Plutocrat Kochs To Spend $400 Million To Keep Republicans In Control Of Congress

This is what plutocrat flop sweat looks like:

The network of groups affiliated with billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch will spend more than $400 million on conservative causes and candidates in the 2018 midterm election cycle. 

Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips said Saturday that the investment would be the network’s largest election cycle investment ever — 60 percent greater than the 2016 presidential cycle — as Republicans seek to protect majorities in the House and Senate against stiff political headwinds.

Of course, these are the same ultra- reactionaries that astroturfed the "Tea Party" movement back when America elected its first blah president.

While Democrats are frequently outspent in campaigns, this infusion of billionaire bucks in a midterm election is beyond the pale, and demonstrates how desperate Republicans are to hold on to their Trump- cosseting majorities in Congress.  That infusion, and many millions more to come in right- wing contributions, is likely to flood us with lies, distortions and misdirections between now and November -- with little or no correction by most of our quivering media.

Fortunately, we don't have to spend half a billion dollars to win an election cycle when we have the best motivators ever: Putin's plutocratic pal Donald "Rump" Trump and his party- before- country, coin- operated pack of jackals in Congress.

(Image: Visual approximation of Charles and David Koch, courtesy of Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche.)

Koch Brothers Money Pouring Into Crucial Virginia Governor's Race

Desperation is setting into the campaign of lifelong Republican party cog Ed Gillespie in his race against Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam for Virginia governor. The off- year 2017 election in Virginia is seen as a bellwether for Democratic prospects in 2018, so the big bucks are starting to flow into the Gillespie campaign from none other than the ultra- right wing Koch brothers:

Americans for Prosperity, the group financed by the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, is going on air to attack Virginia Democratic gubernatorial contender Ralph Northam as part of a multi-million dollar campaign. [snip] 

Levi Russell, a spokesman for Americans for Prosperity, said the ad buy ranges from $1 million to $2 million, and will run for three weeks. He said the commercial is the first round of paid television advertising, but declined to say how much the organization plans to spend through Election Day in November.  

Gillespie is tacking far right, going full anti- immigrant in order to recapture support from the nativist Trump base, represented by a sad little splooge named Corey Stewart, a devout Stormtrumper who was beaten by Gillespie in the Republican primary. So far, Gillespie's floundering hasn't dented the average 6 point lead Northam enjoys in most polling. Having the Koch brothers bail him out by going negative against Northam, whose resume is pretty much a politician's dream and who is running with a unified Democratic Party at his back in the Commonwealth, is totally in character with the weasel.

That's because Gillespie is a typical swamp Republican: well- heeled lobbyist (for Enron among others), former Republican National Committee chairstool, counselor to George Dumbya Bush, and reputed money launderer for Jack Abramoff (allegedly!). That's quite a resume! No wonder he Koch brothers are throwing money into the race.

If you're of a mind to find out more about Ralph Northam and/or donate, you can go here.

(Photo: Is that a weasel or Ed Gillespie? Trick question! It's both!)

Welcome To The Clown Car, Koch Brothers' Candidate Scott Walker!

Later today, the multi-billionaire Bircher Koch brothers will officially have their candidate enter the Republican presidential race,  their employee of the year, Gov. Scott "Koch Head" Walker (R-Kochland).   Alice Ollstein at Think Progress summarizes what Walker did to Wisconsin, as a preview to what he would do to the rest of the nation (spoiler alert:  he won't get the chance):

Much of Walker’s appeal to conservatives lies in his record of enacting far-right policies as the governor of a historically progressive, working class swing state. Riding over more than a century of strong labor history, he passed laws in 2011 stripping away collective bargaining rights from public sector unions, triggering a weeks-long occupation of the state capitol by tens of thousands of protesters. Then, earlier this year, he signed a so-called “right to work” law that will further cripple workplace organizing in the Badger State.

At a time when both conservative and progressive states across the country have embraced a boost in their minimum wages, Walker has not only refused to consider a raise for Wisconsin’s workers, he questioned whether there should be wage protections at all. Other worker protections have also been eliminated, including the right to one day off per week.

