Koch and pals are investing 400 million dollars, hoping to dictate this election’s outcome? Why? Because they really and truly want to rob us of our American democratic birthright.
Going forward demands recognizing what we are facing. Allow the reality to scare the bejeezus out of you, because it really is that scary. Don’t kid yourselves, these guys are playing for keeps. But don’t allow the fear to paralyze you, inform yourselves, don’t trust, verify. The more knowledge you acquire the better you will be able to see through their well constructed make-believe alter-reality, which will enable you to better explain the illusion to those around you. We really do need to start thinking about getting people to think of the folly in their uncritical faith dictated world view.
If we don’t defend honesty, truth, constructive intellectual confrontation, the scientific method, along with respecting diverse communities of individuals, and America institutions who will?*
John Lewis, one of our greatest civil rights heroes has a few words worth taking to heart:
John Lewis | CNN | Published March 4, 2018
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With references to the following articles:
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Koch network identifies top 2018 targets and outlines plans for heavy early spending
By James Hohmann January 29, 2018
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Top strategists for the Koch network briefed their donors Monday about how they’re planning to allocate more than $400 million this election cycle on politics and policy.
Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity, predicted that 80 House races will be competitive on Election Day in November. …
… Phillips spoke alongside Emily Seidel, chief executive of Americans for Prosperity and a former staffer for Mike Pence. They followed political handicapper Charlie Cook, who went over the House and Senate maps during breakfast at a resort in the desert outside Palm Springs, Calif. “These elections are going to be brutally tough. We’ve never faced a challenge like this one,” said Seidel. …
Seidel outlined a two-pronged strategy to help Republicans hold the Senate: heavy early spending on television commercials to define candidates before they can introduce themselves to voters and investment in a field operation. …
Phillips told the donors … The network plans to launch “a massive direct-mail initiative” in the summer and then pivot to grass-roots efforts from the start of August through Election Day. …
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Same story from different angles,
Same story from different angles,
The Koch brothers are “all in” for 2018 with plans to spend up to $400 million
“We’ve made more progress in the last five years than I had in the previous 50″
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The Koch Brothers Plan to Spend a Record-Setting $400 Million
By Philip Elliot, Indian Wells, California January 28, 2018
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Koch network to spend $400 million during 2018 midterm election cycle
By Jonathan Easley - 01/27/18 06:49 PM EST
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – The network of groups affiliated with billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch will spend more than $400 million on conservative causes and candidates in the 2018 midterm election cycle.
Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips said Saturday that the investment would be the network’s largest election cycle investment ever — 60 percent greater than the 2016 presidential cycle — as Republicans seek to protect majorities in the House and Senate against stiff political headwinds.
… Some of the $400 million for 2018 will be spent on electing GOP candidates. …
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Lee Fang interviewed at Democracy Now: Billionaire Koch Brothers Have Extracted “Laundry List” of Victories from Trump Admin, February 26, 2018 | Watch Full Show
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Part 1: Trump Picks DAPL Lobbyist to Oversee EPA Water Safety in Same Week He Rolls Back Water Safeguards
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Part 2: Lee Fang on Koch Brothers’ Demand for Obamacare Repeal & Lobbyists Flourishing Under Trump
Web Exclusive | JUNE 29, 2017
Lee Fang, investigative journalist at The Intercept covering the intersection of money and politics. His recent article, “EPA’s New Water Safety Official is a Lobbyist with Deep Ties to the Dakota Access Pipeline.” And he also has written another recent piece, “Prominent Democratic Fundraisers Realign to Lobby for Trump’s Agenda.”
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Koch brothers try to navigate differences with Trump going into 2018 elections
By Kathryn Watson | CBS News | February 7, 2018
In July 2016, billionaire GOP kingmaker Charles Koch compared choosing between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to voting for cancer or a heart attack. He and his brother, David Koch, sat out the 2016 presidential election, along with their vast network of businesses and political advocacy groups.
Now, one year into Donald Trump's presidency, the Koch brothers and their allies are learning to work with the roller-coaster realities of the Trump era, aided by ties like former Koch official Marc Short, the White House's current director of legislative affairs, and Vice President Mike Pence, who has long been on friendly terms with the network.
As the 2018 midterm elections …
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On Monday, Koch Industries confirmed that it is financing Meredith Corp.’s takeover of Time Inc., giving the far-right billionaires Charles and David Koch a major stake in a mainstream media outlet. …
… As reporter Alex Weprin noted, the financing deal will allow Koch to meet with Meredith executives four times a year to discuss “current business, financial and strategic matters” and will be granted the privilege of having an “observer” for board meetings. …
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Koch’s, “Efforts in Government: Advancing Principled *Public Policy”
{* The principle being to serve industry, profits über alles and to get all meddlesome regulations hogtied and to disenfranchise all who don’t fall in line.}
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Lee Fang, Nick Surgey | February 25 2018 | The Intercept
(in partnership with http://documentedinvestigations.org)
. . .
Documents obtained by The Intercept and Documented show that the network of wealthy donors led by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch have taken credit for a laundry list of policy achievements extracted from the Trump administration and their allies in Congress.
The donors have pumped campaign contributions not only to GOP lawmakers, but also to an array of third-party organizations that have pressured officials to act swiftly to roll back limits on pollution, approve new pipeline projects, and extend the largest set of upper-income tax breaks in generations.
“This year, thanks in part to research and outreach efforts across institutions, we have seen progress on many regulatory priorities this Network has championed for years,” the memo notes. The document highlights environmental issues that the Koch brothers have long worked to undo, such as the EPA Clean Power Plan, which is currently under the process of being formally repealed, and Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, among their major accomplishments.
The memo also highlighted administration efforts to walk back planned rules to strengthen the estate tax in a list of 13 regulatory decisions favored by the network.
The network’s political operation includes a polling and research outfit, Capitol Hill lobbyists, several hundred field staff, groups designed to air campaign ads, and an assortment of grassroots groups set up to appeal to certain constituencies. The LIBRE Initiative is a network group geared toward selling Koch policy ideas to Latino communities. Generation Opportunity works to reach out to millennials and college students; Veterans For America for veterans and military-minded voters, ( don’t forget Americans for Prosperity).
To win support for the Republican tax legislation, the Koch network claims that it organized over 100 rallies in 36 states, contacted over 1.8 million activists, and knocked on over 33,000 doors. The group also spent freely on digital and television advertisements, with $1.6 million in TV spots to support the legislation in Wisconsin alone.
As The Intercept previously reported, the Koch network told its surrogates to downplay concern over the deficit, a major issue they raised during the Obama administration, in order to convince lawmakers to support the package.
Days after the tax bill passed, Charles Koch and his wife donated $500,000 to Speaker Paul Ryan’s joint fundraising leadership PAC, which has a heightened threshold for donations. …{full story}
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