![]() The identities of the circle’s other members have remained secret. And he did not mention that, for the 2016 election cycle, he has organized a small circle of ultra-wealthy conservatives to spend nearly nine hundred million dollars on campaigns and advocacy-an unprecedented sum. Onstage in Wichita, Charles barely discussed his political spending. Last week, the Times reported that funds from the Koch network are fuelling both ongoing rebellions against government control of Western land and the legal challenge to labor unions that is before the Supreme Court. political party.” The Koch network, they conclude, acts like a “force field,” pulling Republican candidates and office-holders further to the right. According to Politico, twelve hundred people work full-time for the Koch network-more than three times the number of people who work for the Republican National Committee.Ī new, data-filled study by the Harvard scholars Theda Skocpol and Alexander Hertel-Fernandez reports that the Kochs have established centralized command of a “nationally-federated, full-service, ideologically focused” machine that “operates on the scale of a national U.S. This network has since become one of the most powerful political forces in the country: a libertarian advocacy group backed by the brothers, Americans for Prosperity, has directors in thirty-four states. They had set up a broad alliance of donors and advocacy organizations to support conservative candidates who share their “pro-business” opposition to regulation, entitlements, and taxes. Charles and David-a seventy-five-year-old patron of the arts, who is the wealthiest resident of Manhattan-were unusually prepared to take advantage of this shift. Starting in 2010, a controversial series of rulings by the federal judiciary and the Supreme Court essentially licensed unlimited political spending by corporations, unions, and individuals. He complained that many Republicans in Congress weren’t doing enough to “hold the lid on defense spending,” because they had been corrupted by having “big military contracts in their districts” for “weapons that the military doesn’t want, like tanks, certain airplanes.” He expressed a general disdain for politics, noting that whenever anyone told him he should run for President he responded, “What did I ever do to make you hate me?” ![]() ![]() He amiably described early business mistakes, and he pointedly criticized Republicans as well as Democrats. The audience laughed as Koch recalled such boyhood misadventures as his expulsion from military school. “He’s too powerful in Wichita.”Ĭharles shared the stage with Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, the co-hosts of the MSNBC cable show “Morning Joe,” whom Koch Industries had chosen to serve as moderators. “They couldn’t really say no,” someone familiar with the arrangements confided to me. But Koch was intent on promoting a book that he’d written, “Good Profit,” about his business philosophy. In the past, the group had featured such major national figures as former President George W. At first, the organizers weren’t uniformly enthusiastic about the idea. It was therefore a surprise when Koch made it clear to the gala’s planners, last fall, that he wanted to headline the event. “You never see him,” one local newsman whispered. Charles’s secretive manner, right-wing views, and concerted campaign to exert political influence by spending his fortune have made him an object of fascination, especially in his home town. Charles, along with his brother David, owns virtually all of the energy-and-chemical conglomerate Koch Industries, which is based in Wichita and has annual revenues of a hundred and fifteen billion dollars. The evening’s featured speaker, Charles Koch, had lived in town almost all of his eighty years, but few locals-even prominent ones-had ever laid eyes on him. ![]() They all held tickets to the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce’s annual gala, which had drawn thirty-five hundred people. On the night of November 2nd, well-dressed Wichita residents formed a line that snaked through the lobby of the city’s convention center. Fallon / The Washington Post / Getty (Bottom) David Axelrod says that David Koch (above) and Charles Koch (below) have embarked on “an extraordinary exercise in rebranding.” Illustration by Matt Dorfman Source: Andrew Toth / FilmMagic / Getty (Top) Patrick T.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |