Billionaire right wing brothers behind libertarianism and Tea Party

[glynch]

Has anyone else seen the New Yorker article showing how the Koch brothers raised on the JOhn Birch Society are principle money men behind libertarian and Tea Party movements. They also contribute heavily to mainstream GOP conservatives. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2...?currentPage=9
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With his brother Charles, who is seventy-four, David Koch owns virtually all of Koch Industries, a conglomerate, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, whose annual revenues are estimated to be a hundred billion dollars.

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The Kochs are longtime libertarians who believe in drastically lower personal and corporate taxes, minimal social services for the needy, and much less oversight of industry—especially environmental regulation. These views dovetail with the brothers’ corporate interests. In a study released this spring, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Political Economy Research Institute named Koch Industries one of the top ten air polluters in the United States. And Greenpeace issued a report identifying the company as a “kingpin of climate science denial.”
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few weeks after the Lincoln Center gala, the advocacy wing of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation—an organization that David Koch started, in 2004—held a different kind of gathering. Over the July 4th weekend, a summit called Texas Defending the American Dream took place in a chilly hotel ballroom in Austin. Though Koch freely promotes his philanthropic ventures, he did not attend the summit, and his name was not in evidence. And on this occasion the audience was roused not by a dance performance but by a series of speakers denouncing President Barack Obama. Peggy Venable, the organizer of the summit, warned that Administration officials “have a socialist vision for this country.”

Five hundred people attended the summit, which served, in part, as a training session for Tea Party activists in Texas. An advertisement cast the event as a populist uprising against vested corporate power. “Today, the voices of average Americans are being drowned out by lobbyists and special interests,” it said. “But you can do something about it.” The pitch made no mention of its corporate funders.
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Americans for Prosperity has worked closely with the Tea Party since the movement’s inception. In the weeks before the first Tax Day protests, in April, 2009, Americans for Prosperity hosted a Web site offering supporters “Tea Party Talking Points.” The Arizona branch urged people to send tea bags to Obama; the Missouri branch urged members to sign up for “Taxpayer Tea Party Registration” and provided directions to nine protests. The group continues to stoke the rebellion. The North Carolina branch recently launched a “Tea Party Finder” Web site, advertised as “a hub for all the Tea Parties in North Carolina.”

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The anti-government fervor infusing the 2010 elections represents a political triumph for the Kochs. By giving money to “educate,” fund, and organize Tea Party protesters, they have helped turn their private agenda into a mass movement

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In 1958, Fred Koch became one of the original members of the John Birch Society, the arch-conservative group known, in part, for a highly skeptical view of governance and for spreading fears of a Communist takeover. Members considered President Dwight D. Eisenhower to be a Communist agent. In a self-published broadside, Koch claimed that “the Communists have infiltrated both the Democrat and Republican Parties.” He wrote admiringly of Benito Mussolini’s suppression of Communists in Italy, and disparagingly of the American civil-rights movement. “The colored man looms large in the Communist plan to take over America,” he warned. Welfare was a secret plot to attract rural blacks to cities, where they would foment “a vicious race war.” [B]In a 1963 speech that prefigures the Tea Party’s talk of a secret socialist plot, Koch predicted that Communists would “infiltrate the highest offices of government in the U.S. until the President is a Communist, unknown to the rest of us.”

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But diZerega believes that the Koch brothers have followed a wayward intellectual trajectory, transferring their father’s paranoia about Soviet Communism to a distrust of the U.S. government, and seeing its expansion, beginning with the New Deal, as a tyrannical threat to freedom. In an essay, posted on Beliefnet, diZerega writes, “As state socialism failed . . . the target for many within these organizations shifted to any kind of regulation at all. ‘Socialism’ kept being defined downwards.” ***

Members of the John Birch Society developed an interest in a school of Austrian economists who promoted free-market ideals. Charles and David Koch were particularly influenced by the work of Friedrich von Hayek, the author of “The Road to Serfdom” (1944), which argued that centralized government planning led, inexorably, to totalitarianism. Hayek’s belief in unfettered capitalism has proved inspirational to many conservatives, and to anti-Soviet dissidents; lately, Tea Party supporters have championed his work. In June, the talk-radio host Glenn Beck, who has supported the Tea Party rebellion, promoted “The Road to Serfdom” on his show; the paperback soon became a No. 1 best-seller on Amazon. (Beck appears to be a fan of the Kochs; in the midst of a recent on-air parody of Al Gore, Beck said, without explanation, “I want to thank Charles Koch for this information.” Beck declined to elaborate on the relationship

