Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Last week I wrote up a post titled Scott Walker: A Fiscally Responsible Governor or a Politician Who Is Playing Favorites?. Judging from the number of comments left at that post, it appears that people are very interested in what’s been going on in the state of Wisconsin. I think many people may believe that as Wisconsin goes—so goes the nation…and probably the life expectancy of labor unions and collective bargaining.
What got a lot of press attention was the story of the prank phone call that Governor Walker received from gonzo journalist Ian Murphy. Murphy pretended to be billionaire industrialist David Koch. He talked to Walker for twenty minutes. Murphy reportedly told the Associated Press he made the prank phone call in order to show how candid Walker would be in a conversation with Koch at a time when Democrats claim the governor was refusing to return their calls.
The prank phone call appears to show a cozy relationship between Walker and Koch, a top campaign donor who may have a financial interest in fighting unions. Union workers protesting in Wisconsin have already made monetary concessions to help with Wisconsin’s budget shortfall. One has to wonder what is really behind the governor’s demand that public employee unions be stripped of their right to bargain collectively. Is it all part of an agenda to “take unions out at the knees”—a strategy suggested by Scott Hagerstrom at the annual conference of the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC)? Hagerstrom is the Executive Director of Michigan’s chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP).
In a Mother Jones article, Andy Kroll writes: Walker’s plan to eviscerate collective bargaining rights for public employees is right out of the Koch brothers’ playbook. Koch-backed groups like Americans for Prosperity, the Cato Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and the Reason Foundation have long taken a very antagonistic view toward public-sector unions.
And who is Americans for Prosperity? Felicia Sonmez has written that AFP is really two groups—both of which were founded by David Koch in 2004: Americans for Prosperity, a 501(c)4 and the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, is a 501(c)3.
Somnez says that both groups are considered “not-for-profit” organizations under the Internal Revenue Service code—and that they do not have to disclose the identity of their donors or the contributions made by those donors. She added that David Koch is believed to be one of the group’s top donors.
In a New Yorker article titled Covert Operations: The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama, Jane Mayer wrote about Peggy Venable, the Texas State Director of AFP: She (Peggy Venable) explained that the role of Americans for Prosperity was to help “educate” Tea Party activists on policy details, and to give them “next-step training” after their rallies, so that their political energy could be channelled “more effectively.” And she noted that Americans for Prosperity had provided Tea Party activists with lists of elected officials to target. She said of the Kochs, “They’re certainly our people. David’s the chairman of our board. I’ve certainly met with them, and I’m very appreciative of what they do.”
In August 2009, ThinkProgress said that it had obtained an exclusive memo from a Tea Party group that is supported by Koch’s Americans for Prosperity.
From Think Progress: “The memo outlined various ways for Tea Party activists to intimidate Democratic lawmakers and disrupt their town hall meetings on health reform. ThinkProgress published half a dozen articles exposing the role of Koch-funded groups like “Patients United” in encouraging opposition to health reform. For instance, in Virginia, a Koch-funded operative Ben Marchi assisted a birther who followed Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) around, yelling at him at town hall meetings.”
That’s all I’ve got for now, folks. Talk amongst yourselves. I need a break!
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Sources
Covert Operations: The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama. (New Yorker)
Who is “Americans for Prosperity”? (Washington Post)
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker: Funded by the Koch Bros. (Mother Jones)
Why did Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker take a call from ‘David Koch’? (Christian Science Monitor)
Billionaire Brothers’ Money Plays Role in Wisconsin Dispute (New York Times)
On prank call, Wis. governor discusses strategy (Yahoo)
Koch Front Group Americans For Prosperity: ‘Take The Unions Out At The Knees’ (Think Progress)
Union Busting: The Real Call from the Koch Brothers (Huffington Post)
Charles And David Koch Exposed For Insidious Role In Crafting The Modern Right (Think Progress)
For Further Reading
Koch-Powered Tea Party Pushes Climate Denial Bill In New Hampshire (Think Progress)
Commentary: Koch brothers and the union-busting Kansas House (The Kansas City Star)
Moar sez: “The poor? Most of them are poor for a reason. Some are victims of circumstance but not many.”
