will best implement their self-serving agenda. Beyond “Koch Tank,” we released state reports on the Kochs’ devastating effects on Florida and Iowa, and exposed their shallow and underhanded attempts to manipulate Hispanics and millennials.

Beginning with a New York Times expose on David Koch‘s libertarian run for president, Bridge Project has been committed to exposing […]

Read more after the jump.

REPORT: The Kochs’ Transparent Attempt To Pander To Millennials

Bridge Project’s “Month’s Supply of Koch” is dwindling as we approach the end of May with the release of the fourth report: “GenFlop: The Kochs’ Transparent Attempt to Pander to #Millennials.” The latest report is a deep dive into Generation Opportunity, the Kochs’ youth outreach front group, which spreads their libertarian, profit-driven agenda to millennials.

Much of GenOpp’s advocacy is focused on lower-profile campaigns that would appeal to young people, such as supporting food trucks and ride-sharing apps like Uber. However, these smaller campaigns are designed to build an audience of millennials to whom the Koch agenda can be pitched; this agenda is aimed at boosting the Kochs’ bottom line, often at the expense of these same young people. Besides reaching millennials via social media, Generation Opportunity has also spent millions from their Koch-raised coffers on ads and grassroots lobbying efforts such as hosting events on college campuses.

Read more after the jump.
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REPORT: Kochs’ LIBRE Initiative is Harmful to Hispanic Community

Bridge Project is continuing the “Month’s Supply of Koch” with the release of the latest report on the Kochs’ LIBRE Initiative. Today Bridge Project is also releasing a new 50-second Spanish language web ad “Los hermanos Koch se oponen al Papa por el cambio climático,” about the Kochs’ attacks on the pope for the Holy Father’s efforts to deter climate change.

The report is a comprehensive look at the Koch-backed LIBRE Initiative that deceptively brands itself as a “grassroots organization” that pushes messages of “liberty, freedom and prosperity,” founded to “empower Hispanics.” The group is actually run by Republican operatives and financed almost entirely by the Koch network.

Read more after the jump.

REPORT The Importance of Buying Ernst: Why The Kochs Go Wilde Lobbying the Hawkeye State

Bridge Project is continuing the “Month’s Supply of Koch” with the release of the latest report: “The Importance of Buying Ernst: Why the Kochs Go Wilde Lobbying in the Hawkeye State.” It’s a comprehensive look at the impact of the Kochs’ operations in Iowa. In their quest to grow their empire, the early primary state has been a central focus for the brothers’ political maneuvering.
 
The Koch brothers’ priorities couldn’t be more out-of-step with Hawkeye State values. Perhaps the best example of the Kochs’ self-interest is their opposition to the renewable fuel standard and biodiesel fuel standards – a boon to Iowa’s economy – to protect their own oil profits. In fact, since 2006, Koch companies have lobbied on at least 37 bills in Iowa related to ethanol, biodiesel, and other renewable fuels — despite overwhelming support of biodiesel by Iowans. The Kochs aren’t just hitting Iowa’s farmers on renewables; Americans for Prosperity even lobbied against the Farm Bill in 2014. 
 
Just about every issue lobbied on by the Kochs lines their pockets while hurting Iowans. For example, the Kochs, who are major formaldehyde producers, lobbied against the classification of formaldehyde as a carcinogen, and in Iowa, lobbied on a bill that would ban formaldehyde in children’s toys. The Kochs fought a bill giving workers injured on the job access to better care by allowing them to see their own doctors. They also lobbied against a bill that permitted Iowans to file consumer fraud lawsuits against dishonest businesses.

Read more after the jump.