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As their fortunes grew, Charles and David Koch became the primary underwriters of hard-line libertarian politics in America. Charles’s goal, as Doherty described it, was to tear the government “out at the root.” The brothers’ first major public step came in 1979, when Charles persuaded David, then thirty-nine, to run for public office. They had become supporters of the Libertarian Party, and were backing its Presidential candidate, Ed Clark, who was running against Ronald Reagan from the right

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So far in 2010, Koch Industries leads all other energy companies in political contributions, as it has since 2006. In addition, during the past dozen years the Kochs and other family members have personally spent more than two million dollars on political contributions. In the second quarter of 2010, David Koch was the biggest individual contributor to the Republican Governors Association, with a million-dollar donation. Other gifts by the Kochs may be untraceable; federal tax law permits anonymous personal donations to politically active nonprofit groups.

In recent decades, members of several industrial dynasties have spent parts of their fortunes on a conservative agenda. In the nineteen-eighties, the Olin family, which owns a chemicals-and-manufacturing conglomerate, became known for funding right-leaning thinking in academia, particularly in law schools. And during the nineties Richard Mellon Scaife, a descendant of Andrew Mellon, spent millions attempting to discredit President Bill Clinton
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In 1977, the Kochs provided the funds to launch the nation’s first libertarian think tank, the Cato Institute. According to the Center for Public Integrity, between 1986 and 1993 the Koch family gave eleven million dollars to the institute
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deas don’t happen on their own,” Matt Kibbe, the president of FreedomWorks, a Tea Party advocacy group, told me. “Throughout history, ideas need patrons.” The Koch brothers, after helping to create Cato and Mercatus, concluded that think tanks alone were not enough to effect change. They needed a mechanism to deliver those ideas to the street, and to attract the public’s support. In 1984, David Koch and Richard Fink created yet another organization, and Kibbe joined them. The group, Citizens for a Sound Economy, seemed like a grassroots movement, but according to the Center for Public Integrity it was sponsored principally by the Kochs, who provided $7.9 million between 1986 and 1993. Its mission, Kibbe said, “was to take these heavy ideas and translate them for mass America.
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In 1997, another Senate investigation began looking into what a minority report called “an audacious plan to pour millions of dollars in contributions into Republican campaigns nationwide without disclosing the amount or source,” in order to evade campaign-finance laws. A shell corporation, Triad Management, had paid more than three million dollars for attack ads in twenty-six House races and three Senate races. More than half of the advertising money came from an obscure nonprofit group, the Economic Education Trust. The Senate committee’s minority report suggested that “the trust was financed in whole or in part by Charles and David Koch of Wichita,

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During the 2000 election campaign, Koch Industries spent some nine hundred thousand dollars to support the candidacies of George W. Bush and other Republicans.
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In January, 2008, Charles Koch wrote in his company newsletter that America could be on the verge of “the greatest loss of liberty and prosperity since the 1930s.” That October, Americans for Prosperity held a conference of conservative operatives at a Marriott hotel outside Washington. Erick Erickson, the editor-in-chief of the conservative blog RedState.com, took the lectern, thanked David Koch, and vowed to “unite and fight . . . the armies of the left!” Soon after Obama assumed office, Americans for Prosperity launched “Porkulus” rallies against Obama’s stimulus-spending measures. Then the Mercatus Center released a report claiming that stimulus funds had been directed disproportionately toward Democratic districts; eventually, the author was forced to correct the report, but not before Rush Limbaugh, citing the paper, had labelled Obama’s program “a slush fund,” and Fox News and other conservative outlets had echoed the sentiment.
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As the first anniversary of Obama’s election approached, David Koch came to the Washington area to attend a triumphant Americans for Prosperity gathering. Obama’s poll numbers were falling fast. Not a single Republican senator was working with the Administration on health care, or much else. Pundits were writing about Obama’s political ineptitude, and Tea Party groups were accusing the President of initiating “a government takeover.” In a speech, Koch said, “Days like today bring to reality the vision of our board of directors when we started this organization, five years ago.”


