Ed Pilkington, chief reporter for The Guardian in the U.S., speaks with Amy Goodman and Juan González of Democracy Now! about his recent exclusive report on the $80 million dollar effort led by the State Policy Network to undermine unions. The upcoming Supreme Court decision in the Janus v. AFSCME case will have a major impact on this effort. [Read more…]
Search Results for: Koch
The Koch Network’s War on Unions is a War on Democrats, Education, and Democracy
There’s blood in the water. That’s the sense that the money behind the American Right has as we head into the second year of the Trump era. And with recent polls showing the big Democratic polling edge ebbing, the sharks are beginning to circle.
But, as unsettling as that is, there is a lot more at stake than just one election cycle.
As Doug Porter ably reported last week, the Koch network got together in Indian Wells to sip cocktails and discuss how they could invest $400 million to promote their politics and policies in the upcoming election cycle. That alone is very bad news for those of us hoping that a Democratic wave might sweep the Republican majority out of the House of Representatives, but the aim of this incredibly powerful group of billionaires is not just to win one election but to win the long war. [Read more…]
The Koch Brothers Network’s State of the Union
This past weekend the network of conservative plutocrats also known as the Koch Network met in Indian Wells, just a few hours northeast of San Diego. The area is a playground for the wealthy, and about as safe as it gets for those plotting to destroy democracy: 95.2% white, with 65.1% of residents (second highest in California) registered as Republicans.
It was their biggest conclave ever, going back to 2003 when the Koch brothers began convening like-minded donors twice annually. Their plans for the 2018 election cycle include spending close to $400 million to influence the mid-term elections, using the administration’s tax reform bill as bait. The group spent $250 million on politics in the 2016 elections, so it’s evident they are worrying about what’s coming in November. [Read more…]
Charles Koch Denounces His Creation, The Modern Republican Party
By Joan McCarter / DailyKos.com
Charles Koch admitted on ABC’s This Week Sunday that he despises his own creation: The Republican party that spawned Donald Trump.
Koch gave a sort of backhanded endorsement of Hillary Clinton over Trump and Cruz, saying “it’s possible” Clinton would be a better alternative as president. Clinton immediately responded on Twitter, writing she is “not interested in endorsements from people who deny climate science and try to make it harder for people to vote.” [Read more…]
Koch-backed Group Calls for End of National Parks
By Joan McCarter / Daily Kos
The National Park system is broke, argues Reed Watson, the executive director at the Koch-backed Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) in an op-ed, so the only thing to do about it is stop creating national parks. Because, of course, actually funding them is out of the question.
“True conservation is taking care of the land and water you already have, not insatiably acquiring more and hoping it manages itself,” the op-ed reads. “Let’s maintain what we’ve already got, so we can protect it properly,” it concludes.
Of course “hoping it manages itself” was never the aim of Congress in creating national parks, which is why they also created the National Park Service to manage them. [Read more…]
The Spin on Gas Prices in California: A $20 Koch Burger Topped with Fear
By Doug Porter
Perhaps you’ve heard the news stories in recent days; the ones saying gasoline prices in California are about to take a big jump at the pump. Here’s a quote from a Capital Public Radio story aired on KPBS recently, “Projected increases range from 10 cents to 69 cents a gallon.”
What these news stories aren’t saying is that there is a concerted campaign underway by the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) and its allies to forestall the inclusion of fuels in California’s cap-and-trade program.
This isn’t about a tax. It’s not unexpected; the industry has known this would happen for five years. The hubbub is really all about the dirty energy business making a last ditch stand in defense of their continuing contribution to climate change. [Read more…]
DeMaio Campaign Lines Up at the Money Fountain for Both Koch and Tea
By Doug Porter
Recent campaign finance reports reveal extensive financing from both Koch Brothers and Tea Party affiliates for Congressional candidate Carl DeMaio.
Incumbent (CA-52) Congressman Scott Peters campaign organization fired off a press release this morning calling attention to his opponents’ backers.
“Clearly the Tea Party recognizes a kindred spirit in Carl DeMaio, which is why they’re investing so heavily in his candidacy,” said Alex Roth, communications director for the Peters campaign in the press release. “The question is what these groups will expect in return if DeMaio is elected to Congress.”
