Kochs Pouring Millions Into Higher Ed To Advance Their Political Goals

October 30, 2015

A new report from the Center for Public Integrity reveals the motivation behind the billionaire Koch brothers’ big “philanthropic” investments in higher education across the country: advancing their political agenda.

During 2013, a pair of private charitable foundations Charles Koch leads and personally bankrolls combined to spread more than $19.3 million across 210 college campuses in 46 states and the District of Columbia, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of Internal Revenue Service tax filings.

The Kochs’ giving, however, has a laser-like focus on a specific, politically relevant discipline — free market economics — unmatched by other political mega-donors. Koch officials routinely cultivate relationships with professors and deans and fund specific courses of economic study pitched by them.

But it’s clear where there is an ideological bent to their giving: Tax returns, as well as emails and private documents exchanged among Charles Koch Foundation officers and various college and university officials, indicate the foundation’s […]

Scrambling To Hide Koch Commitments, GOP Field Boots “Biggest Weakness” Question

October 29, 2015

Wednesday night’s debate opened with a question that — while simple — gave the GOP field some trouble: “What’s your biggest weakness?” Each of the candidates ducked and dodged the question to the best of their respective abilities — some better than others. (To paraphrase Donald Trump, some of them “just don’t have it”: Blah, blah, blah, etc.)

But the reason the candidates struggled is no more complex than the question itself: Rubio, Bush, Cruz, and the rest of the crew couldn’t exactly go up there and tell the truth — they couldn’t admit that they’re boxed in by an inflexible fealty to Charles and David Koch and their selfish agenda. It’s not exactly voter-friendly to admit that, in everything you do, in any legislation you push, the Kochs’ agenda — and their bottom line — will always supersede the interests of the American public.

Three candidates in particular,

No Matter Who Is The GOP Nominee, The Kochs Win

October 29, 2015

The Koch brothers’ invisible primary has allowed them to pull the strings in the GOP presidential fight from from behind the scenes. Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina have made it clear they are salivating at the chance for a bite of Koch cash. The Kochs even had the decency to provide talking points for tonight’s debate. All ten candidates on the stage tonight support policies that will boost billionaires like the Kochs and hurt middle class and working families.

Take a look at the candidates’ ties to the Kochs:

Rubio
Koch Primary

Headline: “Marco Rubio: I Would Love To Win Support From The Koch Brothers In 2016.” [Washington Times, 4/23/15]

The Kochs “Identified Five Candidates Who Have The Right Message And ‘A Good Chance Of Getting Elected’”: Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, And Marco Rubio. According to USA Today, “[Charles] Koch, his brother David and their team have identified five candidates who […]

Kochs Lose Again In Ex-Im Fight

October 28, 2015

A bipartisan coalition voted to renew the Export-Import Bank yesterday, marking another huge loss for the Koch brothers. It’s unclear whether the Senate will follow suit considering the many vulnerable Republicans leaning on the Kochs for their re-election, but either way, today marks a victory for the American economy and a hit to the Kochs’ bottom line.

Read more about the effort against the Kochs below:

Big Loss For The Kochs On Ex-Im, Consequences Coming For GOP Members

A bipartisan discharge petition on the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank reached the necessary 218 signatures this afternoon, according to POLITICO’s Jake Sherman. The petition will force the bill out of the House Financial Services Committee and to a vote on the floor on October 26.



After a huge lobbying effort from the Kochs and their biggest front group, Americans for Prosperity, the Ex-Im expired at the end of June. […]

“GOP Candidates Looking For Clues To Get Koch Brothers’ PAC Money”

October 28, 2015

Ahead of tomorrow’s GOP debate in Boulder, Fox Business correspondent Charlie Gasparino sets the stage by revealing what everyone else knows but won’t admit — that the entire GOP field is pandering to Charles and David Koch in hopes of winning their support and a piece of the nearly $900 million they plan to spend in 2016. Watch

CHARLIE GASPARINO: Everybody is going to change their message at some point — everyone of these candidates — from Rubio to Kasich. And they do have a legitimate shot at that money….I’ve been getting this from the fundraisers over the past couple weeks. Everybody is looking to hone their message to appeal to them right now.

Tomorrow, Bridge Project will roll out a debate primer highlighting how if Republicans and the Kochs win, the middle class loses.

In The Kochs’ Native Kansas, Just 18% Approve Of Their Puppet Governor

October 26, 2015

Kansas is the Koch brothers’ policy proving ground — but Charles and David’s Sunflower State agenda has proved to be anything but popular.