Just a few months before announcing his bid for president, at his State of the State address in Madison, Walker told lawmakers that “Wisconsin is more free and prosperous” after his first four years in office, and assured them, “The Wisconsin Comeback is working.”

But several studies have shown that the governor’s economic agenda — slashing property and corporate taxes, restricting collective bargaining and keeping wages low — has left the state in a precarious position. Data from the Pew Charitable Trusts predicts that Wisconsin will end this fiscal year with less money in reserve than any other state in the country. Walker’s 2011 tax cuts, which largely benefited wealthy landowners and factory owners, will cost the state at least $275 million in additional lost tax revenue over the next two years — twice as much as originally predicted.

To close the gaping budget deficit exacerbated by those tax cuts, Walker is cutting funding for the state’s famed public universities by $250 million over the next two years. These impending cuts, which are already prompting schools to force out professors and cut entire programs, comes as the campuses are still struggling to absorb the cuts Walker approved in 2011. Faculty members also lost their right to tenure in the budget Governor Walker signed one day before launching his bid for president. [snip]

Scott Walker’s environmental record offers another window into how he would govern in the White House. The governor plans to openly defy new federal regulations on coal plant emissions, and has said he believes the Environmental Projection Agency should have its powers gutted.

In 2013, he pushed through a controversial bill to loosen regulations on mining and allow a massive, open pit iron ore operation to begin strip-mining in the state’s northern forests. Among other provisions, the law creates a presumption that damage to wetlands is necessary and exempts companies from paying a recycling fee on waste rock. The corporation that would have benefited from the mine donated $700,000 to Walker’s defense in the 2012 recall campaign, sparking accusations of quid pro quo corruption.

Ollstein also covers the on-going "John Doe" corruption investigation that's already led to the conviction of six of Walker's aides, and could still affect Koch Head's run.

We've also noted the stark contrast between Walker's far-right Wisconsin Kochland and neighboring Minnesota, which has been governed by a progressive governor and legislature.  That's what electing (and re-electing) someone who is determined to use government as a servant for the wealthy and the privileged will do for your state.  Luckily, he is just the latest (15 by our count) Republican clown lining up for the dishonor of being skunked by Hillary Clinton in 2016.

UPDATE:  Here's The Onion's profile for Koch Head (h/t Silver Spring Bureau Chief Brian).

UPDATE II:  The AFL-CIO's press release on Koch Head's candidacy is short and to- the- point:

"July 13, 2015

Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in response to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s upcoming announcement to run for President of the United States:

Scott Walker is a national disgrace."

No argument here.

You Have Cliven Bundy's Vote (If He Votes), Rand Paul!

Self-certified ophthalmologist, plagiarist, and Republican presidential  loser candidate Sen. "Ayn" Rand Paul (Dudebro-KY) may want to check himself for fleas after laying down with this dog:

Scofflaw rancher Cliven Bundy said he met with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) for nearly an hour this week and found he sees eye to eye with the GOP presidential candidate.

Bundy, whose ongoing dispute over grazing rights on federally owned land sparked an armed militia standoff last year with the Bureau of Land Management, said Paul assured him he would grant the rancher’s demands and make Nevada a sovereign state if elected next year to the White House.  [snip]

The rancher said Paul’s campaign staff escorted him to an impromptu meeting with the candidate after Bundy attended an event in Mesquite.  [snip]

Paul said during the campaign event that he believed all land issues – including endangered species protections – should be handled by the states and not the federal government.

Bundy said the candidate expressed an appreciation for the American Lands Council – a Koch brothers-funded group that is working to give states control over federally owned land through legislation and litigation.  (our emphasis)

A "sovereign state" filled with "sovereign citizens" like egomaniacal racist moocher Cliven "Hoof" Bundy, huh. We're not sure how that works in the context of the Constitution (o.k., it doesn't), and perhaps neither does "Ayn" Rand Paul, and certainly not nitwit Bundy, who doesn't recognize, and therefore owes no allegiance to, the Federal government (a.k.a., United States of America). But we see the Koch brothers' operation is working on it day and night, so freedumb!

