Real Koch Facts: Pennsylvania

Koch VA Privatization Group Spends Big For Their Pennsylvania Puppet

September 28, 2016

The Koch brothers just launched a six-figure digital ad buy in part on behalf of their favorite Pennsylvania puppet, Senator Pat Toomey. 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.

Toomey 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 Toomey.

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

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

The Kochs Aren’t (But Also Are) Mailing It In For Toomey

August 30, 2016

Koch favorite Senator Pat Toomey‘s enduring willingness to do the Kochs’ bidding and prioritize the brothers’ interests at the expense of Pennsylvanians is paying off.

It’s a heartwarming quid pro quo: Senator Toomey votes with the Americans for Prosperity-Koch agenda 96% of the time, so the Koch-backed group is more than willing to launch a major 600,000-piece mailer campaign attacking his Democratic opponent.

The catch: the mailer is full of shoddy research from organizations funded either by the Kochs or by other energy companies.

But the lies are no surprise. Despite the Kochs’ claims that they abhor negative campaigning, baseless and cynical political attacks are the brothers’ bread and butter.

Charles and David Koch have already dropped millions in TV advertising on behalf of Toomey, and you can be sure that the money will continue to flow as election day nears.

The billionaire brothers — who by their own admission […]

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 […]

New Report: The KOCHstone State

April 1, 2016

As top state conservatives gather in Harrisburg today and tomorrow for the Pennsylvania Conservative Leadership Conference, many of the speakers and attendees are featured in the Bridge Project’s new report, “The Kochstone State: How the Koch Brothers’ Growing Influence Is Hurting Pennsylvanians.” The report lays out how the Kochs fostered and orchestrated the current political environment with their copious campaign donations and funding a network of radical political groups to drive their extreme, self-serving agenda.

From the Kochs’ aggressive in-state lobbying to get taxpayer-paid subsidies for Georgia Pacific, to pressuring state leaders to try to block oil and gas regulations, while they enable and supply fracking companies that contaminate Pennsylvania’s air, drinking water, and farmlands, the Koch machine has disrupted health services, threatened school closures, while casting the most vulnerable Pennsylvania residents into the political maelstrom the Koch brothers created.

“This is what the Koch brothers do to serve their bottom line,” […]

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 […]

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 […]

Pat Toomey Rakes In More Koch Ca$h

September 22, 2015

In the Senate, Pat Toomey has championed the Koch agenda at the expense of Pennsylvania, putting billionaire special interests and Wall Street ahead of Pennsylvania’s middle class and working families including fighting to repeal Dodd-Frank and opposing raising the minimum wage.

And now the Kochs are doing everything they can to ensure that Pat Toomey — and their other puppet candidates — get reelected because they can’t afford to lose those who do their bidding in Washington.

Revealed today, Charles and David’s political action committee cut Toomey another $2,500 check in August, bringing the grand total of Koch PAC cash that Toomey’s campaign has taken to $7,500 for the cycle and $18,000 over the course of his career.

That’s not the only Koch cash Pat Toomey has in his pocket. Since 2010, Toomey has received over $16,000 from the personal accounts of the Koch family.

But cash isn’t the only way the Kochs are propping up Toomey. […]