Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker: Funded by the Koch Bros.
The politician trying to eviscerate public-sector unions is in sync with one of his largest financial backers — the right's infamous billionaire brothers.
By Andy Kroll
Mother Jones
Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker, whose bill to kill collective bargaining rights for public-sector unions has caused an uproar among state employees, might not be where he is today without the Koch brothers. Charles and David Koch are conservative titans of industry who have infamously used their vast wealth to undermine President Obama and fight legislation they detest, such as the cap-and-trade climate bill, the health care reform act, and the economic stimulus package. For years, the billionaires have made extensive political donations to Republican candidates across the country and have provided millions of dollars to astroturf right-wing organizations. Koch Industries' political action committee has doled out more than $2.6 million to candidates. And one prominent beneficiary of the Koch brothers' largess is Scott Walker.
According to Wisconsin campaign finance filings, Walker's gubernatorial campaign received $43,000 from the Koch Industries PAC during the 2010 election. That donation was his campaign's second-highest, behind $43,125 in contributions from housing and realtor groups in Wisconsin. The Koch's PAC also helped Walker via a familiar and much-used politicial maneuver designed to allow donors to skirt campaign finance limits. The PAC gave $1 million to the Republican Governors Association, which in turn spent $65,000 on independent expenditures to support Walker. The RGA also spent a whopping $3.4 million on TV ads and mailers attacking Walker's opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Walker ended up beating Barrett by 5 points. The Koch money, no doubt, helped greatly.
The Kochs also assisted Walker's current GOP allies in the fight against the public-sector unions. Last year, Republicans took control of the both houses of the Wisconsin state legislature, which has made Walker's assault on these unions possible. And according to data from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, the Koch Industries PAC spent $6,500 in support of 16 Wisconsin Republican state legislative candidates, who each won his or her election.
(Article here, with notes.)
By Andy Kroll
Mother Jones
Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker, whose bill to kill collective bargaining rights for public-sector unions has caused an uproar among state employees, might not be where he is today without the Koch brothers. Charles and David Koch are conservative titans of industry who have infamously used their vast wealth to undermine President Obama and fight legislation they detest, such as the cap-and-trade climate bill, the health care reform act, and the economic stimulus package. For years, the billionaires have made extensive political donations to Republican candidates across the country and have provided millions of dollars to astroturf right-wing organizations. Koch Industries' political action committee has doled out more than $2.6 million to candidates. And one prominent beneficiary of the Koch brothers' largess is Scott Walker.
According to Wisconsin campaign finance filings, Walker's gubernatorial campaign received $43,000 from the Koch Industries PAC during the 2010 election. That donation was his campaign's second-highest, behind $43,125 in contributions from housing and realtor groups in Wisconsin. The Koch's PAC also helped Walker via a familiar and much-used politicial maneuver designed to allow donors to skirt campaign finance limits. The PAC gave $1 million to the Republican Governors Association, which in turn spent $65,000 on independent expenditures to support Walker. The RGA also spent a whopping $3.4 million on TV ads and mailers attacking Walker's opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Walker ended up beating Barrett by 5 points. The Koch money, no doubt, helped greatly.
The Kochs also assisted Walker's current GOP allies in the fight against the public-sector unions. Last year, Republicans took control of the both houses of the Wisconsin state legislature, which has made Walker's assault on these unions possible. And according to data from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, the Koch Industries PAC spent $6,500 in support of 16 Wisconsin Republican state legislative candidates, who each won his or her election.
(Article here, with notes.)
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2 Comments:
Can some one at Vox Verax help me understand how $1.00 the Koch brothers spend differs from the $1.00 I might spend or the $1.00 you might spend,... or even George Soros for that matter? I believe in free speech even when I support what others are saying. Do you?
The editors of Vox Verax are good people, no doubt. I have met Leigh Pomeroy and emailed him off-blog. He's a good man. We merely disagree on politics.
But, it's clear they support free speech insofar as it benefits government. Look at the straw men they parade out in this blog: Glen Beck, the Koch Brothers, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, the Tea Party, Sarah Palin, you can go on and on and on. This blog promote two aspects - telling you what to be afraid of and telling you who's to blame for it.
And then when Ed Schultz - the liberal talk radio host - goes on one of his trademark peraonal tirades against conservatives, tirades that would would make Al Franken blush, well, that's not fit to print as 'truth' as much as the canard about the Koch Brothers having this incredible reach that somehow influenced millions of voters to turn out nearly 700 Democrats across the country last November. No, Vox Verax simply does not to believe that people figured out on their own the carnage Obama and the Democrats have caused and seeing how good the public sector has it at the expense of the private sector. People couldn't possibly come to conclusions on their own that led to the rise of the Tea Party and the crushing defeat the Democrats suffered in November. Someone, must have funded a campaign of misinformation to sway the massive naive American electorate who are absolutely too stupid to figure things out on their own. Vox Verax believe Americans need to be led by the Ivy Leaguers and other Progressives who have the skills and intelligence and and training and education the rest of us lack. And, the latest fashionable Straw Men are the Koch Brothers. Tomorrow, it will be someone else.
Vox Verax means "Voice of Truth" in Latin, but this blog hardly qualifies as truth. I enjoy reading it and read it almost daily despite my constant criticism of the content (and the awful regurgitation of Paul Krugman...good God!), but this blog should be more apporpriately be called "Vox Sententia" or "Voice of Opinion"
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