At least now "Ayn" Rand Paul has cornered the tumbleweed- racist- moocher "sovereign citizen" vote ... except, wait;  since "sovereign citizens" don't recognize the Federal government, would they even vote in a Federal presidential election?  It would seem highly hypocritical if they did, wouldn't it?  We believe that's called a cornpone-nundrum!

(Photo:  Welfare rancher Cliven "Hoof" Bundy has himself a candidate!)

Scott Walker: Busting Unions "Because He Could"

In today's New York Times, Joe Nocera looks at the union-busting record of Koch brothers employee of the year Gov. Scott "Koch Head" Walker (R-Kochland), with links to recent articles in the New York Times Magazine by Dan Kaufman and in Washington Monthly by Donald Kettl.  All point to why the lightweight Walker could be such a dangerous person in the White House (spoiler alert: he won't get there):

The fact that Wisconsin has historically been strongly pro-union — indeed, the largest public services employee union, AFSCME, was founded in Madison in 1932 — only makes Walker’s triumphs that much more impressive to his fellow Republicans. This is something Walker will undoubtedly highlight if he runs for president. As he put it in his 2013 book, “Unintimidated,” “If we can do it in Wisconsin, we can do it anywhere — even in our nation’s capital.”

As for the right-to-work law, [Dan] Kaufman points out that Wisconsin’s law was “a virtual copy of a 1995 model bill promoted by the American Legislative Exchange Council” — A.L.E.C. — whose conservative backers include Charles and David Koch.

The Koch brothers are staunchly anti-union, of course, and they have supported Walker in both of his gubernatorial races. Their oil baron father, in fact, was an early and enthusiastic supporter of right-to-work legislation, helping to get it passed in Kansas in 1958. They have said they will spend some $900 million on the 2016 elections. At an April fund-raiser, according to The Times, David Koch is reported to have said that Walker would be the Republican nominee. As Kaufman nicely puts it, passing Act 10 was his “audition” for potential big money backers like the Kochs.  (our emphasis)

What makes Walker especially dangerous is not his intellect (he's a dolt), but his vindictive, gut-fighting personality and, most importantly, the powerful people pulling his strings and funding his to- be- announced campaign.  As much of a lightweight as he is, he's not to be taken lightly.  Two elections and a recall later (well done, Wisconsin!), that should be evident by now.

UPDATE:  Walker's also going after the University of Wisconsin-Madison (and by extension the progressive Madison community) and his actions are likely to result in this renowned research university losing it's place in the top tier).

Republican National Committee Notices Koch Brothers Are Up To Something

All was sweetness and light last year when the Republican National Committee and the Koch brothers' far-right political operation sealed a deal to share data files.  Everyone knew who would be in charge and benefit, right, "emptiest suit in America" Reince Priebus (h/t Charles Pierce)?

Rather belatedly, the RNC seems to have come to the realization they have a tiger by the tail [irony alert]:

The RNC is now openly arguing, however, that the Kochs’ political operation is trying to control the Republican Party’s master voter file, and to gain influence over — some even say control of — the GOP.

“I think it’s very dangerous and wrong to allow a group of very strong, well-financed individuals who have no accountability to anyone to have control over who gets access to the data when, why and how,” said Katie Walsh, the RNC’s chief of staff. (our emphasis)

Wow! Who could have seen that coming =cough= Citizens United =cough= astro-turf tea party =cough=?! 

Obvious and required musical accompaniment.

(Image:  RNC chair - with apologies to chairs everywhere - Reince Priebus.)

Koch Brothers Supporting Walker; In Other News, Dog Bites Man

They've made it official:  the Koch brothers are supporting their loyal employee, Gov. Scott "Kochhead" Walker (R-Kochland):

Charles G. and David H. Koch, the influential and big-spending conservative donors, have a favorite in the race for the Republican nomination: Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin.

On Monday, at a fund-raising event in Manhattan for the New York State Republican Party, David Koch told donors that he and his brother, who oversee one of the biggest private political organizations in the country, believed that Mr. Walker was the Republican Party’s best hope for recapturing the White House.

