Real Koch Facts: Nevada

Kochs’ “Closing Argument” Falls Flat

October 25, 2016

The Kochs’ decision to focus their “closing argument” squarely on criticizing the Affordable Care Act is backfiring. While knocking doors with Americans for Prosperity in Nevada, Washington Post reporter James Hohmann didn’t encounter the negative public perception of the landmark law the Kochs were banking on. In fact, Hohmann reported that, “not a single person said that they oppose Obamacare or are negatively impacted by it. In fact, everyone who engaged with the door-knockers said they view the law positively.”

The Kochs have desperately avoided mentioning Donald Trump by name; but even when targeting what they believe to be voters sympathetic to their issues, the Kochs are striking out on drumming up the anti-ACA fervor that defined the 2014 cycle. The billionaire brothers’ assault on ACA–and the lack of positive response to this messaging on the ground–demonstrates just how out of touch with everyday Americans the Koch brothers have become.

Read […]

Panicked Puppet Protection: Kochs’ Concerned Veterans Endorse Heck

October 13, 2016

This morning the Koch network took another extraordinary step on behalf of Joe Heck. Concerned Veterans for America, soon to consolidate under the Americans for Prosperity banner, directly endorsed Joe Heck. In a panic to protect Heck, the Kochs are moving from issue-based advocacy to directly supporting their hand-selected minions.

Heck’s campaign has already received an unprecedented level of support from the Koch brothers’ political machine, including over $7 million in negative advertising from Freedom Partners Action Fund and the first instance of the Kochs’ LIBRE Initiative “explicitly backing” a candidate.

American Bridge Vice President Eddie Vale issued the following statement on CVA’s endorsement of Joe Heck:

“This isn’t about veterans issues. The Kochs are nervous that they stand to lose a loyal puppet who’ll promote not just VA privatization but also the rest of the Kochs’ self-serving, anti-working families agenda.

“That’s why the billionaire brothers have been spending […]

Koch VA Privatization Group Spends Big For Their Nevada Puppet

September 28, 2016

The Koch brothers just launched a six-figure digital ad buy in part on behalf of their favorite Nevada puppet, Rep. Joe Heck. 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.

Heck 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 Heck.

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

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

LIBRE’s Support Of Trump-Loving Joe Heck Bad For Hispanics, Nevada

September 13, 2016

The executive director for the Koch brothers’ front group for Hispanic outreach, the LIBRE Initiative, reiterated the group’s support for Joe Heck this morning on NPR’s Morning Edition. In explaining his group’s opposition to Catherine Cortez Masto, who would be the first Hispanic woman to serve in the Senate, Garza praised Heck for his views on immigration reform. LIBRE, a group that claims to advocate for Hispanics, is supporting a man who believes the United States should end birthright citizenship. Conveniently, Garza also ignored Heck’s full embrace of Donald Trump–a man who wants to form a “deportation force” to expel 11 million people without papers.

LIBRE has a long history of attempting to broaden the GOP’s appeal to Hispanic voters while advocating for policies and politicians that harm those same voters.

Garza himself testified against DAPA, which protects millions from being deported. Garza decried DAPA as “executive […]

Kochs Are Pulling The Strings In The Campaign Against The Would-Be First Latina Senator

August 30, 2016

The Koch political machine is ramping up in Nevada against the would-be first ever Latina senator.

According to the New York Times, Koch front groups, Freedom Partners, the LIBRE Initiative, Concerned Veterans for America, and Americans for Prosperity are coordinating attacks against Catherine Cortez Masto’s campaign for senate:

Freedom Partners Action Fund, which relies on considerable Koch funding, reports that it has spent more than $4.5 million against Ms. Cortez Masto. Concerned Veterans for America, another part of the Koch network, earlier ran more than $700,000 in ads on behalf of Mr. Heck, a military veteran.

…

As for the ground game, Americans for Prosperity has three offices in the state, plans on opening a fourth and intends to marshal hundreds of volunteers to go door-to-door to reach out to voters identified as being open to opposing Ms. Cortez Masto.

One of the groups working for the Kochs’ priorities is their Latino “outreach” […]

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 […]

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 […]

Kochs Investing In Their Down-Ballot Puppets To Preserve Legislative Influence

March 24, 2016

Sensing the threat Donald Trump’s candidacy poses to down-ballot Republicans, David and Charles Koch are renewing their focus on buying influence in Senate and House races. The Koch network is planning on directing their $900 million war chest to a spring offensive of ad campaigns targeting Democratic challengers and propping up Republican incumbents.

The Kochs motive for supporting legislative candidates is not based in altruism: they expect results. From Rob Portman’s support of policies that encouraged outsourcing and corporate inversions to Kelly Ayotte’s votes against increasing the minimum wage while voting to preserve tens of billions of dollars in tax breaks for big oil companies, The Koch’s politically corrupt quid pro quo requires unwavering support for their agenda in return for financial support.

The Kochs are investing heavily in their legislative insurance plan. No matter who wins the White House this November, the Kochs primary concern is protecting their hand-picked legislators as […]

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 […]

Using Another Boilerplate, Kochs Spread More Misinformation About ACA

March 17, 2016

Another week, another spate of formulaic, inaccurate op-eds disseminating from the Koch network.

The Kochs have a well-documented history of pushing boilerplate-style op-eds and letters to the editor to deceive readers into the belief that local, grassroots support exists for Koch policies. The Koch network has previously used this tactic to attack occupational licensing–a campaign which saw editorials in 36 states–and earlier this month used the same tactic in an attempt to undermine carbon regulations.

No longer content limiting its scope to funneling millions into far-right groups and causes, the Koch’s are now deploying Freedom Partners to manipulate opinion more directly. Nathan Nascimento, Director Of State Initiatives at Freedom Partners, has penned nearly identical criticisms of the Affordable Care Act in major publications targeting voters in eight states.

The Koch Network continued to endanger the lives of Americans by launching a series of copy-and-paste op-eds to spread misinformation about the ACA under such […]