The state of the union between the Koch brothers and Scott Brown was strong years before Brown moved to New Hampshire to run for Senate. In 2011, Brown was caught on tape kissing the ring of David Koch, gushing that “your support during the election, it meant a ton. It made a difference and I can certainly use it again.” Since then, Koch-backed groups have doubled down on their support for Brown, spending over $2.6 million on ads attacking his opponent.
As billionaire businessmen, the Koch brothers know a thing or two about making sound investments, and Scott Brown has clearly demonstrated to the Koch brothers that he will represent their interests again if they help him return to the Senate. Brown has voted for tax breaks for oil companies, surely music to the ears of oilmen like the Kochs. The fact that after losing his Senate seat in 2012, Brown gladly took in $270,000 to sit on the board of a company that outsourced American jobs also has to comfort the Kochs, with Koch Industries also outsourcing thousands of U.S. jobs.
The Koch-funded National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has endorsed Brown, who has in turn trumpeted the endorsement as evidence of his support for small businesses. In reality, the NFIB collects millions from the Kochs and has ties to some of the world’s largest multinational corporations. The NFIB supports tax cuts for the wealthy, like the Koch brothers, which would shift the tax burden even further onto the backs of working class families. When taken with the Kochs’ opposition to raising the minimum wage and to basic environmental protections for our air and water, it’s clear that the NFIB, their patron Kochs and New Hampshire candidate of choice, Scott Brown, are in pursuit of an anti-working families agenda.
When New Hampshire voters head to the polls on Election Day, they should not just consider whether a carpetbagger from Massachusetts will represent the Granite State, but whether someone who has groveled at the feet of the Koch brothers has anyone’s interests but the Kochs’ at heart. Scott Brown might be running for Senate in a new state, but he’s bringing his same friends along for the ride.