Democrats Know It Will Be Difficult To Match The US$900 Million Of The Koch Brothers

[Purveyor]

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 28 January, 2015, 10:43pm
Reuters in Washington

US Democrats have acknowledged that it will be difficult, and likely impossible, to match the nearly US$900 million that the conservative billionaire Koch brothers said their political network will spend during the 2016 campaign cycle.

The eye-popping figure emerged on Monday as donors met at a Koch-organised winter retreat near Palm Springs, California. It underscored Charles and David Koch's commitment to push for smaller-government policies via a web of advocacy organisations. "It's a staggering amount of money, and it's probably just the beginning," said Democratic strategist Bill Burton. "The truth is Democrats will never match what Republicans can put into these races."

Republicans in 2016 will seek to win the White House after Democratic President Barack Obama's two terms and try to keep control of the US Congress after winning the Senate last year.

"Democrats say they can't match it, but we saw Barack Obama do pretty well with large donors. I think Hillary Clinton will, too," said David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University.

Obama's successful 2012 re-election campaign cost US$1 billion. The eventual Republican and Democratic presidential nominees will likely raise that much or more in 2016.

more...

http://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1694373/democrats-know-it-will-be-difficult-match-us900-million-koch-brothers

[Sunlei]

1. koch spends a million or two on one vacation retreat. That party spends to much paying everyone!

Always thankful to the republican party brand, none of them work for free.

Their lavish spending of 'donation dollars' *WINK* is great for the local economies.

Positive their HUGE tax deductions steals even more of Americans income tax revenue.

[djean111]

2. Oh, I expect to start getting emails asking me to help match the Kochs, any day now.

This is why I do not think Citizens United will go away any time soon, if ever - both sides loooooove that big money, and the beneficiaries - the media - have no intention of killing that goose - the golden eggs keep popping out.

[arcane1]

4. It's a gravy train like no other. Raise $ for a campaign, then don't run. Keep the $$!

[arcane1]

3. Because we all want most in a candidate is their ability to "do pretty well with large donors"

What could go wrong?

[djean111]

5. Oh, that's been asked and answered here - it is perfectly okay to take the big bucks, and then it

is only natural and logical for the politician to do what the big bucks wants, because they need to get reelected.
Got that?

[HappyMe]

7. Exactly.

I'm surprised they haven't renamed Capital Hill or the White House the Sprint- Merrill Lynch-Soros-Koch Government Complex, brought to you by AT&T and Bounty (the quicker picker upper).

[Fred Sanders]

6. The mass media must be having an orgasm at all this ad money talk. More money to cover snowstorms

and get a real Blizzard-mobile, then let the social media rubes mock that.

Not much coverage of Citizen's United being the cause of this smoldering corpse of a democracy, why would they?

[Purveyor]

8. Now if they only spark a 'hot war' with Russia for the ratings... eom

[arcane1]

9. Indeed, they are the ultimate beneficiaries.

So I won't expect them to complain about the corruption of the system.

[blkmusclmachine]

10. The Kochs are loosely involved with the hard right Christian Reconstructionism movement,

yes?