Real Koch Facts

Koch Pundits To Follow During the SCOTUS Nomination Fight

March 18, 2016

As the Supreme Court nomination fight heats up, keep an eye out for some of the Senate Republicans’ notable accomplices—backed by conservative billionaire funders—who are colluding with Republicans in this unprecedented obstruction.

Carrie Severino, Policy Director & Chief Counsel, Judicial Crisis Network

Phil Kerpen, head of pro-small government group, American Commitment

Ed Whalen, President, Ethics & Public Policy Center

Ed Meese III, Emeritus Fellow, Heritage Foundation & former Reagan US Attorney General

Carrie Severino, Policy Director & Chief Counsel, Judicial Crisis Network
Leading the opposition to fill the vacancy is Carrie Severino from the Judicial Crisis Network, a Koch-backed organization, that launched a $1.5 million “thank ‘n’ spank” ad campaign, supporting Republicans and condemning Democrats only days after Justice Scalia’s death.

Originally, JCN was the Judicial Confirmation Network and it advocated for ending “the obstruction of judicial nominees.” During the Bush administration, JCN called on (Democratic) Senators to “recognize the right of every […]

Using Another Boilerplate, Kochs Spread More Misinformation About ACA

March 17, 2016

Another week, another spate of formulaic, inaccurate op-eds disseminating from the Koch network.

The Kochs have a well-documented history of pushing boilerplate-style op-eds and letters to the editor to deceive readers into the belief that local, grassroots support exists for Koch policies. The Koch network has previously used this tactic to attack occupational licensing–a campaign which saw editorials in 36 states–and earlier this month used the same tactic in an attempt to undermine carbon regulations.

No longer content limiting its scope to funneling millions into far-right groups and causes, the Koch’s are now deploying Freedom Partners to manipulate opinion more directly. Nathan Nascimento, Director Of State Initiatives at Freedom Partners, has penned nearly identical criticisms of the Affordable Care Act in major publications targeting voters in eight states.

The Koch Network continued to endanger the lives of Americans by launching a series of copy-and-paste op-eds to spread misinformation about the ACA under such […]

Kochs Defend Their CAFTA Quarterback Senator In $2m Ad

March 16, 2016

For all their talk about staying out of the presidential election, the Koch brothers are throwing down big for a first ad in Ohio.

“The new ad is a sign the Koch network is gearing up to play a big role in federal races, even as its leaders insist they are not trying to shape the Republican presidential primary dominated by billionaire Donald Trump…”

Eddie Vale, Vice President of American Bridge:
“Sen. Portman is a CAFTA quarterback senator getting support from his pro-outsourcing billionaires.”

Read more from USA Today and in the Real Koch Facts Ohio report.

When the Kochs’ Americans For Prosperity “Wins”, Floridians Lose

March 14, 2016

The Florida chapter of David and Charles Koch’s primary political front group, Americans for Prosperity, is being hailed as a “winner” of Florida’s 2016 legislative session. Victory for the Kochs almost always comes at the cost of average working Americans, and this time is no different. Wielding their political power over the Florida legislature, the Kochs successfully denied 1.1 million Floridians health insurance when they blocked Medicaid expansion in 2015. At the beginning of the 2016 session, AFP kicked off another round of “accountability” mailers to lawmakers — bullying their way to victory.

State director Chris Hudson called on lawmakers to “commit themselves to pushing free-market health care reforms that will yield more positive results for Florida’s most needy.” Predictably, significant reforms to Florida’s broken healthcare system failed to come to fruition during the session. AFP’s opposition to Medicaid expansion–coupled with its failure to provide […]

With Anti-Environmental Pitch, Gianforte Proves He’s The Kochs’ Through And Through

March 11, 2016

Montana gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte has President Obama’s environmental rules in his cross-hairs. On Thursday, the Republican said he wants to “wrangle up” the president’s Clean Power Plan if he takes office.

According to E&E News,

Gianforte’s targets include federal sage grouse conservation plans, U.S. EPA’s Clean Water Rule and one Obama administration regulation he can’t bring himself to call by its formal name: “The Costly Power Plan” is Gianforte’s term for the Clean Power Plan, the president’s attempt to limit carbon emissions from the power sector.

Gianforte’s opposition to the regulations falls perfectly in line with the Koch brothers’ agenda. In November, Americans for Prosperity published a press release that similarly challenged Governor Steve Bullock for implementing President Obama’s climate change rules. Gianforte is literally following in their footsteps — predictable since he’s a handpicked Koch candidate.

