Koch Brothers
Koch-Backed Right-Wing Group Goes After More Professors, Asking for Emails on Unions and … Rachel Maddow
Republican Judge Hires Koch-Allied Attorney For Recount; Tea Party Express Recruits Recount Volunteers
Last week, incumbent Justice David Prosser hired James Troupis, the same attorney retained by the Koch-funded Wisconsin Prosperity Network in a case challenging restrictions on political advertising that is currently before the court, to look out for his interests in the recount now underway in Wisconsin that will determine the final outcome of the April 4 race for a seat on the state Supreme Court. Today, Tea Party Express, the group and PAC created and run by GOP operative Sal Russo, sent out a breathlessly-worded e-mail calling for volunteers, especially attorneys.
Koch Industries: ‘Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant’
A handy list of Koch Industries products
Koch brothers go after investigative journalists
As the journalism industry limps along and public broadcasting comes under attack, the Koch brothers - multimillionaire conservative-politics string-pullers- have taken aim at the Center for Public Integrity, a twenty-year-old nonprofit investigative organization dedicated to making institutional power more transparent.
The Koch Brothers: What You Need to Know About the Financiers of the Radical Right
Any attempt to understand the modern conservative movement will eventually lead to billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. Using their vast wealth and connections, the Koch brothers are key players in bankrolling right-wing political action groups, think tanks, and individual politicians, using this array of political power to advance their ideological agenda of limited government and less regulation. Chances are they are part of any recent right-wing attack you have seen lately.
Part 2: Lee Fang on Koch Brothers’ Demand for Obamacare Repeal & Lobbyists Flourishing Under Trump
n Part 2 of our interview with Lee Fang, investigative journalist at The Intercept covering the intersection of money and politics, he describes how the Koch brothers have poured dark money into groups that are demanding the repeal of Obamacare despite public opposition to Trumpcare, and his recent article, Prominent Democratic Fundraisers Realign to Lobby for Trump’s Agenda.
Sold Out Why Mitt Could Win
Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson has pledged $10 million to the Koch brothers 2012 political plans, cementing a potent alliance of two of the biggest spending forces in politics. The $10 million pledge was delivered by Adelson's aide Andy Abboud at the Koch brothers donor summit in suburban San Diego. Investment tycoon Charles Schwab committed to a seven-figure donation and the billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch donated undisclosed millions of dollars.
The Billionaires’ Tea Party
The Tea Party movement has taken American politics by storm. But is this truly a populist uprising or one of the greatest feats of propaganda ever seen? Australian filmmaker Taki Oldham sets out answer this question, finding that behind the movement s rhetoric of freedom versus socialism lies a highly co-ordinated network of shadow groups, funded by the likes of billionaire ideologues Charles and David Koch. Are the Tea Party protestors really just pawns in a plan to replace government with a privatized America?
Follow the Line of Koch, Fundamentalists
Koch-funded lobbyist named Wisconsin chair of ALEC
A lobbyist for Koch Industries and energy interests serves with a lobbyist for Pfizer pharmaceuticals as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) corporate co-chairs in Wisconsin, according to documents obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy at this year s ALEC Annual Meeting. For some, their fundraising for "scholarships" to benefit ALEC legislative members raises issues of legislative ethics.
Kochs Take Tip From Soros Investing in Voter Registration
Koch Brothers Spread Influence Via Blueberry Farmer
Charles and David Koch Revealed – Game Changers
"Bloomberg Game Changers" profiles Charles and David Koch, brothers who built a multimillion-dollar fortune running Koch Industries Inc. This program includes interviews with John Damgard, David Koch's high school classmate, Ed Clark, the 1980 Libertarian Party presidential candidate who chose David as his running mate and John Farrell, senior reporter at the Center for Public Integrity.
Koch Industries Gave Thousands To Mike Ross While Poisoning His Constituents
Brown asked Koch for another campaign donation, and he received
Boycott Toolkit: Boycott Koch Industries
Are the Koch brothers denying your vote
Through their web of political influence, billionaire political operatives Charles and David Koch have bought access to democracy's lifeblood: free and fair elections. The Kochs have funded efforts to thwart 21 million Americans from voting and Koch dollars helped write and propose voting suppression bills in 38 states.
Are the Koch brothers teaching you
What s happening to academia in Florida demands national attention. Billionaires Charles and David Koch are infringing on intellectual freedom and independence in colleges and universities. It s an old fashioned quid pro quo where the Koch brothers get allied professors who ll preach Ayn Rand, supply side economic policies and the values of the 19th century Guilded Age to students and the college gets some funding.
