This weekend, capping off an interesting week for the Koch brothers, their chief political arm, Americans For Prosperity is hosting their so-called “Defending the American Dream Summit.” This is their public-facing summit, not to be confused with the highly secretive meeting of billionaires that dominated this week’s political conversation, after new audio surfaced from the event.
Those newly released recordings further exposed the degree to which the billionaire brothers have taken the reins of the Republican Party. One key Senate candidate after the next extolled the Kochs and their increasingly powerful network, expressing gratitude for their support and reaffirming their devotion to the extreme agenda they champion. On top of that, the executive director of the Republican Governors’ Association lauded AFP as their strongest partner.
The more we learn about the Koch brothers’ shadowy operation, the more we see how central they’ve become to the GOP. In fact, Washington Post recently rated AFP America’s third largest party. So it’s no surprise that at their American Dream-defending summit this weekend, 2016 hopefuls Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Rick Perry, Mike Pence and Ben Carson will be in attendance, courting the kingmakers’ favor.
Here are a few questions the Kochs should answer at their event:
- How does opposition to the minimum wage, a position now espoused by many of the Republican candidates you support, help workers trying to realize the American Dream?
- Will you urge the Republican Party to support another government shutdown, as Mitch McConnell implied he would do at your summit?
- It’s now abundantly clear that candidates around the country are attending your private retreats to pander for your money. You guys have clearly proven to be wise investors, so what do you expect in return for propping up these politicians’ carers?