Tag: Koch Brothers

‘It’s a significant shift in our thinking’: Business takes fresh look at Democrats

The following article by Lorraine Woellert and Marianne Levine was posted on the Politico website July 31, 2018:

If businesses shift significant support away from Republicans, it could deal a blow to GOP fundraising. But some Democrats are skeptical that the talk will translate into cash for their campaigns.

Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips (left) said that the political network would not help Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) in his Senate race against Democratic incumbent Heidi Heitkamp, citing inconsistencies on a range of Koch priorities. Credit: Andrew Harnik, AP Photo

Business groups, at war with President Donald Trump over trade and immigration, say they’re taking steps to rebuild the political center — including taking fresh looks at moderate Democrats.

The American Bankers Association this month began airing ads in support of candidates for the first time, including Democrats Sen. Jon Tester of Montana and Rep. Lou Correa of California. The International Franchise Association has more than doubled its support to Democrats this cycle, with 27 percent of its donations going to centrists in the party. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which leans heavily Republican, endorsed Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey over Republican John McCann, who has the support of former Trump aide Sebastian Gorka.

Even the powerful Koch network appears to be withholding some support for the Republican Party, if not outright supporting Democrats. Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips said at a donor retreat Monday that the political network would not help Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) in his Senate race against Democratic incumbent Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), citing inconsistencies on a range of Koch priorities.

View the complete article here.

How the Koch Brothers Are Killing Public Transit Projects Around the Country Image

The following article by Hiroko Tabuchi was posted on the New York Times website June 19, 2018:

Tori Venable, Tennessee state director of Americans for Prosperity, left, helping volunteers in Nashville prepare for canvassing against a mass-transit proposal. Credit: William DeShazer for The New York Times

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A team of political activists huddled at a Hardee’s one rainy Saturday, wolfing down a breakfast of biscuits and gravy. Then they descended on Antioch, a quiet Nashville suburb, armed with iPads full of voter data and a fiery script.

The group, the local chapter for Americans for Prosperity, which is financed by the oil billionaires Charles G. and David H. Koch to advance conservative causes, fanned out and began strategically knocking on doors. Their targets: voters most likely to oppose a local plan to build light-rail trains, a traffic-easing tunnel and new bus routes.

“Do you agree that raising the sales tax to the highest rate in the nation must be stopped?” Samuel Nienow, one of the organizers, asked a startled man who answered the door at his ranch-style home in March. “Can we count on you to vote ‘no’ on the transit plan?” Continue reading “How the Koch Brothers Are Killing Public Transit Projects Around the Country Image”

‘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.”

Who are the 2018 Koch Candidates?

The following article by David Armiak was posted on the PR Watch website May 24, 2018:

At the 2018 Koch Donor Summit in January, the network of billionaires convened by Charles and David Koch announced that it plans to spend $400 million in the 2018 midterm election cycle, close to double the amount spent in the 2014 midterms and a 60 percent increase over the 2016 election cycle. The Kochs had planned to spend $900 million in the 2016 election cycle, but ended up spending less after Trump won the Republican nomination. “We will be spending more than any midterm in our network history,” Americans for Prosperity’s president Tim Phillips said.

“My challenge to all of us is to increase the scale and effectiveness of this network by an order of magnitude, by another tenfold on top of all the growth and progress we’ve already made,” Charles Koch said to more than 500 attendees, who each donated at least $100,000 in 2017. Continue reading “Who are the 2018 Koch Candidates?”

Koch network growing frustrated with the GOP’s 2018 agenda

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve was posted on the Washington Post website April 6, 2018:

THE BIG IDEA: 

Leaders of the conservative Koch political network are mad about President Trump’s tariffs, the failure to protect “dreamers” and runaway government spending. They’re frustrated congressional leaders do not feel a greater sense of urgency to pass more ambitious legislation during what could be the final six months of unified Republican control for a long time. And they’re worried that squabbling might derail their efforts to roll back financial regulations, expand access to experimental medicines and overhaul the criminal justice system.

