{"id":3474,"date":"2016-02-19T22:36:35","date_gmt":"2016-02-20T03:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/napervilledemocrats.org\/ntdo\/?p=3474"},"modified":"2016-02-20T13:29:13","modified_gmt":"2016-02-20T18:29:13","slug":"nyrb-the-koch-brothers-new-brand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/napervilledemocrats.org\/ntdo\/nyrb-the-koch-brothers-new-brand\/","title":{"rendered":"NYRB: The Koch Brothers\u2019 New Brand"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Charles<\/a>

Charles Koch; drawing by James Ferguson<\/p><\/div>\n

Jane Mayer\u2019s remarkable new book makes it abundantly clear that the Kochs, and the closely connected group of billionaires they\u2019ve helped assemble, have spent thousands of times that much [i.e., billions] over the past few decades, and that in the process they\u2019ve distorted American politics in devastating ways, impairing the chances that we\u2019ll effectively respond to climate change, reducing voting rights in many states, paralyzing Congress, and radically ratcheting up inequality.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yeah, yeah. \u00a0I know. \u00a0“The Koch Brothers” have become the new “Boogey Men” for us on the left of politics. \u00a0But seriously, these guys have the deepest of pockets and are as determined as they can be to change our politics – and to enrich themselves at the same time. \u00a0Have a look at this (from author Bill McKibben at the New York Review of Books).<\/p>\n

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The Koch Brothers\u2019 New Brand<\/a><\/h2>\n

In 2011, a blogger impersonating billionaire David Koch got through the switchboard at the Wisconsin State Capitol and was connected to Governor Scott Walker, who took time out from battling with the union protesters besieging Madison to truckle before what he thought was the great man. The recording of their conversation is a hard-to-listen-to blend of obsequiousness and braggadocio; at one point the faux Koch urges Walker to \u201cbring a baseball bat\u201d to negotiations with the state\u2019s lawmakers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tell you what, Scott: once you crush these bastards I\u2019ll fly you out to Cali and really show you a good time,\u201d \u201cKoch\u201d says.\u201cI have one in my office; you\u2019d be happy with that,\u201d Walker says. \u201cI got a Slugger with my name on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be outstanding,\u201d the governor responds. \u201cThanks, thanks for all the support and helping us move the cause forward, and we appreciate it. We\u2019re, uh, we\u2019re doing the just and right thing for the right reasons, and it\u2019s all about getting our freedoms back.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then he adds, \u201cThanks a million!\u201d<\/p>\n

Walker was understating the case by at least three orders of magnitude. Jane Mayer\u2019s remarkable new book makes it abundantly clear that the Kochs, and the closely connected group of billionaires they\u2019ve helped assemble, have spent thousands of times that much over the past few decades, and that in the process they\u2019ve distorted American politics in devastating ways, impairing the chances that we\u2019ll effectively respond to climate change, reducing voting rights in many states, paralyzing Congress, and radically ratcheting up inequality.<\/p>\n

In this election cycle, for instance, the Kochs have publicly stated that they and their compatriots will spend $889 million, more than either the Republican or Democratic parties spent last time around. According to a recent analysis in Politico<\/i>, their privatized political network is backed by a group of several hundred extremely rich fellow donors who often meet at off-the-record conclaves organized by the Kochs at desert resorts. It has at least 1,200 full-time staffers in 107 offices nationwide, or three and a half times as many as the Republican National Committee. They may be the most important unelected political figures in American history.<\/p>\n

…lots more where that came from…<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n