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Is Charles Koch the Scariest Man in the World?

Blogged by Paul Buchheit for Buzzflash, August 19, 2013- 

Scary because he claims "We don't have the power to coerce anybody" while providing massive funding to organizations that attack public education, social programs, worker salaries, business regulations, and the environment.

Scary because he refers to himself with words like 'integrity' and 'principles' while saying "I want my fair share - and that's all of it."

Scary because he declares, "I want my legacy to be…a better way of life for…all Americans." Here is some of the legacy of Charles Koch:

1. Environment
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PR Watch: ALECexposed: List of Corporations and Special Interests that Underwrote ALEC’s 40th Anniversary Meeting

-by Lisa Graves

August 15, 2013- This year's annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) had fewer corporations listed as sponsoring that meeting for a seemingly smaller total amount of revenue.

Based on the sponsorship rates ALEC promoted earlier this year, the organization took in approximately $910,000 from firms specifically designated as "President" to "Trustee" level sponsors for its 40th Anniversary meeting compared with estimated revenue of approximately $1.2 million for the same level of sponsorships at last year's meeting in Salt Lake City.
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Huffington Post: ‘Citizen Koch’ Rescued By Small Donors As Documentary Outraises Funds Pulled By PBS

-By Nick Wing

August 8, 2013- "Citizen Koch," a highly regarded documentary about the billionaire Koch brothers and the growing influence of money in politics after the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, suffered a major setback earlier this year when PBS pulled the film and the $150,000 in funding that had been promised. Scrambling to find a way to distribute their film, Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Carl Deal and Tia Lessin turned to Kickstarter in a highly successful move that recently surpassed the funds they had previously expected to receive from public television.
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Politico: Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan headlined Koch summit

-By Kenneth P. Vogel and Jake Sherman

August 7, 2013- Rep. Paul Ryan, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez secretly spoke to wealthy donors at the Koch brothers’ recently concluded summer gathering on the outskirts of Albuquerque.

The 2012 vice presidential candidate and No. 2 House Republican are return participants to the twice-annual seminar, which also drew wealthy donors and conservative nonprofit leaders including American Enterprise Institute President Arthur Brooks.

The meeting featured some discussion of the unfolding GOP Senate primary challenges to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming, but no consensus opinion emerged, a source who attended the event told POLITICO. The source said that Cantor and Ryan both delivered presentations that were well-received by donors, as was Brooks’s speech on work as a source of happiness.

A spokesman for Cantor’s office declined to comment, while Ryan’s office did not immediately respond to questions.

Center For Public Integrity: Koch Industries PAC spending record cash

Committee has biggest month ever during non-election year

-By Adam Wollner

July 22, 2013- The political action committee of Koch Industries — the energy and chemicals company led by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch — gave more money in June to federal political candidates and committees than it ever has in any other month during a non-election year.

KOCHPAC contributed $262,000 to dozens of politicians, political parties and other PACs in June, Federal Election Commission records indicate.

KOCHPAC’s previous record for the most money given in one month during an off-year came in June 2011, when it distributed $227,500 to candidates and political committees.

Huffington Post: Koch-Funded Climate Contrarians Make Mischief on Capitol Hill

-By Elliott Negin

July 19, 2013- With Congress about to head out of town for its summer recess, a Washington-based think tank is ramping up a campaign to foil any attempts to institute a tax on carbon emissions, The Hill, a Washington political trade publication, reported this week.

"We're hoping to put the final nail in the coffin of the carbon tax," said Benjamin Cole, the communications director for the Institute for Energy Research (IER) and its advocacy arm, the American Energy Alliance (AEA). "The proposal should be dead on arrival by the time lawmakers come back from August recess."

IER's campaign includes a survey of American attitudes about such a tax and a $120,000 to $150,000 radio ad buy targeting a handful of House members who, according to Cole, "are soft on the carbon tax issue."

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