Real Koch Facts: Ohio

NEW REPORT: O-H-I-O Koch! Koch! Koch!

August 21, 2015

As Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity gathers for its 2015 national conference this weekend in Columbus, Ohio, Bridge Project is releasing a new report titled, “O-H-I-O Koch! Koch! Koch!: How The Kochs Have Polluted Ohio With Their Business & Politics.” The report is a comprehensive look at the impact of the Kochs’ operations in the Buckeye State.

Charles and David Koch recently announced they are on track to raise and spend almost $900 million — and have already spent over $1 million in Ohio — during the 2016 election cycle to push their candidates and policies, effectively giving their network parity with national political parties. However, the Kochs’ spending is not motivated by patriotic or civic duty – it’s driven by their bottom line.

Ohio is a prime example of the self-enriching relationship between Koch Industries and the Koch political network, which allows the billionaire brothers to use their political influence to advocate for state and local […]

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 […]

Koch Brothers Spend Big On Vulnerable Rob Portman

April 4, 2016

Fighting to keep their personal puppet Rob Portman in the U.S. Senate, Koch-cash is going on air to try to take out Portman’s opponent. Freedom Partners Action Fund, the primary vehicle for Koch-cash, is spending $2 million on an ad campaign attacking Portman’s challenger, Ted Strickland.

Portman’s special interest backers are going to keep spending heavy to keep their corporate taxes low and their priorities on the top of Portman’s to do list. This blast of cash is just the latest expenditure in a long relationship between Portman and the Kochs, a relationship so strong that the Kochs have opened their personal checkbooks in support:

Background:

Portman Received A Total Of $43,000 From KOCHPAC Between 2002 And 2016. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Rob Portman and his leadership PACs, America’s Majority Trust and Promoting Our Republican Team PAC, received a total of $43,000 from KOCHPAC between 2002 and 2016. This information […]

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 […]

Rob Portman Gets Early Christmas Gift From The Kochs

December 21, 2015

Christmas came early for Senator Rob Portman this year. Facing a contentious re-election race, the Kochs sent one of their favorite Ohio cronies a $2,000 check in late November, bringing his career total to $10,000. And that’s not the only Koch cash that Portman’s been on the receiving end of — the Kochs’ political front group AFP has already spent upwards of $1.4 million on ads propping up Portman.

Like any good puppet, Portman has repeatedly put the Kochs ahead of his constituents’ best interests, even effectively voting against incentives to bring outsourced jobs home. In the last couple of weeks, the senator has voted against funding for crucial substance abuse treatment as well as tax credits for the poor.

Portman’s unwavering support of the Kochs’ corporate agenda has helped the senator win the backing of the brothers. Earlier this year, he thanked and praised the billionaires as the keynote […]

Will Koch Pollution Force 2016 GOP Convention To Relocate?

November 12, 2015

When the GOP gathers at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena for the 2016 Republican National Convention next July, it’ll encounter extensive Koch contamination — and not just within its own Koch-infested party infrastructure, because Charles and David Koch are similarly responsible for the algal blooms wreaking havoc on the waters of Lake Erie.

Destructive fertilizer runoff has over the years produced economically and environmentally devastating algal blooms on the lake’s surface — and, according to The Plain Dealer, last summer’s was the worst yet.

The algal bloom was found to be slightly larger than the former record-holder from 2011, as well as the 2014 bloom that polluted the drinking water in Toledo and forced the shutdown of the city’s water-treatment system for three days.

This summer’s bloom forced several private beaches to close and damaged tourism and sports fishing, as well. The USEPA estimates that the blooms are responsible for $64 million in losses per […]

Plain Dealer Ed Board Slams Kasich For Siding With The Kochs Over Ohio On Ex-Im

September 23, 2015

“Befuddling.” That’s how the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s editorial board characterized John Kasich siding with the Koch-driven opposition to the Export-Import Bank.

The Kochs have made opposing the Ex-Im Bank a key factor in gaining their support because killing the bank boosts the billionaire Kochs’ bottom line, as revealed in a recent Bridge Project Report, “Banking on Obstruction: Koch Profits Behind Opposition to Ex-Im Bank.” While Koch-owned companies have received a modest $16.2 million from the Export-Import Bank, Koch competitors have received massive benefits to the tune of $19.4 billion.

As the Plain Dealer notes, GE supports thousands of jobs in Ohio and the company’s move to Ohio could have brought more jobs to the state, but instead of doing what’s best for the Buckeye state, Kasich put the interests of the billionaire Koch brothers first.

Cleveland Plain Dealer (editorial): Gov. John Kasich’s stance on Ex-Im Bank hurts Ohio

A recent Wall Street Journal report suggested General Electric Co. had written off […]

Kasich Toes The Koch Line, Costs Ohio Jobs

September 14, 2015

“It’s going to affect jobs in Ohio.” That’s how a General Electric spox characterized John Kasich’s Koch-driven opposition to the Export-Import Bank.

Today the Columbus Dispatch reports that GE was considering moving their headquarters to Cincinnati, Ohio, but has rejected it because of Kasich’s insistence on toeing the Koch line and opposing authorization of the Ex-Im Bank.

The Kochs have made opposing the Ex-Im Bank a key factor in gaining their support because it benefits the billionaire Kochs’ bottom line, as revealed in a recent Bridge Project Report, “Banking on Obstruction: Koch Profits Behind Opposition to Ex-Im Bank.” While Koch-owned companies have received a modest $16.2 million from the Export-Import Bank, Koch competitors have received massive benefits to the tune of $19.4 billion.

GE’s move to Ohio could have brought hundreds of jobs to the state, but instead of doing what’s best for the Buckeye state, Kasich put the interests of the billionaire Koch brothers […]

Two More Republicans In Congress Give Key Posts To Koch Cronies

We have even more development in the never-ending shuffling of staffers between Koch-backed groups and official Republican posts on the Hill!

This week, Jim Inhofe — who has literally written a book called The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future — officially assumed his post as chairman of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee. That meant he had to name his staff hires, and fittingly, he named a staffer from the Koch-backed group Generation Opportunity as the EPW press secretary.

It makes a lot of sense if you think about it. The Koch brothers have spent tens of millions of dollars funding climate change denial and continue to fight tooth and nail against taking any action address it. Inhofe has dedicated a great deal of his public life trying to discredit climate science. So best to hire your spokesperson straight from the Kochtopus.

Of course, it’s all very scary when […]