America Has a Koch Problem
Move-on sponsored movie “Koch Brothers Exposed: 2014 Edition” shown in households all over the nation.
By Judi Curry
Senator Bernie Sanders sent out an email telling Move-on members that “ . . . our great nation must not be hijacked by right-wing billionaires like Charles and David Koch. For the sake of our children and our grandchildren, we must fight back, and we must do it now in advance of November’s elections.”
I had heard of the Koch brothers for months; I was somewhat aware of the dastardly deeds they were doing throughout our country, and decided to attend the showing of this documentary at “The Hippie House” recently with approximately twenty of our Pt. Loma/Ocean Beach neighbors. [Read more…]
The Dirty Energy War: Gov’t Shutdown Threat as the Koch Brothers Scheme in Dana Point
By Doug Porter
President Obama’s address to eight thousand graduates at the University of California Irvine campus this weekend made it perfectly clear he’s no longer willing to play games when it comes to regulating emissions. Saying ‘denying climate change is like arguing the moon is made of cheese’, he issued a call to action on global warming.
Republicans on Capitol Hill are issuing their own call to action. According to a report in the New Republic, senior members in the House GOP are seriously contemplating using appropriations bills necessary to keep the government open in order to block proposed EPA regulations on coal emissions. Pursuing this strategy could set the stage for a budget showdown, including a partial government shutdown.
Why the desperation? Perhaps because the people with the money to fund conservative causes say fighting to save dirty energy is a priority. A mere twenty miles south of the UC Irvine event, the Koch brothers told donors at a secret meeting in Dana Point this past weekend about the newest weapon in their political arsenal, a super PAC called Freedom Partners Action Fund.
Rate Hikes for Solar Panel ‘Freeriders’ and Small Users Proposed, Courtesy of SDG&E, ALEC and the Koch Brothers
By Doug Porter
The business section of UT-San Diego leads today with an article informing us that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is considering a proposal advanced by SDG&E to shift the costs of producing electricity to “lower tier” users. The kilowatt-hours charges on the base allotment of electricity would jump by 24% come July 1st.
What that effectively means is a raise in rates for homeowners, small businesses and buildings equipped with solar panels. Current billing practices shift a higher percentage of costs to heavy users. Should the proposal before the CPUC gain approval, the paper says, “the largest home-electricity users would avoid a major bill hike, and could see some reductions.”
This raise in rates fits in rather neatly with a national strategy articulated by carbon-based energy corporations. Since California’s rates are not directly set by the legislature, utility companies are making proposals directly to the CPUC. In many states, like Arizona, these concepts are making their way through the legislature. The similarity of the substance of these schemes is hardly a coincidence. [Read more…]
Issa’s Joe McCarthy Imitation, DeMaio’s Koch Connection and #filnereverywhere: Looking Back at June 2013
#1 Why Only Five People in Washington Take Congressman Darrell Issa Seriously
San Diego’s own Congressman Darrell Issa is making headlines nationally this morning, but not in the way that the local daily paper would like you to believe.
Today’s UT-San Diego has a Page Two story up featuring a picture featuring Issa holding up a piece of paper, with a caption that says “interviews with employees at the Cincinnati IRS office indicate they were directed by Washington to target conservative groups.”
The north county’s answer to Joe McCarthy went on CNN Sunday morning to tout his latest ‘evidence’, which turned out to be highly edited selections from staff interviews with IRS agents. Political correspondent Cindy Crowley called Issa’s bluff, actually reading the documents and pointing out that they proved nothing. [Read more…]
Koch Brothers Letter, Plummeting Poll Numbers Bring GOP to Table
By Doug Porter
In the wake of two major developments over the last 48 hours, Republican intransigence appears to be weakening in the Battle of the Budget, 2013 Version.
Small, mostly symbolic, steps occurred yesterday towards ending the threat of default triggered by a Tea Party-led refusal to raise the debt ceiling and, possibly, the re-opening the federal government.
Following a White House meeting for Republican representatives, a public willingness to engage in further discussions emerged. Congressman Paul Ryan told the press both sides should “put their guns back in their holsters”, according to Politico.
This motivation to sound reasonable came on the heels of a letter from financiers and Tea Party backers David and Charles Koch responding to claims made by Senate leader Harry Reid implicating them as instigators of the current standoff. [Read more…]
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