“That changes your sense of what issues are really important. When these guys go to, say the Koch brothers conference to try to win their support, the Koch brothers have issues like anyone else but they are not necessarily the top issues on the minds of the American people. When you go to Sheldon Adelson, one of the billionaires in Las Vegas, who is very influential in Republican politics, he has a set of narrow issues that are not the ones the American people are talking about. And I think that’s – as much as the money – that is what is corrupting.”
While the Koch brothers are confident all of their picks would continue to push their extreme agenda, Charles Koch is making sure each GOP contender who auditions gets the message loud and clear. According to USA Today, he said, “We’re telling them that if they want our support, one way to get it is articulating a good message to help Americans get a better understanding and a better appreciation of how certain policies … will benefit them and will benefit all America.”
Certain policies, eh? Here’s how the Koch brothers’ auditions to earn gobs of Koch cash will hurt the American people:
- Ryan Lizza on CNN’s New Day “You have to spend all of your time with this sort of class of multimillionaire and billionaires, that is corrupting to your view of the world…When these guys go to, say the Koch brothers conference to try to win their support, the Koch brothers have issues like anyone else but they are not necessarily the top issues on the minds of the American people.”
- CBS This Morning “Conservative donors Charles and David Koch may use their wealth in the Republican presidential primary for the first time.”
- Opening Bell with Maria Bartiromo “They like Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Senators Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio of Florida. In the early stages, they say all of the above have what it takes.”
- Harold Ford, Jr on Morning Joe “Is it troubling that the headline says that [the] Koch brothers are going to decide the direction of any political group… I mean that’s what’s disturbing to me.”
- The Rundown with Jose Diaz-Balart “They’re prepared to put up roughly $300 million. To put that in perspective, the Republican National Committee spent just over $100 million more than that in 2012.