For now, the network led by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch still plans to spend between $300 million to $400 million on politics and policy during the 2018 cycle. But they’re growing impatient, rethinking their approach and signaling a willingness to work more closely with Democrats on areas of common ground. Continue reading “Koch network growing frustrated with the GOP’s 2018 agenda”

Trump’s Secretary of State pick is ‘the number 1 all time recipient of KOCH Industries $$$’

The following article by Joe Romm was posted on the ThinkProgress website March 13, 2018:

Mike Pompeo is, of course, a climate science denier and opponent of the Paris climate deal.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo has been chosen by Trump to be the next Secretary of State. Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

President Donald Trump has officially fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and intends to nominate current CIA director Mike Pompeo in his place.

Tillerson was the former CEO of ExxonMobil, which for decades was the number one funder of climate science disinformation until they were surpassed by the Koch brothers starting in 2005. But before Pompeo became CIA Director in 2017, he had for six years been a GOP House member from Kansas — and “the #1 all time recipient of #KOCH Industries $$$,” as the nonprofit research group OpenSecrets.org tweeted at the time: Continue reading “Trump’s Secretary of State pick is ‘the number 1 all time recipient of KOCH Industries $$$’”

Paul Ryan credits Koch network for supporting GOP’s tax overhaul

The following article by Michelle Ye Hee Lee was posted on the Washington Post website January 28, 2018:

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.). Credit: Jim Lo Scalzo/European Pressphoto Agency

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) credited the network of billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch for being “such a critical part of our historic success in 2017,” highlighting its support for the tax code overhaul.

“Your network has been instrumental for allowing us to reach so many milestones that have long been talked about, but until this year, have not been achieved,” Ryan said in a three-minute video message aired to hundreds of Republican mega-donors attending a three-day meeting here. Continue reading “Paul Ryan credits Koch network for supporting GOP’s tax overhaul”

Koch network to spend about another $20 million promoting GOP tax law

The following article by Michelle Ye Hee Lee was posted on the Washington Post website January 27, 2018:

Billionaire industrialist Charles Koch leads the network. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon for The Washington Post)

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — After spending $20 million to push the tax-code overhaul through Congress, the influential Koch network plans to spend up to another $20 million to educate the public about the benefits of the new law, network officials announced Saturday.

The network views the education campaign, which will launch in February, as key to holding the Republican congressional majorities in the 2018 midterm elections. Continue reading “Koch network to spend about another $20 million promoting GOP tax law”

As influx of Puerto Ricans continues, Koch-backed group starts seeking them out in Florida

The following article by Ed O’Keefe was posted on the Washington Post website January 8, 2018:

This item has been updated and corrected.

Leonor Figueroa, 82, center, a survivor of Hurricane Maria, is surrounded by her daughters after arriving at the Orlando airport from Puerto Rico in September. (Joel Achenbach/The Washington Post)

A massive influx of Puerto Rico residents displaced by recent hurricanes is transforming communities in Florida and other states, and a conservative group is moving quickly to woo them ahead of the midterm elections.

The Libre Institute, an offshoot of the Libre Initiative, a group backed by the billionaire Koch brothers, is launching new outreach programs this week in the Orlando area designed to provide English-language courses and civics lessons to thousands of Puerto Ricans living at least temporarily in Central Florida as the island continues rebuilding after deadly hurricanes Irma and Maria last fall. Continue reading “As influx of Puerto Ricans continues, Koch-backed group starts seeking them out in Florida”

Republicans plan mega marketing push to sell unpopular tax plan

The following article by Kevin Robillard, Nancy Cook and Cristiano Lima was posted on the Politico website December 21, 2017:

‘When [voters] start to see what happens to their paychecks,’ said one conservative, ‘they will change their minds.’

“We have a job that’s not that hard. We have to make sure people understand the benefits they’re going to receive from this legislation,” said Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo

Conservative groups are planning a multimillion-dollar effort to sell the GOP’s tax cut law, hoping the American electorate can learn to love the party’s signature — but massively unpopular — legislative achievement.

“We have a public that distrusts anything coming out of Washington, especially anything from the majority party,” said Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity, the grass-roots organizing arm of the powerful Koch brothers network of conservative groups. “We have a job that’s not that hard. We have to make sure people understand the benefits they’re going to receive from this legislation.” Continue reading “Republicans plan mega marketing push to sell unpopular tax plan”