Barack Obama Just Went After The Wealthy Libertarian Koch Brothers On His Twitter Account
Koch Brothers Increased Wealth by $9 Billion Last Year As They Fund Laws to Make Working Class Poorer
Based on a recent Forbes survey, Rachel Maddow revealed that while Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is stripping away the financial security of workers, the Koch brothers increased their wealth by $9 billion last year. Together, Maddow notes, they would rank as the fourth-wealthiest person ($44 billion) in the world.
Koch Brothers Invade Facebook to Recruit Right-Wing Think Tank Automatons to Be Placed Around US
The Koch brothers are launching a recruiting blitz on Facebook for maintaining the plutocracy. In the last few days, I have encountered endless paid ads in the right-hand column of Facebook for a program called "Liberty at Work." "Looking for Work?" the ad asks. It then describes positions throughout the country for advancing "conservative and libertarian" causes.
Conservative Corporate Advocacy Group ALEC Behind Voter Disenfranchisement Efforts
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative organization linked to corporate and right-wing donors, including the billionaire Koch brothers, has drafted and distributed model legislation, obtained by Campus Progress, that appears to be the inspiration for bills proposed by state legislators this year and promoted by Tea Party activists, bills that would limit access of young people to vote.
The Koch Bros Plan To Take Down Health Care Reform
While the intellectual battle waged inside the Supreme Court over the constitutionality of health care reform, it was outside where the political battle really took off. And who is at the center of the political battle? The Koch brothers. Conservative billionaire brothers have sent the surrogates, the Americans for Prosperity, to rally against the bill. The protest featured notorious anti-health care crusaders like Rep. Michele Bachmann and Sens. Jim DeMint and Rand Paul and will do little, if anything, to impact the actual deliberations of the Court.
Koch Bros. Now Buying Academic Support
Billionaire Charles Koch's efforts at shaping public policy have come under immense scrutiny recently, despite the fact that he and his brother have used their immense wealth to influence legislation for years. But given the disastrous results in places like Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida and Indiana some of the Koch's old deals are getting a second look.
Koch Industries accused of polluting waterway
Koch Industries’ Toxic Gifts to Wisconsin
Koch Industries ranks in the "top ten" of the Toxic 100 list of the Political Economy Research Institute, which identifies the top U.S. air polluters among the world's largest corporations based on their chronic human health risk. Koch Industries is included in the list as the parent corporation of a diversity of industrial facilities that process and distribute fossil fuels, paper, wood products and synthetic fibers. The pollution from these facilities has a significant effect on the natural environment and on human health
Pro-Walker Ads, Courtesy of Koch Industries
Kochs Fund $5.6 Million Ad Campaign in Ohio
Why Do the Koch Brothers Want a Convention of States?
It was only a small item in The Lincoln Journal-Star. It concerned an idea hatched by a Nebraska state senator named Paul Schumacher, who represents a district in what Nebraskans call the Unicameral in and around the city of Columbus, the county seat of Platte County. Somewhere north of 32,000 people live in Platte County, and about 95 percent of them are white. Anyway, if you follow it closely, Schumacher’s notion winds upward through the levels of our politics. Ultimately, it leads to a perilous place, and our arrival there as a self-governing republic is perilously imminent.
Koch Foundation grants to ASNE, Poynter ignite criticism – Columbia Journalism Review
Historically media-shy, and famous for their efforts to discourage and discredit journalism critical of their business and political operations, the Kochs are nowexpanding their media holdings, while the family’s nonprofits ramp up donations to mainstream media institutions such as ASNE and the Poynter Institute, and underwrite programs for NPR and PBS.
Koch tells employees how to vote
AG defends outside counsel decision
One law firm that represents the Koch brothers bills clients $115 per hour for paralegal services, or $300 an hour for litigation partners. This article does a nice job of explaining the GOP ties in Kansas, specifically the links between the Kansas statehouse, Charles and David Koch and the Kansas legal community.
Koch Brothers’ Heavy Hand Behind Anti-Kloppenburg Ad, Everything Else In Wisconsin
Ranking Member Waxman Calls for Examination of Koch Industries’ Role in Keystone XL Pipeline
Today Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman sent a letter to Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton and Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield requesting an investigation of the link between Koch Industries and the Keystone XL pipeline. Earlier this year, Koch Industries denied any connection between Koch and the Keystone XL pipeline.
Koch Brothers Secretive Billionaires With Eye on 2012 Creating Vast Database
The secretive oil billionaires the Koch brothers are close to launching a nationwide database connecting millions of Americans who share their anti-government and libertarian views, a move that will further enhance the tycoons' political influence and that could prove significant in next year's presidential election.