Americans for Prosperity, meanwhile, has announced that it will spend an additional forty-five million dollars before the midterm elections, in November. Although the group is legally prohibited from directly endorsing candidates, it nonetheless plans to target some fifty House races and half a dozen Senate races, staging rallies, organizing door-to-door canvassing, and running ads aimed at “educating voters about where candidates stand.”

[moestavern19]

I have first-hand experience in dealing with someone who was influenced by the John Birch society. The thought process is rooted in nothing but greed masquerading as altruism.

Once again corporate interest dictates political climate.

Surprise, surprise.

[Rocket River]

Such string pulling and behind the scene type of guys is why people
beleive in the illuminati

Rocket River

[Mr. Clutch]

Trying to make libertarianism into a big conspiracy, eh? Ok.

[glynch]

Originally Posted by Mr. Clutch Trying to make libertarianism into a big conspiracy, eh? Ok.

Just trying to dismiss the common funding by billionaires of libertarians, conservative GOP politics and the Tea Party by using the word "conspiracy"?

It just shows that conservative billionaires view libertarianism and conservative economics as two versions of essnetially the same thing and therefore fund both movements.

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by glynch Just trying to dismiss the common funding by billionaires of libertarians, conservative GOP politics and the Tea Party by using the word "conspiracy"? It just shows that conservative billionaires view libertarianism and conservative economics as two versions of essnetially the same thing and therefore fund both movements.

Well, conservative and libertarian economics do share a lot of the same ideas. I don't think it's really surprising. They don't always agree, but their views dovetail in terms of deregulation and free markets.

Conservative economicsts strike me as being more afraid of inflation, while libertarian economists want the FED to open the floodgates. But other than that, they agree on a lot.

[jo mama]

Originally Posted by Mr. Clutch Trying to make libertarianism into a big conspiracy, eh? Ok.

glynch apparently thinks libertarian = neocon/republican. he shows over and over again a total lack of understanding of what libertarianism is all about. there is nothing "libertarian" or free market about the way "conservatives"/republicans act with regards to our economy.

Originally Posted by Mr. Clutch Conservative economicsts strike me as being more afraid of inflation, while libertarian economists want the FED to open the floodgates. But other than that, they agree on a lot.

id say you have it backwards there - it was "conservatives" like cheney who said "defects dont matter". they dont seem to care at all about long-term consequences of their liberal/fascist economic policies and corporate cronyism. libertarians, ron paul especially, want to do away with the FED, so i dont know what you mean when you say they want to open the floodgates.

and remember, the teaparty was actually started by ron paul supporters in about 2007 to go after bush and his big-government/liberal spending policies.

i also like how glych acts like its only 'conservatives' who are funded by big money types and think tanks.

[jo mama]

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/co...goButt2=Submit

OBAMA (DEMOCRAT) TOP CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTORS University of California $1,591,395 Goldman Sachs $994,795 Harvard University $854,747 Microsoft Corp $833,617 Google Inc $803,436 Citigroup Inc $701,290 JPMorgan Chase & Co $695,132 Time Warner $590,084 Sidley Austin LLP $588,598 Stanford University $586,557 National Amusements Inc $551,683 UBS AG $543,219 Wilmerhale Llp $542,618 Skadden, Arps et al $530,839 IBM Corp $528,822 Columbia University $528,302 Morgan Stanley $514,881 General Electric $499,130 US Government $494,820 Latham & Watkins $493,835

MCCAIN (REPUBLICAN) TOP CONTRIBUTORS Merrill Lynch $373,595 Citigroup Inc $322,051 Morgan Stanley $273,452 Goldman Sachs $230,095 JPMorgan Chase & Co $228,107 US Government $208,379 AT&T Inc $201,438 Wachovia Corp $195,063 UBS AG $192,493 Credit Suisse Group $183,353 PricewaterhouseCoopers $167,900 US Army $167,820 Bank of America $166,026 Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher $159,596 Blank Rome LLP $154,226 Greenberg Traurig LLP $146,437 US Dept of Defense $144,105 FedEx Corp $131,974 Bear Stearns $117,498 Lehman Brothers $114,357

