Real Koch Facts: Nevada

NEW REPORT: Koch Rush In The Silver State

October 2, 2015

It’s not just presidential candidates who are putting in more time in Nevada. As the Silver State’s political capital increases, so does the Koch brothers’ interest in investing. The billionaire brothers have long appeared to have money to burn, and what better place to strike it rich (again) than the home of Las Vegas? After all, the Kochs were never going to sit back and let Sheldon Adelson have all the fun — it’s not in their nature.

Today, Bridge Project is releasing a new report entitiled, “Koch Rush In The Silver State,” a deep dive into the Koch brothers’ efforts to gain political control of Nevada. The combined draw of natural resources and favorable tax policies brought Koch Industries to the state. Now, just as they’ve done in states across the country, the Kochs are using their massive wealth to rig Nevada in their favor.

Through the State Policy Network’s Nevada […]

GOP Field Aren’t The Only Ones Betting On Nevada: Koch Rush In The Silver State

December 15, 2015

There’s a lot at stake tonight for the eight Republicans at the main stage debate in Las Vegas, but they aren’t the only ones betting on a good showing in Nevada. The Koch brothers are also upping the ante in the Silver State. The billionaire brothers have long appeared to have money to burn, and what better place to strike it rich (again) than the home of Las Vegas? After all, the Kochs were never going to sit back and let Sheldon Adelson have all the fun — it’s not in their nature.

Earlier this year, Bridge Project released a report on the Kochs’ efforts to gain political control of Nevada entitled, “Koch Rush In The Silver State.” The combined draw of natural resources and favorable tax policies brought Koch Industries to the state. Using their massive wealth, the brothers are doing everything they can to rig Nevada in their favor:

Expanding Their Political […]

New Poll Shows Two-Thirds Of Vets Oppose Koch Plan To Privatize VA

November 10, 2015

A new bipartisan poll out today shows veterans don’t support the Koch brothers’ plan to privatize veterans healthcare by turning it into a voucher system.

Koch front group Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) is a leading advocate for privatizing care for veterans but a new Vet Voice poll “found that almost two-thirds of survey respondents oppose plans to replace VA health care with a voucher system, an idea backed by some Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates.”

And as CVA pushes GOP candidates to back their plan to privatize the VA in exchange for a piece of the nearly $1 billion the Kochs plan to spend on 2016, the new poll shows 57% of veterans surveyed would be less likely to vote for candidates who supports “privatizing the VA health care system.”

This new data is just more evidence that despite claiming to work for veterans, CVA pushes the Koch agenda first and foremost and advocates for extreme right-wing […]

Rand Paul, LIBRE Team Up To Push The Koch Agenda In Las Vegas

September 17, 2015

This evening Senator Rand Paul will meet with the LIBRE Initiative at the College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas. The LIBRE Initiative calls itself a “grassroots organization” that was created to “empower Hispanics” but it’s really a front group pushing the Koch brothers’ agenda.

Despite efforts to integrate into the Latino community, the Republican-operative run organization has a reputation for taking positions that will hurt Latinos and immigrants. Their executive director, Daniel Garza, has testified against President Obama’s protections against deportation. The front group also opposes raising the minimum wage and wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, stances which will disproportionately affect the very demographic they say they represent.

Paul’s meeting with the LIBRE Initiative might as well be another attempt to pander to Charles and David Koch. Read more about the LIBRE Initiative in Bridge Project’s report, “Kochs’ LIBRE Initiative Is Harmful To Hispanic Community.”

Ahead Of Laxalt Townhall With AFP Nevada, Kochs Lose Shell As Ally In EPA Fight

August 10, 2015

This evening, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Nevada is hosting a townhall with Attorney General Adam Laxalt against the EPA’s latest water regulations. Considered their main political arm, the Kochs regularly tap AFP for campaigning and messaging on their long-standing push against the EPA. More than a year ago, the Koch-funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and their climate change-denying allies joined together with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to fight against new environmental regulations.

According to the New York Times, with the help of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, ALEC and friends are enlisting state governors and attorneys general, including Laxalt, and “urging them to refuse to submit compliance plans for the regulations and encouraging a state-by-state rejection of the rules.” ALEC also presented a piece of model legislation at their July conference that is “designed to directly support state attorneys general who legally challenge the climate change plan.”

The Kochs […]