Watchdog Groups Criticize Philanthropy Award Given to Billionaire Charles G. Koch
House Committee Hearing Sponsored By Billionaire Koch Brothers
On Thursday, April 14, 2011, the House Government Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is holding a hearing regarding state budget deficits featuring Wisconsin s controversial Governor, Scott Walker. Gov. Walker was infamously 'pranked' by a caller earlier this year who Walker thought to be David Koch.
Koch meeting in Vail Colorado
Billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch held their twice a year meeting of corporate titans, political operatives, and public officials in Beaver Creek Colorado (near Vail) The event started Sunday and wrapped up today. Six months ago, Common Cause helped draw attention to these secretive meetings by staging a rally in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and we made sure to bring the attention and protests to Vail.
Koch Brothers, Worth $50 Billion, Sue Widow Over $16.00 of Nonprofit’s Stock
With the Koch brothers, it s all about control. They reign over the largest private oil company in the U.S. with estimated revenues of $100 billion. They wield power over a sprawling network of nonprofit front groups with unbridled influence over everything from the Tea Party to economics professors at publicly funded universities. Forbes lists their personal wealth as $25 billion each. They own mansions in the toniest towns in America. And last week, in a decidedly Scrooge-esque maneuver, they filed a lawsuit against a widow who lost her husband to a stroke a mere four months ago over stock she inherited in the Cato Institute worth a measly $16.00.
Walker Paying Back the Koch Brothers in Wisconsin With Union Busting and No-Bid Power Plant Sales
As Think Progress' Lee Fang discussed with Cenk Uygur today, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is doing more than just busting the unions in his state to help out the Koch brothers. There is also a provision in the budget plan that would allow the state to give no-bid sales of state owned of power plants to his corporate donors.
Climate study, funded in part by conservative group, confirms global warming
Zach Galifianakis Slams Koch Brothers
Koch brothers committed to seeing Republican states turn a ‘deeper shade of red’
Tim Owens, a Republican who held elected office in Kansas for more than three decades, fell out of favor with Governor Sam Brownback because he committed the crime of compromising with Democrats, says Jennifer Granholm. So Brownback started endorsing tea party newcomers against Republican moderates, including Senator Owens opponent, Jim Denning. But most important, it wasn t just the governor backing these tea partyers - the Kansas-based conservative billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch, who are behind Americans for Prosperity, started funding them too.
Koch brothers aren’t just buying elections – they’re investing big in anti-science think tanks
Koch Industries spent $40 million in the 2010 election cycle, but they've vowed to spend $100 million this year. That s not counting the money that goes to think tanks such as the Cato Institute or Americans for Prosperity to engineer research - such as making voters and decision-makers "suspect of science" - that could then help elect Republicans.
Koch Industries Acting Like It’s Never Given Money to the Democrats Before
If you've been listening to the Democratic Party and liberal activists over the past couple of years, then you've heard that Charles and David Koch, the wealthy industrialist brothers who have placed their inestimable financial muscle behind conservative causes and candidates, are democracy's rapists. So it may seem a bit strange that Washington senator Patty Murray, the head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, recently solicited Koch Industries for a donation. An executive for Koch Industries, Philip Ellender, replied to her with an indignant letter, which he helpfully posted online as well:
WI Dems have filed complaints against Alberta Darling alleging multiple felonies.
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin today filed complaints in multiple jurisdictions alleging that state Sen. Alberta Darling has committed multiple felonies as part of a collusion and obstruction conspiracy. The complaints also name the corporate front group Americans For Prosperity, Wisconsin Family Action, Wisconsin Right to Life and the lobbying arm of for-profit education corporations, the so-called American Federation for Children.
How ALEC, the Koch Brothers Led CABAL and The Amicus Project Interfere in Federal Courts …
This article by Bob Sloan of the Daily Kos describes how ALEC and the Koch brothers have been filing "friend of the Court" briefs in federal court cases around the country to advance an agenda important to their members and corporate interests. The problem is, what is in the best interests of ALEC and their friends all too often is not in our best interests. And if Romney wins in November and the republican propaganda campaign results in them taking the US Senate also, you can bet that this problem will get worse, not better.
Clemson Sells Out to the Koch Foundation
ALEC Exposed: Bring on the Bribery Charges for GOP State Legislators
Rep. Mike Pompeo – The Koch brother’s puppet in the war on children
Last month, we found out how Rep. Mike Pompeo succeeded in getting his amendment passed that would strip out funding for a new public database, operated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The database would allow people to make informed decisions on product safety, having access to injury reports on things like toys, cribs, and strollers.
