Real Koch Facts: Florida

Koch VA Privatization Group Spends Big For Their Florida Puppet

September 28, 2016

The Koch brothers just launched a six-figure digital ad buy in part on behalf of their favorite Florida puppet, Senator Marco Rubio. An overwhelming majority of veterans are opposed to having their healthcare system privatized but that hasn’t stopped the Koch brothers and their sham front group Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) from trying to cut and privatize the VA.

Rubio is getting Koch money because the brothers know that he’ll champion their anti-seniors and working families, pro-Big Oil agenda in the Senate.

Two weeks ago, the Kochs announced that Concerned Veterans for America, Generation Opportunity, and LIBRE Initiative, will each be consolidated under the Kochs’ flagship Americans for Prosperity group. That tells you all you need to know about the Kochs’ latest CVA intervention for Rubio.

American Bridge Vice President Eddie Vale issued the following statement on the Kochs’ latest intervention for their favorite Floridian puppet:

“This isn’t about veterans issues; the […]

Koch Network Pours Money Into Florida To Save Golden Boy Marco Rubio

September 7, 2016

Marco Rubio is the Koch network’s golden boy – the lackadaisical Florida Senator and failed presidential candidate was a top choice in the crowded Republican presidential primary, and some even resorted to public begging to convince him to run for reelection in Florida.

And now, just weeks before voters head to the polls, the Koch network is pouring huge amounts of money into Florida to save Rubio. This week alone, two Koch groups – the LIBRE Initiative and Americans For Prosperity – have launched ads for Rubio. In their first buy of the cycle, LIBRE is spending $700,000 on behalf of Rubio. Americans For Prosperity also launched a digital ad attacking Rubio’s opponent.

All in all, the Koch network has pledged to spend a whopping seven figures on behalf of Rubio to boost his reelection bid. After all, Rubio has bragged about his 100% lifetime rating for serving Koch interests, but he

Kochs’ Latino Front Group Begins Express Advocacy for Rubio

September 7, 2016

The Koch brothers’ Latino front group, the LIBRE Initiative, is finally taking the plunge and calling for the direct election of Marco Rubio — an open act of partisan political advocacy that they’ve previously only done more subtly (i.e., without saying the magic “vote for” words). The Kochs must be nervous about their major investment (more than $5.4 million) in Rubio, who looks to be caught in the race of his life.

This is technically the first time LIBRE has spent money to help elect a candidate, though far from the first time the Koch brothers have used their billionaire donor network to help Republicans eager to do their bidding.

American Bridge Vice President Eddie Vale issued the following statement on the Kochs’ latest Rubio intervention:

“Investing millions into Marco Rubio’s political career, Charles and David Koch have painstakingly made a loyal foot soldier out of Rubio, who has, in turn, earned a […]

New Bridge Project Florida Report Highlights Kochs’ Rubio Love

September 2, 2016

With the Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity Defending the American Dream Summit in Orlando this weekend, Bridge Project is today releasing an updated Florida research report exposing the Koch brothers’ subversive political activities in the Sunshine State.

As ever, the Koch brothers will be promoting their selfish agenda and flaunting the loyal politicians they’ve bought-off to promote it.

Front and center on Saturday will be a Koch favorite: Marco Rubio, who the Kochs have admired for years. Charles and David Koch have painstakingly made a loyal foot soldier out of Rubio, who has earned a 100% lifetime rating from AFP — and the billionaires be doing everything they can to make sure they get their Florida man back in the Senate this fall.

American Bridge Vice President Eddie Vale issued the following statement on the release of Bridge Project’s latest report:

“Marco Rubio avoided Trump’s Republican Convention like the plague, but he is beyond eager […]

The Kochs’ “Millennial” Group Is Attacking Social Security

August 10, 2016

Over the last week, the Kochs’ millennial-outreach front group has placed generic anti-Social Security op-eds in newspapers across the country, including in Colorado, Missouri, Florida,Oklahoma, and Mississippi.

Written by the group’s policy director, David Barnes, the op-ed approaches the group’s anti-Social Security agenda with fearmongering pessimism, claiming that:

“Social Security’s math no longer works”;
“Millennials are out of luck”;
“This is a full brown crisis”; and, last but not least,
“Social Security is an unsustainable relic of a bygone era that threatens to take us down with it.”

Beyond the op-ed campaign, the Koch group has similarly exposed its mission to destroy Social Security by promoting grassroots campaigns “petitioning” and “tabl[ing]” for “#liberty and #SocialSecurityReform.”

