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I"m at the gym on the bike, I usually read a good novel but today I was listening to an old broadcast of Thom Hartmann that I had recorded from his archives. (free I might add)
"Koch" industries (pronounced "coke"), became the subject for discussion.
I am AMAZED I have never heard of this company, AMAZED this has not gotten more exposure even from progressive blogs.
In 2004 they were the leading campaign contributers from all oil concerns, they operate under the radar because it’s privately owned, only they and the IRS know much about their operation.
IT IS THE SECOND LARGEST PRIVATE COMPANY IN AMERICA
*and I didn’t even know it existed till today*
From the link I posted fade to;
Although it is both a top campaign contributor and spends millions on direct lobbying, Koch’s chief political influence tool is a web of interconnected, right-wing think tanks and advocacy groups funded by foundations controlled and supported by the two Koch brothers.
Among those groups are some of the country’s most prominent conservative and libertarian voices including the Cato Institute, the Reason Foundation, Citizens for a Sound Economy and the Federalist Society. All regularly beat the drum in official Washington for the causes the Koch’s hold dear—minimal government, deregulation, and free market economics.
Look at that group funded, controlled and somtimes founded by "koch"…STUNNING!, and then there’s THIS;
For the Kochs, conservative and libertarian views are a family tradition. Fred Koch, who founded the company’s predecessor in 1940, helped establish the ultra right-wing John Birch Society.
DO tell!
PLEASE follow me below the fold
Even critics seem awed by the Kochs’ ability to shape policy so effectively without drawing much attention to themselves.
"without drawing much attention to themselves"…no SHIT
Koch has had plenty of run-ins with government regulators and other legal problems in recent years. Through it all, the company has shown a remarkable knack for getting criminal charges dropped and huge potential penalties knocked down.
"Knocked down" is one of the understatements of the decade;
In late 2000—as the Clinton Administration was preparing to leave office—Koch was hit with a 97-count indictment for covering up the discharge of more than 15 times the legal limit of benzene, a carcinogen, from a refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The company faced penalties of more than $350 million. Four Koch employees were also charged individually and faced up to 35 years in prison.
Three months after the Bush administration took office—and just before the lawsuit went to trial—the Justice Department abruptly settled the case. Koch agreed to pay $20 million and plead guilty to a single count of concealment of information. In return, the Justice Department dropped all criminal charges against Koch and the four employees.
NOT an isolated example;
In another case, Koch was sued by the government in 1995 and 1997 over a reported 300 oil spills at pipelines owned and operated by the company. Those lawsuits sought from $71 million to $214 million in penalties for the spills, which dumped an estimated three million gallons of oil into lakes and streams in six states.
On January 13, 2000, the government settled that case for $35 million in fines.
And the link provides more examples, however there are other fish to fry concerning koch, let’s look at those;
About 79 percent of Koch’s contributions went to Republican candidates, totaling roughly $3 million for the GOP compared to about $694,000 for Democrats, in transactions where a party affiliation could be identified.
I want to know who those democrats are, but that’s another thread, let’s look at this;
Koch has also shown a remarkable ability to get rid of or modify environmental policies and other government rules it doesn’t like.
After facing the spate of government lawsuits brought by the Clinton Administration, Koch cranked up its policy influence machine to gut sections of federal environmental laws causing the company problems.
Holy crap, this is simply incredible stuff
The entire article is a MUST read, originally written in 2004 and then updated in 2006, I am simply dumbfounded that I, as a progressive, have never heard anything about this company.
It is THIS company that might be entirely responsible for right wing media, paying for adds that do NOT return dividends ACCEPT for the law and lawmakers they are able to influence
33 Comments
Could this have something to do with the methodology that the reporter used to search the databases? I’m not seeing donations to Democrats and if I’ve missed them, they are likely DINO’s, anyway.
When I took a look at Opensecrets.Org and ran it by Koch, Charles–I got a lot of this guy’s donations and then of other Charles Koch’s, who clearly are not who we’re focusing on here.
What’s truly interesting is if you search that Database by Koch Industries over the time period 2004, 2006 and 2008. This maxes out with just the 1st 1000 records, but there are more donations than that, but the site limits you to those first 1000. I would imagine I could do better if I broke it down to single year donations, but a detailed study would take many more hours than I have now. Suffice to say, they clearly have a push on all their employees to donate. You can see these guys bundling as “Rangers” or a higher status we never heard of.
But in terms of quick research, I went back and ran the 2004-2008 time periods against Koch Industries and by the last name of Koch. Still plenty to choose from, but I don’t see a single Democrat amongst them.
The problem with using the Koch Industries qualifier, is that they made donations that didn’t have that firm name as part of that donation, so you will miss some of these donations if you use that limiter. But when I search by Koch, David I get others that should be included and don’t have the company name and Koch, David donations that have nothing to do with these guys.
