Kochs’ Latino Group Calls Clinton’s Protections for Immigrants Extreme

The executive director of the Koch-backed LIBRE Initiative, Daniel Garza, continues to criticize protections for immigrants, claiming that Hillary Clinton’s call for an expansion of protections for undocumented immigrants and their families is “extreme.”

Garza previously called President Obama’s executive actions on DAPA an “overreach.” As part of the “Month’s Supply of Koch,” Bridge Project recently released an in-depth report on the shady political agenda that LIBRE has hidden from Latinos in an effort to win their votes. The report and this latest statement show that while LIBRE may brand itself as a community outreach organization that helps Hispanics, the Koch-backed group actually works against their best interests.

Watch the full clip of Daniel Garza above.

Hey Koch brothers — Did we hit a nerve?

May 27, 2015

The Koch brothers attacked American Bridge by name in a Wall Street Journal op-ed for highlighting the Charles Koch Foundation’s shady tactics by attaching strings to university grants, like libertarian ideological requirements for professors and graduate students. It’s extortion-as-education that rivals the Kochs’ nearly $900 million they’re spending this election to audition conservative candidates for president. On top of the Koch Foundation, Koch-linked organizations Independent Women’s Forum and Mercatus at George Mason University are also picking fights with Bridge.

Looks like our year-long effort to raise awareness about the Kochs’ moneyed special interests hit a nerve. This month alone, Bridge Project has released reports on the Kochs’ efforts in Florida and Iowa as well as their harmful LIBRE Initiative as part of our “Month’s Supply of Koch.”

For years now, the Koch brothers have been providing grants to universities with stipulations attached to manipulate the curriculum and teaching professionals at each institution — […]

GOPers Appease Koch Demands on Crude Oil Export Ban

May 27, 2015

The Kochs are already seeing a return on their $900 million investment in the 2016 presidential election. This weekend at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, the Kochs got the GOP to support one of their longstanding demands: lifting the the crude oil export ban.

 
Lifting the crude oil export ban has been been a key priority of the Kochs. More than thirty years ago, David Koch bought a spot as the vice presidential candidate on a long-shot Libertarian Party ticket. The genesis of the Koch takeover of the libertarian party has its roots in opposition to federal energy policy– such as the repeal of the crude oil export ban. According to a fundraising letter for the Libertarian Party  penned by Charles Koch, he attacked President Ford for enacting the oil export ban in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, calling it “One of many demonstrations of the bankruptcy of […]

Koch-Backed Veterans Group Pushes False Claims about the VA

May 26, 2015

The Koch-bankrolled group Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) is pushing the GOP’s false statements about the veterans healthcare crisis for political points. The CVA backed a slew of extreme conservative candidates in the 2014 midterm elections — so it’s no wonder just a few months into the 2016 cycle, they are rushing to the aid of the GOP.

According to the Washington Times, last week, House Speaker John Boehner said just one person has been fired by the Department of Veterans Affairs since the news of the scandal broke. CVA came out swinging in defense of this distorted claim. Pete Hegseth, CEO of CVA said, “When Speaker Boehner said one person had been fired [for the waiting list scandal] — actually, technically, that one person is still under review. So technically the number is still zero people fired.”

But a recent fact check proves that CVA’s claim is false. According to […]

The Kochs diversify their GOP investment by backing multiple candidates

This weekend, David Koch confirmed that the billionaire brothers will use the roughly $900 million they are doling out for the 2016 presidential race to bankroll multiple GOP contestants. The Kochs have already revealed their top draft picks this cycle are Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio. They’re going to do the same with the Republican presidential field as they are with their business portfolio: diversify their investments. They want to make sure they own whichever GOP nominee is competing for the White House.

The Republican wannabees are already running to the right to cater to Koch priorities on the flat tax, the Export-Import Bank, and the minimum wage. How far will the GOP presidential field go for a chunk of Koch cash?

Check out Bridge Project’s web ad, “Koch Tank” that gives a sneak peak of the Kochs’ auditions to pick their GOP presidential candidates.

GOPers Cave to Koch Stance on Export-Import Bank

May 22, 2015

In the Kochs’ invisible primary, the crop of GOP presidential wannabees are bending over backwards to win the financial backing of the electorate of two. An aide to the Kochs told the Daily Signal that opposition to the Export-Import Bank would be a key factor in determining whether a candidate would garner the billionaire brothers’ support.