BOB BARR (LIBERTARIAN) TOP CONTRIBUTORS Sunnyside Technical Consulting $4,600 Office Place $4,600 Halcyon Search International $4,600 Beal Bank $4,600 Mitre Corp $4,500 Stewart Corp $3,300 Fedex Corp $2,975 Microsoft Corp $2,800 Intex Solutions $2,800 US Marine Corps $2,550 Horizontal Technology $2,506 Web Hosting/Developme $2,300 UnzOrg $2,300 Truth Lies LLC $2,300 Technical Services $2,300 Strategic Business Consultant $2,300 Smith Barney $2,300 Rocket Software $2,300 Rapid City Regional Hospital $2,300 R James Properties $2,300

DAMN THOSE EVIL LIBERTARIAN RIGHT-WINGERS, BUYING OFF ALL OUR POLITICIANS!!!

[glynch]

Originally Posted by jo mama glynch apparently thinks libertarian = neocon/republican. he shows over and over again a total lack of understanding of what libertarianism is all about. there is nothing "libertarian" or free market about the way "conservatives"/republicans act with regards to our economy. .

I understand that a small upset of self proclaimed "libertarians" are not pro-war neo-cons, which is th edistinguishing mark of a neo-con. Hey I like anti-war.com. I'm talking economics where when occasionally put somewhat in practice libertarianism is just extreme trickle down hopefully from the rich economics.,

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by jo mama id say you have it backwards there - it was "conservatives" like cheney who said "defects dont matter". they dont seem to care at all about long-term consequences of their liberal/fascist economic policies and corporate cronyism. libertarians, ron paul especially, want to do away with the FED, so i dont know what you mean when you say they want to open the floodgates. and remember, the teaparty was actually started by ron paul supporters in about 2007 to go after bush and his big-government/liberal spending policies. i also like how glych acts like its only 'conservatives' who are funded by big money types and think tanks.

Ron Paul is the exception from what I've read. A lot of the libertarian economic blogs I read support more aggressive monetary action by the FED to head off deflation. On the other hand, the WSJ editorial page is more scared of inflation and doesn't want the FED to do more. The "inflation hawks" are generally conservative.

Of course Ron Paul wants zero action by the FED.

As far as deficits, probably libertarians are the only ones serious about cutting the, but then they aren't in power. Seems like anyone who is in power wants to spend.

[parmesh]

Originally Posted by jo mama glynch apparently thinks libertarian = neocon/republican. he shows over and over again a total lack of understanding of what libertarianism is all about. there is nothing "libertarian" or free market about the way "conservatives"/republicans act with regards to our economy. id say you have it backwards there - it was "conservatives" like cheney who said "defects dont matter". they dont seem to care at all about long-term consequences of their liberal/fascist economic policies and corporate cronyism. libertarians, ron paul especially, want to do away with the FED, so i dont know what you mean when you say they want to open the floodgates. and remember, the teaparty was actually started by ron paul supporters in about 2007 to go after bush and his big-government/liberal spending policies. i also like how glych acts like its only 'conservatives' who are funded by big money types and think tanks.

Rep this man. Thank you for clarifying the stark differences between the neo-conservative Republicans and libertarians. Unfortunately the media seems to put these 2 groups in the same light sometimes, and it infuriates me to no end. Libertarians are much different from neo-cons.

[StupidMoniker]

Political parties receive money from rich people?

[Invisible Fan]

I read about the Koch bros. From Greenpeace of all places.

They fund think tanks like Cato and Heritage.

[basso]

Originally Posted by Invisible Fan I read about the Koch bros. From Greenpeace of all places. They fund think tanks like Cato and Heritage.

and the NY City Ballet and Metropolitan Opera.

[Invisible Fan]

Originally Posted by basso and the NY City Ballet and Metropolitan Opera.

He's also a Chairman at Cato.

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by StupidMoniker Political parties receive money from rich people?

I heard some liberal rich person gave money to a liberal group. A conservative person did too, but to a conservative group. I decided to merge my breaking news into this thread.