But I’m sure someone can do a better job of this than I have.
thanx for the assist
here’s the real strategy of koch industries;
they create or fund
“think tanks”thinless tanks, organizations who claim they are “researching” asspect of society when in fact they are forming their methods for convincing the public to vote against themselves“think tanks” then create false premise, go on the radio and tv promoting that false premise till it becomes considered a debateable issue
for instance, “supply side” economics is NOT a supportable economic principle, even concervative economists discredit the very notion, reagan had to shop for NON economists to find someone who would promote the provenly false principle
but that’s what koch does, they find a principle that will help their industry, they fund or create these “think tanks” and then they advertise on shows with the pre=requisite that the show has someone representing one of these “think tanks”
the public hears the rediculous economic or political principle repeated and debated on tv and they begin to believe the principle is sound’
the perfect example of course is trickle down economics
I would NOT be surprised if the pnac were originally or continually funded by the koch industry
Wow, three comments and 41 Diggs! Powerful stuff that people don’t know enough to talk about?
These are W’s In-Laws. His Sister Dorothy (Doro) is married to one of these guys. The Kochs have long cut a wide swath through both Texas and National politics and I am somewhat surprised that they have flown below your radar for so long. They fund all types of Astroturf and other trouble making groups, as you point out.
A classic example of the wealthy elite, but ask any Republican-these are the people that “don’t deserve to be punished” for being rich. Meddling in the democratic process to the detriment of the citizens is not seen as a problem by many of our uniformed brethren.
AND CONTINUE
where has a liberal blog posted this issue, where has a progressive blog made this their point of discussion?
how the HELL is it I JUST found out about an industry as insideous as this?
I am no research pro, I used that one page entirely for my research, I was turned on to it by an OLD broadcast of thom hartmann’s
it is OBSURD liberals don’t talk about “koch” more
I just opened a new window and typed Doro B into Google and the first suggestion was Doro Bush Koch. Onto more clicking now.
here’s another page on the koch brothers, another great read, notice;
this article is as good as the first with even more examples of their depravity
I looked up ‘Koch’ in the index of ‘Family of Secrets,’ the 3 generation Bush tome, and they aren’t in the book. That’s amazing for a book that has turned over a lot of rocks.
Nor any mention of ‘Bush, Dorothy,’ although plenty of other Bushes mentioned in this book.
Baker made a lot of inexcusable errors in that book for someone who expects to be taken seriously.
Once again, here’s a good reference on the Bushes:
http://www.tarpley.net/bushb.htm
I would’ve sworn I heard someone talking about Koch on WPR this past week, but there isn’t anything archived on their online programs yet. I don’t think it was a whole hour, maybe just a caller with an idea for a show?
That wouldn’t be a bad idea – calling our local Public Radio and suggesting they do a show on the influence of Koch on our political landscape.
GREAT JOB!!!
Global Elite’s Financial Conspiracy Confirmed
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.c…..people.php
http://www.guardian.co.uk/busi…..us-economy
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/713636…..ck_check=1
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new…..r-AIG.html
Connect All The Dots
Media ownership study ordered destroyed
Sept 14, 2006
‘Every last piece’ destroyed
Adam Candeub, now a law professor at Michigan State University, said senior managers at the agency ordered that “every last piece” of the report be destroyed. “The whole project was just stopped – end of discussion,” he said. Candeub was a lawyer in the FCC’s Media Bureau at the time the report was written and communicated frequently with its authors, he said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14836500/
“You can’t tell any more the difference between what’s propaganda and what’s news.”
FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein
15 August, 2006
People never get it oil mixes with oil and oil makes and greases politics which works for oil. You know what a wheel does it goes around and around. The country knows people like this really run the country by buying influence and influencing by controlling the talk. The loud voices of those think tanks have cost us dearly from the environment to Iraq.
The words should have read. A country of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich. Money talks louder than anything else so it has no compatition. Our political system begs for people like this to run the show and begs for us to get the politicians like what they can buy.
They have spent a fortune to relabel the Estate Tax, now commonly known as the “Death Tax”. The Family Koch and their kind give meaning to the word Oligarchy. The Koch Brothers reportedly are worth $12 Billion each, so they have plenty of wherewithal to exert their influence upon the political process.
you know nonplussed you just made a GREAT point which I am going to add to my the middle class pays more taxes then the wealthy post;
if estate wealth is not taxed, those assets might NEVER make it into the economy, they might NEVER contribute at all to the socio economical health of this country, those assets might simply be used for interest income, and never ever help pay the bills that they create.
the two points go very nicely together
I seem to remember a time when non earned income was taxed at a higher rate then earned income…obviously that should be the part of the default tax code but I think reagan and bush turned that scenario around
Crikey perris over 80 diggs!!
I guess I was on fire this morning, my other post has almost 100
I think I should retire now
say elliot, on my other post I pasted in the wrong link up on the main post, I corrected it downstairs, could you edit that in for me?
and you know how they pay for it?
