Today, Marco Rubio released his energy plan, promising to help American “take full advantage of our energy potential.” But his plan reads like a Koch Industries wishlist: Rubio pushes to end the oil export ban, build Keystone despite environmental concerns, and phase out the Renewable Fuel Standard.

In response to Rubio’s plan, American Bridge President Jessica Mackler released the following statement:

“Marco Rubio says his energy plan will bring the country into a the 21st century. However, the ever-absent senator’s policies aren’t original or groundbreaking. Rubio is advocating for outdated practices that would take us back decades in addressing climate change. Just like Jeb Bush and the rest of the GOP field, Marco Rubio’s plan promises to protect big oil and the Koch brothers, instead of growing clean energy and protecting the environment.”
Rubio And The Kochs

AFP’s 2015 “Wish List” Includes “Approve The Keystone XL Pipeline, Repeal The Oil Export Ban, Fight The New EPA […]

With Scott Walker’s recent departure from the presidential race, Marco Rubio has been leaning in to his role as new Koch favorite. Rubio’s positions on ending the Ex-Im Bank, blocking a minimum wage increase, and pushing a tax plan that would give tax breaks to the top one percent mean that the Florida senator has been in the running for the Kochs’ invisible primary since its start.

In the past month, he’s taken on even more extracurricular Koch activities to impress the brothers. Earlier this week, the candidate held a town hall in Nevada with the Koch front group, the LIBRE Initiative. And next week he’ll do a town hall with another Koch front group, Concerned Veterans for America.

Now, it seems that the so-called “frugal” campaign that Rubio is running has been spending big bucks to get an in with the Kochs. According to Politico, the campaign “spent about $271,000 […]

Scott Walker was the Kochs’ chosen one, the “King of Kochworld.” The Kochs hand-picked Walker because of his deep commitment to putting the Kochs’ self-enriching agenda ahead of everything else. On nearly every single issue, Walker was the Kochs’ model candidate. Whether it was attacking health care reform, slashing funding for education, working to disenfranchise voters, or hurting working families, when the Kochs said jump, Scott Walker said, “How high?”

While the Kochs won’t get a return on their investment under a President Walker, the rest of the GOP field is just as cozy with the Kochs and committed to moving the billionaires’ self-interested, profit-maximizing agenda forward.

In the end, whomever the Republican nominee is, the Kochs won’t lose. Like Walker, the rest of the GOP field is committed to toeing the Koch line:

Jeb Bush is no stranger in Koch country, as his ties to the billionaire brothers run deep. Jeb’s association […]

#Millennial. #Outreach. #Fail.

They didn’t break the news on Snapchat, but a new report from CNN reveals that Generation Opportunity, the Kochs’ youth outreach front group that tries to push their self-serving agenda to millennials, is a massive failure:

The president of one the top nonprofits bankrolled by Charles and David Koch has left the organization to start another major group in the powerful Republicans’ orbit, CNN has learned….[Generation Opportunity’s Executive Director Evan] Feinberg’s move is the most high-profile loss in what people familiar with Generation Opportunity describe as a string of senior level departures that are roiling the nonprofit group….Feinberg’s departure is one of many from Generation Opportunity: About 55% of the organization has left their jobs since late November, according to a comparison of staff lists on the organization’s website. 

Generation Opportunity tries to be a mouthpiece for the Koch agenda, aiming to put the Kochs’ own profit ahead of the […]

After Jeb Bush’s tepid performance at the Koch’s American for Prosperity summit yesterday, Koch road show regular Ted Cruz is sure to get David Koch and other Koch network donors on their feet today with his fiery endorsement of the Koch agenda and his passionate commitment to moving it forward.

One of the Kochs’ chosen five, Cruz is a favorite at Koch events —  for years he’s taken center stage at AFP, Concerned Veterans for America, Freedom Partners, and other Koch network donor confabs.

And in the Senate, Cruz is one of the loudest advocates and defenders of the Koch agenda — putting special interests and billionaires like the Kochs ahead of middle class and working families.

So, in comparison to Jeb’s smattering of “polite applause,” will Ted Cruz’s deep allegiance to the Kochs and his audition today win him a piece of the $900 million the Kochs said they will spend on this election?

In conjunction with this weekend’s […]

Expecting for Marco Rubio to make news as the last candidate at the Koch/AFP summit? Think again. Rubio is no novice to delivering his carefully crafted argument to his favorite constituency: Charles and David Koch.

As one of the five on the Kochs’ shortlist, Rubio has had many opportunities to show his deep allegiance to the Kochs “libertarian” causes in hopes they’ll spend part of the $900 million they said they’ll spend in 2016 on his campaign.

Recently, Rubio’s taken every potential opportunity he can to suck up to the Kochs, but just like every other candidate this weekend, his Koch ties run long and deep. Additionally, Rubio’s been a strong supporter of the Koch agenda — opposing the Ex-Im Bank, fighting against net neutrality, blocking a raise to the minimum wage, and supporting tax cuts for rich special interests like the Kochs.

In his relentless attempt to win over the Kochs, Rubio has completely disregarded that what’s good for the […]

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) has some advice for the 2016 GOP field — at least act like you care about income inequality.

In a Fox News interview, AFP president Tim Phillips said, “We think it’s important to have these candidates address [income inequality].” Is this a turning point for the Kochs? Have they changed their greedy ways?

No, the Kochs are not suddenly interested in eradicating the income gap or helping the poor. Phillips says it’s “because in 2012 [income inequality] was a killer. It really harmed and hurt Mitt Romney.” 

It’s rich for AFP to address income inequality — their website only has one extensive piece on the issue. Entitled “Federal Government Is Not The Solution To Income Inequality,” the organization argues against federal policies that benefit the working class such as the Buffet Rule and a federal minimum wage increase. The only “solution” ever offered is a call for the expansion of school choice […]