Of course, the Kochs are opposed to the program because it gives small businesses an edge over their multi-national corporation, Koch Industries. Now the Kochs have set their sights on killing the bank through several of their organizations, including Americans for Prosperity, Freedom Partners, and the LIBRE Initiative.

The truth is the Ex-Im Bank’s mission is to protect American companies and give them a competitive edge abroad. For more than 80 years, it’s been a bipartisan program because it promotes American exports. Last year alone it supported 164,000 jobs here at home with no cost to […]

The Kochs Block Solar Energy in the Sunshine State

May 22, 2015

This week the Kochs were vilified in a Gainesville Sun editorial for their greedy efforts to stave off threats to their oil and gas empire. The paper blames Americans for Prosperity, the Kochs’ political arm, for an obscure regulation that limits the expansion of solar power in the Sunshine State. 

Florida is one of five states that has a law on the books prohibiting residents from selling power from solar panels installed on homes or businesses — instead consumers can only buy electricity directly from utilities. The Gainesville Sun pins the ban on AFP’s intense lobbying efforts to protect their fossil fuel fortune. The paper points to overwhelming evidence that the expansion of solar energy would save money, reduce fossil-fuel emissions, and create jobs.

Time and time again, the Koch brothers’ self-interested actions proved to be beneficial to their bottom line at the expense of hardworking Floridians. As part of the mandate to expose […]

Home-State News: Another Koch Condemnation on Renewable Energy

May 22, 2015

Another newspaper in their own backyard is lambasting the Kochs and Governor Brownback for their attacks on renewable energy. Last week, the Koch brothers’ hometown publication, the Wichita Eagle, issued an editorial roasting the Kochs and Brownback for their assault on wind energy. This week it’s the Butler County Gazette exposing how deeply involved the Kochs actually are in special-interest lobbying.

Last week, Governor Brownback announced a “compromise” on the state’s renewable energy standards, changing a mandate into a voluntary goal. The agreement also decreased the lifetime property tax exemption for renewable projects to a 10-year exemption. Americans for Prosperity has been attacking the standards since January 2014, calling for an end to the mandate. Now the Gazette editorial board is saying the wind industry was “bullied into the deal” — revealing that the “compromise” was brokered behind closed doors, with Americans for Prosperity seated at the table.

Before this […]

The Vatican Knocks the Kochs for Climate Change Criticism

The Church is fighting back against Koch attacks on climate change. In an interview with Life Site News, Vatican Prelate Sánchez Sorondo called out self-serving fossil fuel tycoons for criticizing the Church’s efforts to combat the effects of climate change. 

In response to the pope’s call to action on Catholics and world leaders, the Kochs are using their dark money and conservative cronies to derail the Holy Father’s work to protect the environment. The Koch brothers will stop at nothing to protect their profits. Last month, the Heartland Institute, a Chicago-based think-tank that is backed by the Kochs, went to Rome to protest the Vatican’s action on climate change.

When the Vatican prelate was asked if he had any choice words for his detractors he said, “The Tea Party and all those whose income derives from oil have criticized us, but not my superiors, who instead authorized me, and several of them participated.”

The Vatican prelate stressed […]

Koch Cash Falls Short After Fueling Toxic Kentucky Gov. Primary

May 21, 2015

Even the Kochs have limits: after using millions of dollars to fuel a shady, personal, muddy, primary fight the Koch machine came up short on Tuesday, seeing their candidate Hal Heiner spend roughly $100 per vote to come in a distant third.

According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, the Kochs backed two political action committees in support of Heiner: Citizens for a Sound Government (CGS) and the Bluegrass Action Fund. Both of the groups are led by, Alan Phillip, a longtime Koch operative. According to CNN, the Bluegrass Action Fund spent $400,000 on an advertising blitz calling eventual nominee Matt Bevin “dishonest” for misrepresenting himself on LinkedIn and taking federal money while their chosen candidate launched attacks in person and on television highlighting an allegation that one of his opponents, James Comer, abused his college girlfriend.

The Kochs besmirched the Republican brand in Kentucky before coming up short, but this is […]

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