Rick Perry Meets With Koch Brothers
The Statesman reported that Rick Perry, in the middle of the special legislative session he called, flew off to Vail, Colorado, on a donor's private airplane to a summit hosted by the Koch Brothers. Rick Perry is no stranger to meeting with conservative billionaires to plan how to enact corporate-friendly policies at the expense of Texan families, and it's for this reason that he could be the preferred presidential candidate for the Koch Brothers.
The Koch Brothers and MF Global – Friends to the End
A recent report in Reuters has described the billions of dollars of client accounts that were withdrawn from MF Global in the last few weeks before their collapse, including 8 accounts from Koch industries engaged in oil trade that were transferred to Mizuho Securities after years of a steady and profitable relationship with MF. The Reuters piece concentrates on the possibilities of legal "clawback" of client money if the bankruptcy does not allow remaining client accounts to be made whole.
American Bilderberg Exposed People and Power
Koch Industries Backing Bachmann For President
Top Climate Change-Denying Scientist Found to Be on Exxon, Koch Brothers’ Payroll
Dr. Willie Soon is certainly entitled to his theory that global warming is caused by solar variations rather than CO2, especially given his field of study within astrophysics - Solar, Stellar and Planetary Sciences. But getting paid $1 million in grants by the Koch Brothers, Exxon and a fleet of other energy industry giants makes Soone a stooge.
President Obama will smash GOP Super PACs (he hopes)
Karl Rove, the Koch brothers and other high-powered conservatives have already launched or will soon launch ads attacking President Obama. Rove s American Crossroads yesterday announced plans for a multi-state, four month blitz against the commander-in-chief, and Americans for Prosperity, funded by billionaires Charles and David Koch, has already started airing commercials painting Obama as corrupt and ineffectual.
IF Scott Walker beats the recall it will mean the Koch Brothers’ investment paid off
The June 5 Wisconsin recall vote is just days away, and Republican Gov. Scott Walker has raised more campaign cash than any candidate in Wisconsin history, with more than $31 million raised since he took office in January 2011. Walker's war chest, which grew by a whopping $5.9 million in the past five weeks, dwarfs that of his Democratic opponent, former Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who's fundraising total of $4.2 million in comparison had Wisconsin Democrats scolding their party's national leadership.
Koch Industries, other CEOs warn employees of layoffs if Obama is reelected
In it was a letter, dated Oct. 1, from Koch Industries president Dave Robertson implicitly warning that "many of our more than 50,000 U.S. employees and contractors may suffer the consequences" of voting for President Obama and other Democrats in the 2012 elections, a list of conservative candidates the company's political action committee endorses and a pair of editorials: one, by David Koch, supporting Mitt Romney, and the other, by Charles Koch, condemning Obama.
Koch Industries, other CEOs warn employees of layoffs if Obama is reelected
In it was a letter, dated Oct. 1, from Koch Industries president Dave Robertson implicitly warning that "many of our more than 50,000 U.S. employees and contractors may suffer the consequences" of voting for President Obama and other Democrats in the 2012 elections, a list of conservative candidates the company's political action committee endorses and a pair of editorials: one, by David Koch, supporting Mitt Romney, and the other, by Charles Koch, condemning Obama.
The Contango Game: How Koch Industries Manipulates The Oil Market For Profit
In recent weeks, gas prices around the country have surged to levels unseen since the 2008 oil spike. However, market fundamentals are not driving the nearly $4.00/gallon gas prices. In fact, under the Obama administration, oil production is at record highs and there is adequate global supply of crude. As Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) commissioner Bart Chilton has explained, rampant oil speculation, which is at its highest level on record right now, is to blame for current prices.
Sarah Palin: The Koch Brother’s Union Maid
Tax Day was approaching and the righties were out to denigrate government workers and government spending. Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska, who quit her job in 2009, headlined a rally in Madison, Wisconsin, bought and paid for by the front-group Americans for Prosperity (AFR), but billed as a 'grassroots' Tea Party event.
Koch Brothers Dishonest About Keystone XL, Tar Sands Interest
On the heels of a 21-page investigative article by ?Bloomberg ?Magazine?, which covered the high crimes and misdemeanors of the Koch Brothers, Koch Industries, and its numerous subsidiaries over the past several decades, more damning news arrives about their dirty deeds in Canada. Today, ?InsideClimate News? reported in a story titled "Koch Subsidiary Told Regulators It Has 'Direct and Substantial Interest' in Keystone XL", that contrary to the narrative the Kochs have been dishing out to the U.S. government, Koch Industries has a huge fiscal stake in both the Keystone XL Pipeline and in Tar Sands production more generally.
