Kansas-based Koch Industries is the "largest private company in the United States" and, as Wonk Room's Lee Fang recently explained, a prolific patron of right-wing lobbying efforts in D.C.:
Koch Industries, the oil and gas behemoth, bankrolls the astroturf groups Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks. These groups were instrumental in orchestrating the anti-Obama tea party protests, where thousands gathered to display racist signs directed at the President, absurd calls for an impeachment, and more recently, protesters hanging Democratic leaders in effigy. In addition to the anti-Obama protests, these groups provide a useful front for industries as they hire dozens of field staff to spread misinformation about clean energy and bus people around the country to create the guise of public distrust of global warming. Koch has funneled its money not only to these astroturf efforts, but has been a prolific leader in all the aforementioned strategies that industries pursue (Charles Koch even founded the Cato Institute, a leader of global warming skepticism and has spent nearly $4 million in lobbying this year alone).
Here in Illinois, one particular Republican congressman has benefited from Koch's deep pockets: hardcore climate change skeptic John Shimkus.
During the 2008 election cycle, the downstate representative received $10,000 from the company's PAC. And according to the committee's most recent FEC filings, Shimkus has so far received $3,500 this year, despite no evidence of a strong Democratic challenge to his seat (this includes a $1,000 check on February 27 and a $2,500 donation on July 27). Apparently, when it comes to making friends in the oil industry, it pays to put on this sort of display:
Comments
Philosophe Forum on Wed, 08/12/2009 - 11:50
Shimkus gets loud for a reason. Always the perfect cartoon and good little soldier willing to fall on his sword for any constituent business giving him cold hard currency, the man fights for any issue against the betterment of quality of life for real people. So far this cycle he has certainly reaped the rewards from his top 2 contributors: (1) Health Professionals ($12,750) and (2) Pharmaceuticals / Health Products ($8,500).
As for Koch Industries, the company literally changed history. It has been involved for years (I just love Rachel Maddow):
[W]e drew a parallel that some others have drawn as well, between the corporate-funded Republican staffed P.R. operation riling up mobs to heckle and harass members of Congress at town hall events at these recess rallies, and the mother of all manufactured fake grassroots demonstrations of this young century, the infamous Brooks Brothers riot, which managed to halt the Miami-Dade recount following the presidential election in 2000.
[. . .] At the time many of the Brooks Brothers rioters were Republican staffers working in the House and Senate. Some of them still are. Others have gone into the private sector. One of them is now an immigration judge.
One of them is named Tom Pyle. Mr. Pyle had worked for indicted Republican Congressman Tom DeLay. And then a few months after he and his pals pretended to be ordinary outraged citizens demanding an end to the recount, Mr. Pyle went to work for Koch Industries as a director of federal affairs. He has since left and is now president of the Energy for Energy Research.
This is Matt Schlapp. Now, Mr. Schlapp went from fake outraged citizen rioter in Miami to work at the Bush White House for a while. And then, he got a new gig as the executive director of federal affairs for Koch Industries. Huh. Koch Industries is the largest privately held oil company in this country.
The co-owner of Koch Industries is David Koch, the 19th richest person in the world. He also happens to be the national chairman of Americans for Prosperity, which is one of the groups organizing these recess rallies. Koch Industries has also funded Freedom Works which is another recess rally organizer.
Who knew the organized efforts to take over town halls and chase congressmen through parking lots would also serve as a Brooks Brothers riot alumni meet-and-greet? What a tremendous coincidence.
What would have happened in 2000 if Koch would have stayed out of Florida?
I have more respect for this anti-reform demonstrator: Just an ordinary American at a Connecticut town hall still wearing his Anthem BlueCross BlueShield shirt.
ALISON, MPA
Philosophe Forum
Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 08/12/2009 - 20:55
Thank God for the Koch brothers. One was in my preflight class at Pensacola. He was a prince of a guy.
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