Now California has a Koch problem

[KamaAina]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/09/MN561I5MQC.DTL&ao=all

To Peter Mathews, the political timing seems perfect. A gallon of gas costs more than $4, the five largest oil companies have made $30 billion in profits this year, and California's higher education system is losing at least $1.4 billion to help balance the state's gargantuan budget deficit....

But should his measure qualify for the November ballot, Mathews and liberal groups worry that a pair of deep-pocketed brothers could emerge to fight the initiative: Charles and David Koch (pronounced "coke") of Kansas, who have used the billions they've made in the oil industry to try to reshape national politics in their conservative, free-market image....

Americans for Prosperity spent $45 million nationally in the 2010 midterm elections to support conservative candidates. The group's California chapter, which has increased its profile in recent months, is sponsoring a tour, dubbed Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous on a Government Pension, satirizing the benefits received by public service workers.

"The lesson of the last election is that the influence of the Koch brothers stretches into most parts of the country," said Wade Crowfoot, the western regional director of the Environmental Defense Fund, which opposed Prop. 23. "They're like a political octopus - their network stretches everywhere.

I'm getting hungry for political fried calamari...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I'm hungry for it too!

Let's start chopping those tentacles off now!

Let's make them wish they'd never left Kansas...

Recommended.

[xchrom]

2. recommend

[Cleita]

3. I think we always have had a Koch problem.

They probably were behind the scenes bankrolling the recall of Grey Davis and installation of Arnold Schwarzenegger as our Governor.

[Deep13]

6. Yup, and swift-boating Kerry and making Dukakis look soft on crime. nt

[SharonAnn]

8. Yes, we have. But most people weren't aware of it. And it's not just the Koch brothers.

[Deep13]

4. I'm sick of the RW shoving their Kochs in our faces! nt

[HopeHoops]

5. I used to love SmallSteps products until I found out they were a Koch thing - Mardi Gras.

I won't buy them anymore.

[krabigirl]

7. They won't do well here.

I wish I could have said the same about prop 8 :(, but I think californians will reject this crap.