Charles Koch whines in WSJ op-ed

[ProSense]

21. Steve Benen:

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Rather, the underlying issue is one of a failure of self-awareness. The Koch brothers, as has been well documented, aren’t exactly struggling to communicate their ideas with the public. They’ve invested tens of millions of dollars in a massive political operation, including brutal attack ads targeting policymakers who’ve dared to pursue a progressive policy vision.

Indeed, reading Koch’s op-ed and its complaints about “character assassination” immediately made me wonder if the conservative billionaire has actually seen any of the anti-Democratic commercials he’s helped subsidize.

It’s true that the Koch brothers, up until fairly recently, were not commonly recognized as major political players. Their names rarely passed through Democrats’ lips. But as they’ve become more deeply involved in policy and campaign debates, effectively creating a well-financed operation that would rival that of a modestly sized national party, the Koch brothers have been subjected to scrutiny and denunciations.

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It’s what makes Charles Koch’s complaints unpersuasive. It would appear from his op-ed that he’s comfortable financing attack ads targeting Democrats, but he’s outraged by Democrats who respond in kind with attack ads of their own. When he makes the case for a regressive vision, Koch seems himself as merely celebrating the restoration of a free society, but when his foes make the case for a progressive vision, they’re radicals trying to stifle debate.

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http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/charles-koch-presents-his-defense-against