“We will support whoever the candidate is,” said Mr. Koch, according to two people who attended the event. “But it should be Scott Walker.”

Will wonders never cease?

BONUS:  Remember when Kochhead thought he was talking by phone to David Koch, when it was actually a prank caller?  We remember.

BONUS II:  The always-amusing Andy Borowitz: "Kochs Defend Purchase Of Scott Walker."

Shearing The Sheep: The Republican "Circle of Scam"

Paul Waldman discusses a recent report by John Hawkins of Right Wing News on the money-raising scams being run by various right-wing groups, notably "tea party" organizations.  The monies were being raised supposedly to elect right-wing Republicans, but in effect ended up lining the pockets of grifters (as an example the "Tea Party Express" spent only 5 percent of the funds it raised on the candidates it was supporting).  Waldman describes the "circle of scam:"

... Organizations like the Heritage Foundation and FreedomWorks pay radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity big money to offer on-air endorsements that are the radio equivalent of “native advertising.” Future presidential candidate Mike Huckabee sells his email list on “miracle cancer cures” hidden in the Bible. Conservative media figures like Dick Morris solicit contributions that somehow are never turned to the political ends they claim. Nobody wants to upend the system, because too many people are getting a taste. 

The common thread can be found in the marks: the little old lady in Tupelo who sends in $50 thinking that she’s striking a blow against Barack Obama, the couple in Topeka who hopes Mike Huckabee’s biblical cancer cure can save their daughter’s life, the man in Toledo who thinks that the group with “Tea Party” in its name is going to have an impact on his state’s races. What none of them know is that their money is just going to make somebody who’s already rich a little bit richer.

Beyond financing the lifestyle of countless right-wing pundits, consultants and snake-oil salesmen, what's that "little old lady in Tupelo" going to get for her $50?

... There’s a line that runs from those donors to the biggest players in conservative politics and the politicians they support. When thousands of volunteers set out to knock doors on behalf of Americans for Prosperity, what are they seeking? A better America, more freedom, a return to the simpler time they remember from their youth? All that and more. But what are they actually going to get? They’ve been set to work by AFP’s prime donors, Charles and David Koch (whose combined net worth may exceed $100 billion), to elect candidates who will work tirelessly to lower investment taxes, destroy the right of workers to bargain collectively, and lessen the terrible burden of environmental, consumer protection, and worker safety regulations that so oppress the likes of the Kochs. 

One wonders if the sheep being sheared will ever realize their hard-earned dollars are not so much going to defeat the Kenyan tyrant Obama and his Demon-crat party, but rather to fund efforts to make their own lives less safe, prosperous and secure.  We're not counting on it.

(Big h/t to P.E.C.)

Gov. Scott Walker: Man Of The Plutocrats

Rebecca Kemble writes in The Progressive about how a cipher like Koch brothers employee of the year Gov.  Scott "Kochhead" Walker can still be a very dangerous player:

As of this writing Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has yet to formally declare his bid for President in 2016, but that hasn’t stopped him from campaigning for it. Arguably, he’s been campaigning for President ever since winning his first election for Governor in 2010. 

Seen in this light, all of the extreme, unconstitutional, and potentially illegal actions Walker’s administration has undertaken make a twisted kind of sense. His slash-and-burn policies of the past four years have nothing to do with responsible state governance. But they do signal to billionaire GOP campaign donors that he is willing to ride roughshod over the needs of the people in Wisconsin to prove that he can do the two things required of any contender for top office: Concentrate power in the executive office and redistribute wealth upwards. 

Those were the hallmarks of the George W. Bush administrations and they have been the twin pillars of Walker’s reign as Wisconsin’s Governor. After four years of administrative power grabs, regressive social policies, and massive tax cuts and giveaways to the wealthy, it is clear that Walker’s view of the people, institutions, and resources of Wisconsin amounts to not much more than grist for his political ambition mill. 

Rolling back voting rights, environmental and consumer protections, workers’ rights, health care, food and housing supports for people in need, and women’s rights while systematically dismantling public education are not the actions of an administration that plans on sticking around to manage the fallout. 

