Tag: David Koch

David Koch leaves behind legacy of dark money political network

Allies and foes agree libertarian billionaire transformed the nation’s politics

Republican mega-donor David Koch, who helped pioneer a network of often surreptitious organizations aimed at influencing elections and public policy, leaves behind a legacy of dark-money groups and a volatile political landscape.

Koch, one half of the Koch Brothers along with his older brother Charles, died at age 79, the billionaires’ company, Kansas-based Koch Industries, said Friday. David Koch had stepped away from business and politics in 2018 for health reasons and had previously battled cancer, though the company did not say the exact cause of death.

Congressional and K Street insiders, whether they agreed with the Kochs’ libertarian-conservative ideology or fought it relentlessly, agreed that David Koch left a lasting imprint on the nation’s politics.

View the complete August 23 article by Kate Ackley on The Roll Call website here.

‘The movement now transcends the Kochs.’ What David Koch’s departure means for the political network he helped build.

The following article by James Hohmann and Amy Gardner was posted on the Washington Post website June 5, 2018:

Regardless of which party you support, there’s almost no question that the Koch brothers have made money off of you. (Jeff Simon, Daron Taylor/The Washington Post)

David Koch, one of two billionaire brothers whose powerful conservative network transformed Republican politics, is retiring from business and political life because of declining health, potentially testing the staying power of an organization that was already changing in dramatic ways.

Charles Koch announced in a letter to employees of Koch Industries on Tuesday that his brother’s health had deteriorated since a hospitalization last summer. He was not specific about the illness, though his brother is a cancer survivor. David Koch will retire from his family’s conglomerate and step down as chairman of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation. Continue reading “‘The movement now transcends the Kochs.’ What David Koch’s departure means for the political network he helped build.”

Conservative Groups Seeking Support for Tax Cuts Find It a Hard Sell

The following article by Jeremy W. Peters was posted on the New York Times website December 6, 2017:

So far, Americans for Prosperity and its field staff and volunteers have visited more than 41,000 homes and made 1.1 million phone calls. Credit Cassi Alexandra for The New York Times

MIAMI — A dozen high school students working for Americans for Prosperity, the conservative political network funded by Charles G. and David H. Koch, fanned out across the Little Havana neighborhood one day last week to make the case that the Republican tax bill was something to get excited about.

“We believe it’s time to fix our broken tax code and let families keep more of what they earn,” Barbara D’Ambrosio, a sophomore, dutifully told an elderly woman who answered the door in her slippers. After she finished her script, Barbara glanced up from the iPad she was carrying and asked if the woman would kindly call her senators to urge them to support the tax bill, which was hours away from being approved by the Senate.

The woman stared at her silently for a moment. Then she nodded, politely but unconvincingly. Continue reading “Conservative Groups Seeking Support for Tax Cuts Find It a Hard Sell”

Fear of authoritarianism pervades Koch network seminar, as billionaire donors grapple with Trump

The following article by James Hohmann and Breanne Deppisch was posted on the Washington Post website January 30, 2017:

Mark Holden, general counsel for Koch Industries, chats with his boss Charles Koch. (Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post)

THE BIG IDEA:

INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—Charles Murray, the political scientist best known for his book “The Bell Curve,” spoke Sunday afternoon to 550 donors who have each agreed to give at least $100,000 a year to finance the conservative Koch network. He painted a pessimistic picture of decaying institutions, growing dependency on government assistance and the increasing isolation of the rich from the rest of society. Continue reading “Fear of authoritarianism pervades Koch network seminar, as billionaire donors grapple with Trump”