Brad Woodhouse, President of American Bridge

Last week, Tim Phillips, president of the Koch-funded group Americans for Prosperity, penned an op-ed for Forbes entitled “The Non-Existent Era of Austerity.” In his piece, under the familiar guise of faux fiscal responsibility, Phillips assailed President Obama for his “addiction” to protecting programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid from massive cuts. Or as AFP calls massive cuts, “reforms” that would “save” the programs.

Make no mistake–the goal of Americans for Prosperity, which has already promised to spend $125 million supporting extreme conservatives in the midterm elections, is not save Social Security or Medicare. Their agenda is exactly the same as the one the Koch brothers have been pushing for over 30 years: Slash Medicare, dismantle social security, and undermine government as a whole in the process. It’s a self-serving agenda that centers on making the rich even richer at the expense of working families.

Their history speaks for itself: AFP has supported Paul Ryan’s budgets, including one that the Wall Street Journal said would “essentially end Medicare.” David Koch’s 1980 Libertarian ticket called social security “the most serious threat to the future stability of our society next to nuclear war.” They’ve supported huge tax cuts for the wealthy, while calling for abolishing the minimum wage.

AFP and the Kochs don’t want to save programs that are crucial to the middle class. They want to destroy them.