Walker’s modus operandi has been to push—and cross—the boundaries of legality to favor the interests of out-of-state energy, private education, and high finance industries. Only one of the 14 billionaires who donated directly to his 2012 recall election campaign comes from Wisconsin.  (our emphasis)

As always, the full article at the link is well worth reading.

The estimable Charles P. Pierce is fond of saying "don't sleep on" Walker.  We agree.  He's a dangerous man whose ethics-free ambition only makes him more so.

(Image: Walker with his Koch brothers patrons.)

Today's Number

$249 million.  That's just the downpayment, too.

At their most recent retreat in Southern California two weeks ago, the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch and 450 of their donor-allies announced plans to spend $889 million over the next two years to influence state and federal elections and shape the national discourse... That eye-popping, nine-figure goal made national headlines, but what wasn't reported was that the Kochs and their allies were already well on their way to banking that huge amount of money. 

Donors at the [Rancho Mirage] Palm Springs confab pledged $249 million toward funding the Koch brothers' grand plan, according to two sources with knowledge of the fundraising haul.  (our emphasis)

Of course, as with "Justice" Anthony Kennedy, "We now conclude that independent expenditures, including those made by corporations, do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption" (Citizens United).  No, not at all.

Today's Cartoon And Read: Voter Suppression And Dirty Tricks

(click to enlarge)

(Tom Toles, once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle)

In addition to their voter suppression activities, Republicans are engaging in an all-out, well-funded campaign of dirty tricks to misinform or otherwise misdirect voters.  North Carolina has been one of the States where Koch brothers dark money has been used in a particularly anti-democratic campaign against incumbent Democratic Sen. Kay Hagen.  Hagen is in a tight race against tea party Republican reactionary Thom Tillis.  An organization funded by the right-wing plutocrats was already caught sending erroneous voter registration mailers out last month.  Now, we learn another Koch-supported dark money group ("American Future Fund") is funding an online ad campaign designed to lure young voters away from Hagen and toward Libertarian candidate and pizza delivery man (no joke) Sean Haugh.  (Haugh, by the way, tweeted "While I appreciate the support, I now have a whole new reason to despise Koch brothers & their dark money.")

"History will notice," indeed.  But as Paul Krugman noted the other day, it's far from clear what the final outcome in the struggle between democracy and plutocracy will be.

The Koch Brothers: They're Not Just Polluting Politics

A Hackwhackers hat tip to Charles P. Pierce for bringing to our attention this Rolling Stone article by Tim Dickinson on the far-right polluters of American democracy, Charles and David Koch.  Not surprisingly, the Koch brothers' disdain for the American public washes over into its far-flung business dealings. Here's just a taste of what Dickinson uncovers in his eminently readable piece:

The volume of Koch Industries' toxic output is staggering. According to the University of Massachusetts Amherst's Political Economy Research Institute, only three companies rank among the top 30 polluters of America's air, water and climate: ExxonMobil, American Electric Power and Koch Industries. Thanks in part to its 2005 purchase of paper-mill giant Georgia-Pacific, Koch Industries dumps more pollutants into the nation's waterways than General Electric and International Paper combined. The company ranks 13th in the nation for toxic air pollution. Koch's climate pollution, meanwhile, outpaces oil giants including Valero, Chevron and Shell. Across its businesses, Koch generates 24 million metric tons of greenhouse gases a year.

Aiming to make American democracy a wholly-owned subsidiary of Koch Industries (much as they have done in the State of Wisconsin with their office boy, Gov. Scott Walker), the Kochs have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid Party in direct candidate support as well as voter suppression activities.  If you want to get a full sense of the evil these two Birchite sociopaths are visiting on this country (and you should), read the full article.

(Image: Visual approximation of Charles and David Koch.)

Medicaid Expansion In Virginia: Health Care For Me, Not For Thee!

Virginia representatives are debating whether to allow Medicaid expansion in the Commonwealth, and the usual suspects are coming out of the Koch closet woodwork to offer their solicited testimonials:

On Wednesday, Colonial Heights insurance agent Frank Lundie stepped up to offer his story at a news conference in front of his business. He said he had been reluctant to speak but had to, given what Burke said in the 18th century: that evil triumphs “when good men do nothing.” 

