Bill Press: Koch brothers driving anti-Obama hate machine

[highplainsdem]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/sns-201202021530--tms--bpresstt--m-a20120202feb02,0,6530159.column

Hillel's urgent plea "If not now, when?" was appropriated by oil billionaires Charles and David Koch in a letter of invitation summoning CEOs to a fundraising summit in Rancho Mirage, Calif., in January 2011. It was imperative that they join forces, explained Charles Koch, "...to combat what is now the greatest threat to American freedom and prosperity in our lifetimes" -- the administration of Barack Obama.

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As I learned in researching my book, "The Obama Hate Machine," Charles and David Koch, with a combined wealth of $50 billion, are two of the richest men in the country. With more than $100 billion in annual revenues, Koch Industries is a mammoth energy and manufacturing conglomerate. They operate oil refineries in Alaska, Texas and Minnesota. They control 4,000 miles of pipelines. They own Georgia-Pacific. They have 70,000 employees in 60 countries.

But it's because of their political activity that the brothers Koch have recently gained notoriety. Together, they're probably the nation's biggest political donors. Nobody else -- not George Soros, not Bill Gates, not even Sheldon Adelson -- comes close. And their influence is everywhere. They're major funders of two conservative think tanks, the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute. They've created pseudo-scientific research centers on many college campuses, like the Mercatus Center of George Mason University. They're the sugar daddies behind two powerful political organizations, FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity -- which is currently running anti-Obama TV ads in 10 states. They were the money bags behind the tea party. They put up the funds to oppose new mining safety regulations in West Virginia, overturn tough mileage standards in California, and elect Scott Walker in Wisconsin. And, by my count, they're principal sources of funding for at least 57 conservative political action groups.

Indeed, their political empire is so vast it's been called the "Kochtopus." Charles Lewis, founder of the Center for Public Integrity, told the New Yorker's Jane Mayer, "The Kochs are on a whole different level. There's no one else who has spent this much money. ... They are the Standard Oil of our times."

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[Kurmudgeon]

1. It's truly scary how much power and influence these 2 brothers of privilege wield.

[doc03]

3. Lets hope they are too cheap to buy the election n/t

[rfranklin]

2. Send in the Special Operations team...

they are at twice the threat to Americans that Osama bin Laden was.