The climate change deniers have used their dark money channels to stealthily back the […]

Community Disorganizers: Friendly Neighborhood Kochs Don’t Care About Your Neighborhood

March 11, 2016

On March 6, 2006, the community of Gaylord, Minnesota suffered an enormous loss courtesy of Charles and David Koch. Over two-hundred residents lost their jobs when Koch Industries subsidiary Georgia Pacific decided to close its Gaylord plant — the largest of its kind east of the Mississippi, according to the Gaylor Herald Times.

Georgia Pacific manufactures wood, adhesives, fertilizer, cardboard, and paper products — including Dixie cups and Brawny paper towels, among other things. This particular Georgia Pacific facility in Gaylord was a particle board plant. But, most importantly, it was a community staple — and had been since it produced its first wood panel on April 16, 1965.

The economic impact of the Georgia Pacific plant’s closure was devastating. Not only were 155 suppliers impacted by its shut-down, but there was also the “$8 million in [lost] annual wages paid directly to” employees in the community — and a “secondary […]

Kentucky Voters Reject Koch Agenda

March 9, 2016

While all eyes were on the presidential primaries, Governor Matt Bevin and the Kochs lost big last night in Kentucky. According to the Associated Press, voters helped the Democrats maintain a majority in the state House over Republicans, giving them control of 53 of the 100 seats:

The victory by Democrats assures they will have at least the 51 votes they need to pass a budget that will most likely roll back most of Bevin’s spending cuts. Bevin has proposed using the savings to begin to pay down the state’s multi-billion dollar pension debt.

There is no doubting that Governor Bevin is another Republican Koch puppet. Americans for Prosperity Kentucky launched a huge field effort in support of Bevin during the 2015 gubernatorial race. AFP also ran two ads attacking Bevin’s opponent, Jack Conway, and KochPAC gave his campaign $1,000.

Not only did the Koch political network push to get Bevin elected, […]

A Day Off For The Koch Assault On Women

March 8, 2016

A Charles Koch Foundation senior program officer chose the eve of International Women’s Day to blame feminism for “rape culture.” Seriously. And that’s infinitely more representative of the Kochs and their network groups’ attitude toward, and actions with respect to, women’s equality than the PR charade they’re putting on to commemorate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month.

Koch Industries subsidiary Georgia Pacific is putting on a show of reverence for women’s equality this month with a Brawny Paper Towels #StrengthHasNoGender ad campaign. But a new hashtag doesn’t do much to make up for other Brawny ads, like this one. And it definitely doesn’t compensate for the substantive actions that the Kochs and their network have taken to undermine feminism and women’s empowerment.

Here are some examples of Koch groups’ shocking, anti-women’s empowerment rhetoric and advocacy:

The director of the Koch-funded Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has characterized investigations into sexual assault […]

Kochs (Yet Again) Caught Placing A Generic, Misleading Op-ed

March 2, 2016

Not for the first time, the Kochs just got caught placing the same misleading and formulaic op-ed in multiple papers, across multiple states.

A formulaic opinion column, (most commonly titled) “[X state] Should Put Carbon Regulation On Ice,” by American Energy Alliance President Thomas Pyle has appeared in 10 outlets across 7 states over the last week-and-a-half. The Kochs opted for 35+ states last time this happened, but they’re being understandably cautious after getting caught and called out.

American Energy Alliance’s Koch connection comes in the form of a whopping $5 million that Koch front groups sent the organization between 2010 and 2014. But that’s not all: Thomas Pyle, the group’s president and op-ed’s author, is also a former lobbyist for Koch Industries.

It isn’t surprising that the Kochs are trying to impose their selfish policy agenda at the state level. That’s what they do with ALEC and their policy campaigns executed through Americans For Prosperity and […]

The Kochs Are Covering Their Bases in National AND State Races

March 2, 2016

Putting nothing to chance, the Koch brothers have already front-loaded nearly half of its $900 million political war chest, throwing money directly in to states–and behind Koch-friendly governors and candidates–they’re betting on to deliver on their self-serving agenda.

Earlier this week in a new academic study, “The Koch Effect: The Impact of a Cadre-Led Network on American Politics,” it described the pervasiveness of the Koch brothers’ network and its efforts to take over the Republican Party.

The report found:

Koch-backed organizations fund 76% of all of the budgets of “GOP-conservative organizations created since 2002.
Koch-funded organizations encourage politicians “to compete to prove they can be effective spokespersons for, and executors of, the Koch agenda,” instead of making candidate endorsements.
According to Americans For Prosperity’s national congressional scorecards, Republican House and Senate members “have voted with AFP most of the time…with compliance rising from 73% in 2007 to 88% in 2015.”

Read more about how the Koch network is influencing state politics […]