Real Koch Facts

Tax Reform? More like Tax Deform

June 26, 2014

As we’ve previously noted, the Koch brothers’ plan for tax reform is no different than any other aspect of their agenda, in that it’s entirely self-serving.

The Kochs’ political arm, Americans for Prosperity, issued a 37-page report last year that outlines their recommendations to “increase simplicity and neutrality” in the tax code, claiming that AFP’s “motivations are to create a simple, flat and neutral tax code with the fewest distortive, secondary effects on the economy.” But according to Citizens for Tax Justice, the proposed reforms actually represent a “gigantic tax cut for the wealthy,” and include “a large, although unspecified reduction in the top personal income tax rate, lower taxes on capital gains, and what amounts to the virtual elimination of the corporate income tax.”

It sounds more like the motivations behind AFP’s tax manifesto are actually to promote the interests of the billionaire […]

Noted bigot Charles Murray invited to present at Koch “seminar”

June 25, 2014

Last week, we highlighted some of the GOP bigwigs who recently spent a weekend palling around with the Koch brothers at a cushy resort in California. The Nation posted a copy of the agenda for the semi-annual retreat, and another name stood out to us: Charles Murray, who was invited by the event’s organizers to speak on Sunday evening.

If the name Charles Murray doesn’t ring a bell, allow us to refresh your memory. Under the guise of being a social scientist, Murray has propagated several blatantly racist and misogynist theories. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which classifies Murray as a White Nationalist, he has used “racist pseudoscience and misleading statistics to argue that social inequality is caused by the genetic inferiority of the black and Latino communities, women and the poor.” Murray is currently listed as a scholar at the American […]

The Kochs & AFP cry poor in Wisconsin’s Iron County

June 24, 2014

We’ve written before about the tremendous sums of money that the Koch brothers, through Americans for Prosperity, have poured into supporting Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and an extreme right-wing agenda in the state. Now, according to a recent report from Salon — “It’s a hard-rock life” — the Koch brothers and their pro-mining industry cronies are actually crying poor in Wisconsin.

One of Governor Walker’s many Koch-supported policies includes mining legislation, Wisconsin Act 1, which he signed into law last year. The measure, supported by the mining industry, rolled back key environmental protection for the state’s water sources and wetlands, according to Salon. As a result of the law, the development of a massive, open strip mine is being considered in the state’s Northwoods, a project that threatens the state’s fresh water, wildlife, landscape and the Native American tribes that call the iconic region home.

Not […]

Washington Post: Americans for Prosperity is our nation’s third-largest political party

June 23, 2014

Which one of these is not like the others? A) Democratic Party, B) Republican Party, C) the Koch Brothers.

The correct answer is C. (Partial credit if you answered A, given that the GOP has become the party of Koch. More on that here). Here’s the answer key: where the Democratic and Republican parties are centuries-old political institutions governed by campaign finance regulations, the Koch brothers are self-interested billionaires committed to pouring unlimited amounts of cash into influencing this fall’s mid-term elections.

Yet according to the Washington Post, the Koch brothers’ political arm, Americans for Prosperity, is effectively the third-largest political party in the country. “This year, the [Koch brothers’] network is likely to outstrip other organizations on both the left and the right with spending on television ads and on-the-ground organizing,” writes the Post’s Matea Gold, who notes that AFP and the Koch network are poised to spend upwards of […]

The Republican Agenda, As Dictated By The Koch Brothers

June 20, 2014

Super-secretive, well-guarded rooms at a Koch brothers’ billionaires retreat–this is where the Republican agenda is being hatched these days.

Last weekend, the Kochs and their wealthiest friends rented out an entire luxury resort complex in Laguna Beach. Because where else are you supposed to hold your brainstorming session on how to best spend hundreds of millions of dollars to buy elections?

But as detailed by The Nation, it wasn’t just dark money donors palling around at the conference. Guess who else made an appearance? Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, presidential hopeful Marco Rubio, key Senate candidates, Cory Gardner and Tom Cotton, and influential conservative congressman, Jim Jordan.

There is much ado these days about the jockeying for power between the Tea Party and the Republican establishment. But the reality is, in today’s GOP, the Koch brothers are the ones calling the shots.

