Billionaire Brothers’ Money Plays Role in Wisconsin Dispute

[kpete]

Source: New York Times

Billionaire Brothers’ Money Plays Role in Wisconsin Dispute
By ERIC LIPTON
Published: February 21, 2011



WASHINGTON — Among the thousands of demonstrators who jammed the Wisconsin State Capitol grounds this weekend was a well-financed advocate from Washington who was there to voice praise for cutting state spending by slashing union benefits and bargaining rights.

................

What Mr. Phillips did not mention was that his Virginia-based nonprofit group, whose budget surged to $40 million in 2010 from $7 million three years ago, was created and financed in part by the secretive billionaire brothers Charles G. and David H. Koch.

State records also show that Koch Industries, their energy and consumer products conglomerate based in Wichita, Kan., was one of the biggest contributors to the election campaign of Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, a Republican who has championed the proposed cuts.

Even before the new governor was sworn in last month, executives from the Koch-backed group had worked behind the scenes to try to encourage a union showdown, Mr. Phillips said in an interview on Monday.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/us/22koch.html?_r=3&smid=tw-nytimespolitics&seid=auto

[SpiralHawk]

1. Thank you, NYT, for reporting on Republicon occult-moneybuck subversion

of America...

Republicon fatcats are attempting to overthrow American democracy and to buy a Totalitarian Republicon Homeland.

Republicons envision a two-tier totalitarian homeland: elite fatcats on top, proles on the bottom slaving away at shit wages with shit benefits to further enrich the already rich.

Ptooooooey on that degenerate crapola.

[kpete]

2. this info is everywhere

but FINALLY nyt picks it up...
peace, kpete

[SpiralHawk]

3. That's what I'm talking about...

...despite everything, and certainly despite the fact that DU and other astute Americans already know it, the Times still gives a measure of CRED to the reality of an issue like this Fatcat Republicon Payola-for-Totalitarianism ploy.

[HereSince1628]

4. The thing which is quite amazing to me

Is that in this article Phillips essentially comes out and says that the redstate governors are puppets for the Koch brothers. And he sees no need to be on the QT about that. The veil is pulled back for everyone and nobody gives a good god-damn because this is what we've seen happening for decades. Walker,Kasich, et al. are following a script that they've been preparing for 'the big show' for many months.

We see in this article the secret government finally acknowledge itself. That it's now safe for the activists rich to come into the spot light is a very big deal.

[Faryn Balyncd]

5. K and R

[Platypus]

6. Oh yeah, big surprise

It's news when a group is pushing an anti-democratic agenda and the Koch brothers *aren't* funding it. They'll basically throw money at anyone who hates the same people they do. If I had no morals, I'd start a group pushing things I don't believe in, and contact them to provide (unwittingly) for my early retirement.

[Uncle Joe]

7. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.

[nyc 4 Biden]

8. Incorrect line from the article...

"The pending legislation would not directly affect its bottom line."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=4742421">Not true.