Previously, the group’s resorted to violent imagery to fearmonger over the supposed Social Security “crisis,” tweeting out the image of a a young professional being held up with a gun to […]

Kochs Continue To Ramp Up Senate Spending

August 10, 2016

The Kochs may not be thrilled with the top of the GOP ticket, but that won’t stop them from building a coalition to elect their political puppets down the ballot (and if that helps out Donald Trump along the way, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯).

According to The Hill, the Koch brothers and their political front groups have “already spent more than $24 million in Senate races and [made] advertising reservations for the fall totaling at least $42 million.” They’ve signaled their support for vulnerable Republicans in Nevada, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, among others, and plan to make a buy in North Carolina.

Take a look at how over the past couple of weeks the Koch network has invested in each state to insure the Senate and the House is full of people who will do the brothers’ bidding, even if it hurts the voters who elected them:

Florida

It’s no […]

Rubio’s Re-Election Would Be A Win For The Kochs

June 23, 2016

The Koch network’s admiration of Marco Rubio is well documented. During the GOP presidential primary, the career politician was a top pick for Koch puppet-in-chief. With a presidential bid out of reach (for now), the Kochs’ best bet is to get one of their favorites re-elected to the Senate.

A spokeman for the Koch network, James Davis, also told The Hill that they would support his re-election:

“Sen. Rubio has been a strong leader in the Senate on a number of issues, including fighting against the [Export-Import] Bank and opposing wasteful spending increases.”

Yesterday, executive director of the LIBRE Intiative Daniel Garza was quick to tweet his excitement after Rubio announced his flip-flop. “The race for Senate in Florida just heated up. Welcome @marcorubio. Latinos to play major role in deciding this one.”

For months, Koch network leaders have been publicly praying for Rubio’s return to the Senate. American Commitment President Phil Kerpen tweeted in […]

Koch Network Agrees With Trump On Arming Nightclub Patrons

June 20, 2016

Yesterday, Donald Trump suggested that the Orlando massacre could have been stopped if more people at Pulse that night had been armed. Trump’s call to arm nightclub patrons was immediately met with uproar, but there were several right-wingers making the same argument just a few days earlier.

Several Koch network leaders argued that “gays should arm themselves” last week. Koch-funded Cato Institute Senior Fellow Tom Palmer wrote in the New York Daily News:

Let’s get one thing very clear. Gun control advocates disarmed the victims at that night club. Florida law states unequivocally that even a concealed carry permit “does not authorize any person to openly carry a handgun or carry a concealed weapon or firearm into any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, which portion of the establishment is primarily devoted to such purpose.”

That made those people sitting ducks. Legally designated gun-free zones are […]

Kochs Sow Chaos In States to Protect Their Puppet Senators

May 17, 2016

In states across the country, the Koch brothers invest heavily in lobbying to assert their influence on policy agenda and electing their cadre of Koch-aligned politicians. Along with that, they fund a network of front groups who do their bidding–all to serve their bottom line: their corporate profits.

The foundation they’ve laid in each state has propped up puppet politicians in Congress. Despite any talk of the brothers pulling back their holdin US politics–the Kochs will continue to protect the senators they’ve helped to put in place. Already, Rob Portman, Kelly Ayotte, Ron Johnson, and Joe Heck have all benefited from millions of dollars in attack ads against their opponents. And they’re previewing how they’re going to help the former Club for Growth president, Pat Toomey too.

The damage the Kochs have done in states already help them […]

Out Of Options, Koch-Backed Club For Growth Bets On Ted Cruz

March 24, 2016

Out of options, the Charles and David Koch-backed Club for Growth just endorsed settled for Ted Cruz. The Kochs have for months been agonizing over the reality that they can’t buy Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s loyalty with campaign contributions. Hoping that someone — anyone — other than Ted Cruz would emerge as a viable challenger, Charles and David have thus far held off from getting involved in the race. Now, it looks like they’re settling — and hoping that they can somehow get Cruz into the White House where he’ll be sure to advance their selfish agenda.

Club for Growth has over the last several years benefited from at least $1.9 million from Koch groups. The organization received $924,000 from the Koch-linked Center to Protect Patient Rights from 2009-2012. And Club for Growth benefited from a massive $1,000,000 contribution from Freedom Partners in 2014, alone. As far as 2015 Koch contributions to Club for Growth? We […]