No Zoo For You

The Kochs aren’t just trying to buy the presidency and seats in Congress. Sometimes they pour their money into tiny little pet projects. Or, in this case, an anti-pet project…

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio receives about 15% of its funding from local taxpayers. According to Jim Maddy, the CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, that’s true of about half of the zoos in North America because “there’s a clear understanding that zoos are educational, and they’re cultural institutions.”

People like zoos. That’s why, as the Columbus Dispatch says, “past zoo levies have sailed to victory” in Ohio. So why did the proposal for a tiny levy increase to continue funding the Columbus Zoo get voted down in Franklin County?

Maybe because the Kochs’ Americans for Prosperity poured over […]

Surprise! AFP Opposes Proposed Environmental Regulation

June 18, 2014

Americans for Prosperity, the political arm of the industrial billionaire Koch brothers, is out this week with another legislative alert railing against the Environmental Protection Agency. It’s a rather lengthy one, so we’ll summarize it for you: AFP is not happy about EPA’s new, proposed “Waters of the U.S.” rule.

AFP cites all manner of arguments, from farmers, to property rights, to the definition of “navigable waters,” in their opposition to this latest rule. But in reality, it’s just another one of the Koch brothers’ reflexive, self-serving attacks against any environmental regulations, from basic environmental protections to efforts to secure chemical facilities against potential terrorist attacks.

This week’s tirade against the “Waters of the U.S.” rule is just another example of AFP putting Koch Industries’ business interests ahead of those of the “family farmers and small businesses” they cite in their alert.

Koch brothers launch yet another political entity to do their bidding

June 17, 2014

Twice a year, the Koch brothers and their mysterious network of ultra-conservative, ultra-rich allies gather for secretive “seminars,” which, according to POLITICO, are “typically held under extremely tight security and attendees are warned not to divulge the proceedings.” Needless to say, we at American Bridge didn’t make the guest list.

We scarcely had a chance to guess at what was on the agenda at the seminar before reports emerged from the meeting that the Koch brothers are launching yet another political entity to do their bidding this mid-term cycle: Freedom Partners Action Fund. The super PAC is anticipated to spend more than $15 million during the cycle, bringing the projected total spend by Koch-affiliated groups to a whopping $290 million, according to the POLITICO report.

How does Freedom Partners Action Fund differ from Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, Americans for Prosperity or any of the dozens of other organizations with Koch backing? […]

Operation Kill Environmental Standards To Get Richer, Chapter 300 Million

June 17, 2014

How did you spend your weekend? Probably not at super-secretive, high security meetings at a privately reserved resort complex in Laguna Beach.

But that’s exactly how the Kochs and a bunch of their wealthiest friends spent it. What were they discussing at said meetings? Why, how to spend $300 million of course.

And the Daily Beast reports that some of that $300 million will go behind a new anti-environment initiative that the Kochs are launching. The Kochs have long demonized the type of environmental regulations that keep our air safe to breathe, our water safe to drink, because they may also limit the massive oil profits of companies like Koch Industries. But evidently, with momentum growing around climate change action, the Kochs feel it’s time to take their crusade against environmental standards to new heights.

This is quintessential Koch. Concerned that climate change is becoming an important […]

Opposing the Same Tax Credit in Two Different States, Does Not an Interesting Plot Line Make

June 16, 2014

Americans for Prosperity’s New Jersey chapter is pressuring lawmakers in the state to vote down Senate Bills S1952 and S779, which would create tax incentives for the film and television industries to do business in the state.

If you’re wondering, “where have I heard this before…?” the answer is North Carolina. The Koch brothers-backed group recently launched an ad campaign opposing the renewal of the Tarheel state’s existing film tax incentive program. Proponents of the tax credits in both states point to the jobs and economic benefits created by the film industry.

About New Jersey’s proposed tax incentives, AFP laments that they’ve “seen this movie before, and it’s a flop.” Interesting choice of metaphor from a political outfit that is mounting the same exact campaign in at least two different states at the same time. At this rate, AFP and the Koch brothers’ tirade against film tax credits is poised to have more […]