Lundie went on to say that the premium on his personal insurance plan doubled and his annual deductible rose by $2,000 as a result of the law. The Affordable Care Act led to the cancellation of millions of existing insurance policies, he said, so even by the White House’s “fuzzy math,” more people lost insurance than got it. 

His complaints centered on problems with the broader health-care law, not Medicaid expansion per se. But Lundie and Republican leaders argued that the law’s well-known flaws are reason enough to resist expansion. 

“The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody has decided not to see,” Lundie, quoting [Ayn] Rand, told about 50 politicians and business leaders at the gathering.

Well, we certainly know what bees are buzzing in Mr. Lundie's bonnet, given the Ayn Rand and Edmund Burke quotes (freedumb!), and equating affordable health care with "evil."  You're quite the frothing nut compassionate conservative, Mr. Lundie!  We look forward to someone doing a fact check on the Koch brothers'  Lundie's story;  we'd be willing to bet it's like every other fabricated pile of bullshit being generated by the right, notably the Americans for Plutocrat Prosperity.

In the meantime, we like what this letter writer had to say in this morning's once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle:

The March 9 Metro article “Who deserves to receive Medicaid? Residents echo lawmakers’ debate” contained a nugget that seems to define precisely the argument against expanding the program. It quoted a man who earns $11,670 at his job, just over the poverty line, but doesn’t qualify for Medicaid. He struggles to afford his asthma treatments. The article then quoted a woman opposed to expansion: “Tabatha Weathers, 27, said the abuses she’s seen have made her wary of opening up Medicaid too broadly. ‘Somebody like me, I need it,’ she said . . . [S]he couldn’t afford her obstetrician appointments without the Medicaid she receives.” 

There you have it. Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act is just another effort to create a boondoggle program. As long as you already have Medicaid.

George Chuzi, McLean

We'd like to hope that, for every Frank Lundie (and Mrs. Lundie? see comments) and Tabatha Weathers, there are at least four George Chuzis... and that they vote.

(Image:  Ayn Rand -  "the glaringly evident which everybody has decided not to see" is her self-serving hypocrisy, Mr. Lundie, and yours.)

An Anthology of Koch Brothers' Lying Obamacare Ads

Here it is.  It was a lot of lies and bullshit to wade through, so thank you, Joan McCarter.  We expect this to have to be updated on a regular basis, of course.

Letters We Wish We'd Written - Dark Money Edition

As we noted a while back, "dark money" (untraceable political contributions) has been exposed for the anti-democratic cancer that it is (again, thanks Roberts Court!).  To its credit the once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle had an editorial on January 13 (following up on reporting by Matea Gold) on the extraordinary lengths to which far right-wing plutocrats =cough=Koch brothers=cough= go to hide the obscene amounts of money sloshing around the world of right-wing politics.  Here's a letter on the subject which appeared in today's paper:

The Post’s Jan. 13 editorial “Dark money labyrinth” asked of the conservative groups flooding our electoral process with hundreds of millions of dollars: “What do they fear from disclosure of their political investments?” It may be that these groups and other Republicans favor secrecy because most Americans do not agree with their positions.

Even most Republicans favor raising the minimum wage and extending unemployment benefits. Most Americans favor a balanced approach to the deficit, rejected by Republicans, that includes new revenue from tax reform.

Those backing such groups also probably don’t want to advertise their support for a party that considers protecting the wealthy’s privileged tax breaks as its primary priority and that relegates the plight of the unemployed and the slow economic recovery to secondary status. From minimum wage to immigrationto extending unemployment insurance to voter suppression to assaults on union workers and women’s rights, Republicans have fixed their sights on regular, hard-working Americans. If I were supporting that party and those efforts, I would want secrecy, too.   [our emphasis]

Bill Conrad, Alexandria

Money is not free speech, and corporations aren't people, no matter what the plutocrats and their toadies would have us believe.  Not only does it have the potential to subvert the democratic process, it's (yes, Justice Kennedy) corrupting.  More light needs to be shed on the problem by the media, followed by heat from the electorate.

