Koch network warns of'McCarthyism 2.0 in conservative efforts to harass professors

[The Blue Flower]

https://s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?e=bWV0ZXJtYWlkQHEuY29t&s=5b61ac7afe1ff616fd8cb68b

COLORADO SPRINGS—Leaders of the donor network led by billionaire Charles Koch say they want college students to study Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong. They also want them to read Alexis de Tocqueville, Adam Smith and Friedrich Hayek.

As the group of conservative and libertarian megadonors ramps up its support for initiatives aimed at transforming higher education, the people in charge of spending the money promise it won’t just go to advance their own philosophy.

“If people don't know and understand all the ideas that have influenced history, then how in the world can we have any hope of making progress in the future? Innovation and discovery depend on the collision of different ideas,” said John Hardin, the director of university relations for the Charles Koch Foundation. “This is going to be even more important with the future that we're heading into, where change comes rapidly and students are going to need the skills to adapt quickly.”

Speaking to donors at their retreat in the Rocky Mountains this week, he and other Koch officials went out of their way to criticize groups on the right that are pursuing a more confrontational approach on college campuses. Hardin said it’s not just liberals who are shouting down conservative speakers and trying to crowd out ideas they don’t like. He specifically faulted Turning Point USA, a pro-Trump student group, that has created a “Professor Watchlist” website to identify liberal faculty members.

[Initech]

1. They helped create this increasingly hostile political climate we live in.

They get to fix it.

[greymattermom]

2. Looks like I retired at the right time.

Even though I was in a medical school, I was seeing more and more restrictions on speech.

[leftynyc]

3. Seems Dr. Frankenstein

has realized his monster is terrorizing ALL the villagers and not just the Democrats.

[rsdsharp]

4. This is rich

given that the Kochs were known to have given large donations to colleges and universities conditioned on veto power over the hiring of professors.

[Downtown Hound]

5. This is the monster you created assholes

And all so your already rich asses could get a bigger tax break. If you really want to do something about it, start donating LOTS of money to progressive causes and candidates and help us defeat it. Otherwise, STFU.

[MountCleaners]

6. If they cared that much...

....they'd put their money into education and scholarships, not funding candidates who appeal to the uneducated.

[appalachiablue]

7. Koch Power