Koch Industries’ Lobbying Curtain Lifted By Center For Public Integrity
Brave New Films Explains How Billionaires Could Profit From Keystone XL Pipeline
In the latest installment of its video series "Koch Brothers Exposed," the Brave New Films team interviews concerned property owners and farmers whose land and water quality is threatened by the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry filthy tar sands crude from Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries.
Koch Brothers Set Up Shop in Tar Sands Territory
West Virginia Congressman Wants EPA To Stop Monitoring Toxic Waste
Republican Representative David McKinley from West Virginia has proposed a bill that would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating toxic coal ash. The EPA has not yet made a decision on whether or not to classify coal ash as toxic, but reports show that the substance poses significant risks to human health.
Top Ten Koch Facts
Everyone seems to be investigating Charles and David Koch lately, with expos s of their corrupt political behavior popping up in places like the New Yorker, AlterNet, ThinkProgress, and Brave New Foundation's film Koch Brothers Exposed. Naturally, the billionaire brothers don't like the attention, so they're responding to it by smearing the activists and journalists. In their panic, they have now taken out Google ads attacking me and plastered an ominous image of my eyes on their website...
Koch Brothers Behind Paul Ryan as VP Choice
I've waited a few days to lay out my analysis of the selection of Paul Ryan for the VP slot on the Romney ticket. Unlike politicos like Dick Morris who bad-mouths the selection privately and shills for it publicly, I'll tell you what I really think. My sources tell me David Koch played a key role in Ryan's selection and that Koch's wife Julia had been quietly lobbying for Ryan. The selection was cemented at the July 22nd fundraiser Koch held for Romney at the former's sumptuous Hamptons estate.
ALEC: The Organization Rewriting State Laws Across the Country
Since the 2010 election, conservative legislatures in practically every state have almost immediately plunked down a spate of bills with a very unified focus, attacking unions, Planned Parenthood, and cherished social programs. If you have wondered about the shelf where all this legislation sits and waits for conservatives to marshal their numbers, it s located at the offices of an organization called ALEC. That stands for the American Legislative Exchange Council, and it s the most powerful organization you almost never hear about.
Koch Brothers To Benefit From “Savannah River Sellout”
In addition to the financial and political favors she s already alleged to have already received for betraying South Carolina s economic and environmental interests, S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley may reap yet another major reward from her "Savannah River Sellout." -- Specifically, her decision to accommodate the state of Georgia s government-funded Savannah port expansion project - which will effectively kill a public-private port facility in Jasper County, S.C. - will benefit a pair of major players in Republican Party politics.
Koch Brothers Set Sights on Florida Supreme Court Justices
In new op-ed, Riverkeeper demands answers to questions about Georgia-Pacific pipeline
Recipients of the Kochs’ Largesse
The Kochs heavily favored Republican candidates and committees, giving them $2.1 million, or 83 percent of the total given to partisan candidates and committees. Democratic candidates and committees garnered 17 percent of Koch's money, or $414,294. Two-thirds of the money that went to Democrats came from the Koch subsidiary Georgia-Pacific, at $276,152.
Billionaires Channel Millions to Think Tanks
Just as big money is transforming politics, it s also helping to reshape American think tanks. Members of the Forbes 400 have poured millions of dollars into research organizations that fit their social, political and/or business concerns. The conservative Heritage Foundation has received funding from libertarian Charles G. Koch, CEO of Koch Industries, as well as from Richard Mellon Scaife, owner of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and heir to the Mellon banking fortune.
Koch Bros. Could Pull A $40B Dividend — But Probably Won’t
Charles and David Koch are attacked by left-wingers for their free-market politics, which strike some who dwell in more liberal circles as being extreme and even vaguely anti-American. But here s something really strange about the brothers who control Koch Industries, the nation s second-biggest private company: They operate it with no net debt
Occupy The Koch Brothers Violence, Injuries, And Arrests At DC Protest
Protest Movement Starts ‘Rebranding’ Billionaire Koch Brothers
Director Robert Greenwald s opening gambit in what he pledges will be a year-long effort to publicize the Koch brothers political efforts drew about 500 protesters to Lincoln Center in New York last night, ending with an unauthorized 'rebranding' of the Center s David H. Koch Theater with the caption "I'm the Tea Party s wallet"