The Koch Brothers' Dark Money

The once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle has an in-depth investigative piece in today's edition examining the "dark money" being raised by a right-wing network led by the god-awful Koch brothers.  (To remind you of the Koch brothers' political pedigree, their father Fred was a founding member of the John Birch Society, so the nuts didn't fall far from the tree.)  Here's an intro into the lengths to which the Kochs and their minions go to shield their plutocrat donors from exposure:

Its funders remain largely unknown; the coalition was carefully constructed with extensive legal barriers to shield its donors.

But they have substantial firepower. Together, the 17 conservative groups that made up the network raised at least $407 million during the 2012 campaign, according to the analysis of tax returns by The Washington Post and the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that tracks money in politics.  [snip]

Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, a University of Notre Dame Law School professor who studies the tax issues of politically active nonprofits, said he has never seen a network with a similar design in the tax-exempt world.

“It is a very sophisticated and complicated structure,” said Mayer, who examined some of the groups’ tax filings. “It’s designed to make it opaque as to where the money is coming from and where the money is going. No layperson thought this up. It would only be worth it if you were spending the kind of dollars the Koch brothers are, because this was not cheap.”

Having lost in their efforts to buy the 2012 election, the Kochs are funneling millions of dollars into sabotaging the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), as well as efforts to weaken or eliminate environmental regulations, gun control laws, and social safety net programs.  Their network includes allies such as the National Gun Manufacturers Rifle Association, the Club for Growth, Jim "Demented" DeMint's Heritage Foundation, and Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform.  In other words just about every frothing fringe right-wing assortment of sociopaths extant.

For all of this and more, let's not forget to thank Chief "Justice" John Roberts and his merry band of anarchist right-wingers for their Citizens United ruling! (We have a feeling "Justice" Kennedy's permanent blinders would still cause him to find that such arrangements "do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption." )

How Right-Wingers Celebrate The End Of Racism

At a tea bagger conference sponsored by the billionaire Koch brothers' "Americans for Prosperity Foundation," the headline generated was "GOP activists heckle [Sen. Marco "Glug Glug"] Rubio" (hahaha).  But we found this from frothing loon David Horowitz quite revealing:

The strongest rhetoric of the day came from conservative writer David Horowitz, who called the president “the most brazen and compulsive liar to ever occupy the White House,” drawing loud whoops and cheers from the audience.  [Ed. note: =cough= Richard Nixon =cough]

“The reason we don’t attack him is obvious, but no one will say it out loud. I will: It’s because the color of his skin is black,” Horowitz told the crowd, which was predominantly white. “It is because Obama is a minority that nobody will hold him to a standard or confront him with what he has done.”  (our emphasis)

"The reason we don't attack him..."  One has to wonder, in surveying the past 5 years, under what moss-covered rock Horowitz has been living to suggest right-wing nut sacks have held off on attacking President Obama.  Also, see Horowitz' judgement immediately preceding the bolded quote.  No matter.

As for Horowitz' "blackity- black- black Obama" comments, the tea baggers would like you to remember:  it's racist to suggest a white person's being racist when they cast something in offensive racial terms.

Tea Party Funders Won't Be Buying Newspapers

The Koch brothers, funders of tea party astroturf groups,  won't be putting a bid in to buy the Tribune Company newspapers after all.  A significant victory, as long as another far-right operation doesn't manage to buy into all or part of this large chunk of the newspaper business.

Calling George Soros, Calling George Soros

We can't let the slimy Koch brothers get away with this.

Cartoon of the Day

(click to enlarge)
The 2012 Presidential election will be the first to allow unlimited corporate contributions. The nation's wealthiest plutocrats and biggest corporations already own a major political party, and employ thousands of lobbyists and lawyers to ensure their continued prosperity. Not satisfied with this advantage, they're also going after labor unions nationwide, trying to limit or destroy their political power and organizing. We live in a different country than even a decade ago, and until the middle class realizes that economic war is being waged against it by the plutocrats, it won't change.