Blockbuster Investigation: All roads lead to Koch

[kpete]

All roads lead to Koch

by digby

This blockbuster investigation from Lee Fang at Republic Report should bust the myth once and for all that the right wing billionaire Koch Brothers are only interested in economics. In fact, it's clear that they are interested in electing Republicans by any means necessary:

Koch Operative Steered $55 Million To Front Groups Airing Ads Against Democrats; Ads Assailed Candidates Over Abortion, 9/11, Medicare
By Lee Fang posted May 19th 2012 at 2:00PM

Charles and David Koch, the billionaire owners of of Koch Industries, are known as big spenders when it comes to lobbying and influencing public policy. Now, a new document filed with the IRS reveals how the Koch political machine funneled over $54.5 million in previously undisclosed funds to a litany of front groups designed to smear Democrats.

The disclosure suggests that a very wide variety of Republican groups active in the last major election, from pro-life organizations that ran ads on abortion to shadowy fronts that aired partisan commercials with the infamous Ground Zero Mosque conspiracy, have been highly dependent on Koch money. The document also reveals that the Koch’s political network spent much more on electing the current Congress than previously known.

Sean Noble, a Republican consultant, was hired to help administer the Koch war chest. According to Politico, Noble was part of a group of GOP operatives who met regularly with Karl Rove’s Super PAC to target 120 House of Representatives races in 2010. The close coordination was pivotal in helping the Republican Party capture 63 seats in one of the biggest midterm election landslides in modern history.

Yesterday afternoon, OpenSecrets.org bloggers Viveca Novak and Robert Maguire were the first to flag a tax form filed by an obscure Arizona-based foundation called the Center to Protect Patients’ Rights, noting the foundation gave huge amounts almost exclusively to conservative groups that use undisclosed nonprofits to air partisan ads. The Center acted as a pass-through to distribute $44,599,946 in grants in 2010, and $10,783,500 the year before. Novak and Maguire also reported that the Center’s tax forms were prepared by at least one employee of the DCI Group, a lobbying business.

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The Rest:
http://www.republicreport.org/2012/55million-koch-fronts/

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nice review:
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/all-roads-lead-to-koch.html

[calimary]

1. Too bad we can't nationalize their companies.

[DCKit]

7. Not yet.... nt

[malaise]

2. Don't you wonder which of the Supremes were in on this as well

Continue to follow the money

[leftyohiolib]

3. like everything else from scotus, 5-4

[Initech]

4. Arrest these fuckers and try them for treason against Obama now!!

[meow2u3]

5. Freeze the Koch Brothers' assets now!

Lock them up and throw away the key--and make them forfeit their ill-gotten billion$.

(on a side note: I forever type "Kock Brothers"; is this a Freudian slip?)

[Wellstone ruled]

6. Amazing,folks this sh*t has been in all the Southwest internet posts

o

nobody east of the Rockies has been paying attention. These fake groups all have common thread,Rove,teabagger congressmen from this area. Read the posts out there from AZ NV UT ID and Western Colorado,notice the common themes and persons. This area is riffe with these groups. Follow the Bush family and you will find some really juciy stuff. All flying under the radar.

[fascisthunter]

8. A Hostile Takeover of America by treasonous Billionaires

...busted! The 99% should eat them, then shit them out into a pile heap of historical examples.

[LiberalArkie]

9. They should be brought up on charges just like Preston Bush was.

[McCamy Taylor]

10. In return they make 100's of millions or more from US gov't contracts.

Bush paid the Kochs to stock the strategic oil reserve. They graze their cattle on public land. They harvest trees on public land (with public assistance) for Georgia-Pacific and Dixie Cups. They have made a killing from lax oversight of oil price speculation aka price fixing.

The Kochs are just like Enron. They make money from their paid political flunkies. Keep enough Dems in Washington for long enough and they will go broke.

[Thinkingabout]

11. Koch brothers are behind the Keystone pipeline also

The oil will be piped to their refineries in Texas and guess where next, right on tankers to the world and the world market.

Why are they putting so much money into Wisconsin unless they see dollars coming back to them. Dirty rotten dogs.

[BadgerKid]

14. Interesting.

It resonates with the Koch Bros. signs around the St. Louis area.

[Scurrilous]

12. K & R

[A Simple Game]

13. That's a lot of free speech. n/t