Koch Industries got the cost-plus contract from George W. Bush to keep the Strategic Petroleum Reserve topped off.
Hmmmm. I wonder if they are friends with the Walton family heirs… and in cahoots with them – funding both Senator Pryor and Lincoln (both D’s from Arkansas) anti EFCA stance. I know Lincoln has long been an ardent opponent of the estate tax.
I see EFCA passage inherently linked to organized labor and eventual implementation progressive tax policies… which most certainly means raising estate taxes on these dynasties.
And I will never understand why “private companies or individuals” financial contributions towards swaying public officials or public policy are allowed to be a secret.
like i always say, it’s always worse than we think it is.
julia, that is just AMAZING, “koch” first creates their own alternate reality, buying opinions and science that doesn’t exist so they could shape law, shape and elect candidates.
then their puppet gives them the unbid contract to top off our strategic oil reserve
OBVIOUSLY they make tons of money on this but it is more insideous becuase by agressively purchasing petroleum, not worrying about costs since you get “cost plus”, you create a non existant demand for petro, therefore giving Koch even MORE profit and costing US at the pump, which slows our economy.
THEN, once the strategic reserves are topped, or even if they are not topped, before an election, the administration simply says, “stop topping off the reserve”
that creates a glut right at the time of election and bing, prices go down, when the price of petro goes down usually economic prospects rise, right on time for election
I remember before the 04 election on one of my sites I predicted the price of gas would decline right through the summer (when historically price rises) and then to turn back around after the election
which is of course exactly what happened
I knew what would happen but I did not know the mechanism, now, with your link we can figure out at least one of the mechanisms for lowering the price of petro before an election
the worst part of that strategy is the fact that you MUST artificially raise the price in order to lower the price later
sick people here
if anyone has been following my posts, I have always said that Cheney was as much a marionette as bush, and almost as much an idiot, failing at everything he’s done
I did not know who were the actual puppeteers, I assumed the pnac, now I know that while the pnac might have been one set of puppeteers, the real puppet masters are the Koch brothers
I live in a 75% plus Dem performance precinct–very liberal.
There’s only one person maxed out in the precinct (or was before this year). It’s an old couple–apparently fixed income, probably bought their house for 4 digit prices. Not the kind of people who can apparently afford $2300/year on one political candidate.
Last name? Koch.
You spelled “cock” wrong.
wow…any way to find out which party they contributed?
I would also like to find out which democrats “koch” contributes, they should be the target for a roots challenge
fascinating.. thanks Perris.. I had never heard of them either. will pass along.
Thanks, perris. Great work and also to all who posted above. I had never heard of these rats before either. Will study your links tomorrow – must get sleep.
perris -
most excellent. a lot of progressives were in the same boat with you about Koch – many were unaware of their “work” until last week’s Playboy article on Santelli (and this dfh still wonders why that piece disappeared off the interwebs so damn fast)
thanks
It’s not called the “Kochtopus” for nothing, pilgrims.
(And just because it was under your radar, doesn’t mean it was below everyone’s radar. Google “Kochtopus” and you’ll get about 1,580 hits.)
Don’t miss the forest for the trees: In fact, MOST of Koch’s money is spent in creating astroturf organizations through which millions channel. There’s George Mason University (whose death-rictus grinning alum, Nancy Pfotenhauer was Koch’s spokesperson after being groomed at GMU); there’s the whole Howie Rich crowd (including Americans for Limited Government, Citizens in Charge, US Term Limits, Parents in Charge and, most recently, the Sam Adams Alliance, featured on the Playboy blog — whose biggest task since 2006 has been to train right wing bloggers), there’s the Cato Institute, on whose board Charles Koch sits, there’s Dick Armey’s Freedomworks, Reason Magazine, etc. etc. etc.
This one is actually real.
Following “campaign contributions” is a blind alley: Most of Koch’s political money goes either through third party foundations or allegedly to the secret funding of initiative campaigns. See an example of Koch Kash at work HERE.
In a 60 Minutes piece in 2000, one of the Koch siblings (cut out of the business by the twin brothers Charles and David) called their operation “organized crime.”
And, here’s a weird peer into the ideological battles at the heart of the beast, from a TIME magazine blog in January.
This is a huge Ayn Rand/Libertarian operation (Charles literally BOUGHT his way onto the Libertarian ticket in 1980, and then stiffed on paying outstanding bills after the election) and the vast majority is under the surface going under a bewildering variety of names.
I wasn’t aware that Koch was the 2nd largest privately held firm in the world. As of their takeover of Georgia Pacific (you know, Dixie Cups, Northern tissue, etc.) quietly during the media dead zone of Christmas 2006, they became the largest privately held firm in the world.
Of course, even Libertarians kind of hate them.
Here are three interesting pieces.
And so forth.