After going to great lengths to implement the Kochs’ policy agenda, Governor Sam Brownback — their home-state executive and cherished stooge — has a public image problem. A bad one.

“This could be some of the lowest approval ratings of any Kansas governor in history,” said a Washburn University political scientist of Brownback’s latest approval numbers, according to the Kansas City Star.

Though the Kochs no doubt continue to hold Brownback in high regard, just 18% of Kansans agree, the Star reported. And if the recent Fort Hays State University survey is to be believed, Sam Brownback’s shilling of the Koch policy agenda is to blame.  Strikingly, the poll found that 61% of voters “think [Brownback’s] signature tax policies have either been a ‘failure’ or a ‘tremendous failure,’” according […]

New AFP Ad For McCrory Ignores Slashed Education Funding

October 26, 2015

Earlier this year, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory slashed important education funding in order to cut taxes for North Carolina’s wealthiest residents — another step in making North Carolina the Kochs’ “model state.” Now, the Kochs want North Carolinians to say thank you for the budget changes that have been good for millionaires and billionaires like the Kochs but have had devastating effects on students and families around the state.

Koch front group Americans for Prosperity introduced a six-figure, 30-second ad buy yesterday evening. The ad ignores the education funding issues, saying, “People all across North Carolina are smiling a little more.” The only people smiling are the millionaires and billionaires like the Koch brothers who are benefiting from the tax cuts at the expense of public schools.

Read more about the Kochs in North Carolina and McCrory’s terrible tax policies below:

Of Course The Kochs Love The NC […]

Rubio Spends Another Saturday Wooing The Kochs With One Of Their Political Front Groups

October 26, 2015

Marco Rubio isn’t voting in the Senate, raising money, or hitting the campaign trail but he is running on all cylinders to woo the Koch brothers and win the Koch primary with another stop today with one of the Kochs’ “constituency” groups.

This morning in South Carolina, Marco Rubio is doing a town hall with Koch front group Concerned Veterans for America.

Despite claiming to work for veterans, CVA pushes the Koch agenda first and foremost — that means standing in opposition with nearly every other veterans organization and advocating for extreme right-wing policies that hurt our nation’s heroes.

Over the summer, Bridge Project teamed up with VoteVets to put out a report on the shady group’s true intentions. (Check out the full report, The Veterans Group That Fights Against Veterans, here.)

Concerned Veterans for American operates under the auspices of promoting policies that are good for veterans and their families — but they’re really only interested in pushing […]

Charles’ Lie About Kochs’ Political History Is Another PR Ploy, And A Bad One At That

October 23, 2015

Charles Koch wants to make one thing clear: He and his brother didn’t get involved in politics until 2003, and that’s a fact. Well, except… it isn’t. 

According to an interview (read: PR stunt) with Marketplace,

Koch: I’ve been working in this arena for over 50 years, and for the first 40 we didn’t get into politics, so we didn’t have this. Then in 2003, because of what the Bush administration was doing, we said, “Gosh, we’ve got to get involved in politics.”

Ryssdal: So let’s be clear, that’s George W. Bush, a Republican president, who’s doing things you didn’t like. Growing government, and all of that.

Koch: Increasing destructive regulations which led to the great recession.

But Charles and David were politically active at least twenty years earlier when David made a bid for the vice presidency, when they felt that Republicans supporting environmental laws and the oil export ban would hurt their […]

The Kochs Re-Up Their Campaign To Treat Puerto Rican Unequally Under U.S. Bankruptcy Code

October 22, 2015

With news that the Obama Administration is preparing a proposal to assist Puerto Rico with its $72 billion of debt, the Koch brothers are doubling down on their campaign to treat Puerto Rico unequally under U.S. bankruptcy code.

In a report and several posts, Bridge Project has on several occasions delved into the Koch brothers’ Puerto Rican priorities — their agenda to at all costs prevent Puerto Rico from accessing Chapter 9 protection. Why are they against it? Because, should Puerto Rico be allowed to declare bankruptcy, Koch allies stand to lose a lot of money. So they’re spending a lot of money to make sure that doesn’t happen. It’s textbook Koch Think: Never compromise your own personal profits for the betterment of others.

Big money special interests have been busy. $490,000 was spent lobbying against a House of Representatives Puerto Rican debt bill — in Q2 2015 alone, according to The Bond Buyer. And 60 Plus, “a […]

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