Charles and David Koch — opponents of campaign finance reform — have a $900-million plan to get money out of politics. In brief, it involves spending $900 million to elect candidates who similarly oppose campaign finance reform — and it doesn’t make any sense.
In an recent interview with Yahoo News, Charles Koch ludicrously claimed that he and his brother are spending big in the name of “less money in politics.” Here‘s how the exchange went down:
Yahoo News: Campaigns have become so expensive now, Charles. Is there too much money in politics, and is it because rich people are putting too much money into politics?
Charles Koch: No, it’s because of corporate welfare. It’s — why are 6 out of the 10 most prosperous counties around Washington, D.C.? The estimates are that, that there are over $5 trillion — out of a $15 trillion economy — that goes to corporate welfare, including a trillion-and-a-half in the tax code. So, that’s the problem with the money. And so, the more money, the better to change that and get the politics out of people’s lives. That’s what we’re trying to do: put some money in so there’s less money in politics.
Boom! The Koch campaign finance reform master plan: Spend $900 million electing candidates who’ll support their selfish agenda — candidates who’ll fight campaign finance reform tooth and nail — and somehow achieve “less money in politics.”
And then there’s the buried lede, the absurdity of which — given that Charles in that same breath claims to want less money in politics — is self-evident: “[T]he more money, the better.”
In conclusion, to borrow from and paraphrase Billy Madison: Mr. Koch, at no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. We award you no points.