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And you get your data where? From what study to you find that only a minority of the poor are victims of circumstance. How many poor people do you actually know? How many villages in Appalachia have you visited where the two or three local factories have moved to some country where labor is pennies an hour, leaving the local American citizens destitute? Perhaps you ought to get out more. You obviously have a problem with reality. Or are you one of the “personas” created by the Koch minions to spread dissent and disrupt blog threads as you are doing here?
rafflaw:
“but we are not looking for corporations to merge with the government. Some here have lived through that or their parents have lived through that, and it won’t do anything but increase the gap between the rich and poor even more than it is now.”
Your misguided policies are doing exactly what you fear. You cannot proceed down the same path and expect different results. What you and others here promote will lead to government control/in bed with corporations more than they are now.
There is no such thing as free market socialism, it is an oxymoron or worse. Socialism by its very nature is about government control of corporations, which is nothing but fascism.
You cannot have what you want unless you get government out of business and business out of government.
But that is exactly what you dont want, you want government in business. You cannot have it the way you want it. What will happen is a small elite will control everything, which is exactly what is happening now.
You want to keep government and business from controlling us? Then make business free and make them live or die in the market. Do not give them favors, do not subsidize their mistakes, refuse to pay for cotton not grown, refuse to give sugar farmers a subsidy so they sell their sugar cheaper than sugar from other countries, refuse to use ethanol, in other words give up government control of business.
But you wont because you are your own worst enemy.
Free market socialism is a joke, to be able to hold and firmly believe 2 contradictory concepts at the same time is a feat I hope I am never able of achieving. It is the physical equivalent of believing you can breathe underwater unaided. Maybe in science fiction but not in reality.
The poor? Most of them are poor for a reason. Some are victims of circumstance but not many.
As usual, Jon Stewart has his own take on Wisconsin:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-february-28-2011/crisis-in-dairyland—angry-curds
From Media Matters
Once Again, Fox Masquerades GOP Activist As Concerned Parent To Attack Unions
February 28, 2011
http://mediamatters.org/blog/201102280011
Excerpt:
This morning, Fox & Friends hosted an “upset Wisconsin parent” to discuss her objection to Wisconsin public schools’ teaching of labor union history. Left unsaid during the segment: The parent, Amber Hahn, is also a local GOP official.
Buddha,
P.S. Thanks for the story about Aaron Barr. Did you see the segment Stephen Colbert did about him the other night on his show? Colbert also talked with Glenn Greenwald. Colbert and Stewart often have better news than the MSM.
Buddha,
I think Walker may have bitten off more than he can chew.
Thanks for posting a link to that story about the suit, Elaine.
I ran across a headline about it earlier, but couldn’t get it to open properly.
WSEU files unfair labor practice charge against Walker
By Don Walker of the Journal Sentinel
(Updated 2/28/2011)
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/117079073.html?page=3
Excerpt:
The Wisconsin State Employees Union on Monday filed an unfair labor practice charge against Gov. Scott Walker, accusing him of refusing to bargain on a new contract.
The complaint was filed with the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission.
“This governor has never made any attempt to contact the unions he is attacking, much less negotiate in good faith as required by law,” said Marty Beil, the union’s executive director. “Instead of trying to find real solutions to the challenges facing the state, the governor is attempting to dictate terms. This not only is ineffective, it’s against the law,” Beil said.
Buddha,
I can’t argue with that logic.
Tangentially related:
HBGary Federal CEO Aaron Barr Steps Down
From the article:
“Embattled CEO Aaron Barr says he is stepping down from his post at HBGary Federal to allow the company to move on after an embarassing data breach.
The announcement comes three weeks after Barr became the target of a coordinated attack by members of the online mischief making group Anonymous, which hacked into HBGary Federal’s computer network and published tens of thousands of company e-mail messages on the Internet. HBGary did not respond to telephone and e-mail requests for comments on Barr’s resignation.
In an interview with Threatpost, Barr said that he is stepping down to allow himself and the company he ran to move on in the wake of the high profile hack.
Recommended Reads
“I need to focus on taking care of my family and rebuilding my reputation,” Barr said in a phone interview. “It’s been a challenge to do that and run a company. And, given that I’ve been the focus of much of bad press, I hope that, by leaving, HBGary and HBGary Federal can get away from some of that. I’m confident they’ll be able to weather this storm.”
The group conducted a preemptive strike on HBGary after Barr was quoted in a published article saying that he had identified the leadership of the group and planned to disclose their identities at the B-Sides Security Conference in San Francisco.”
raff,
I submit that the Koch Bros. are not just a stain on our freedom and Constitution, but on our species as well.
Elaine,
Great Mother Jones article. The Koch’s are a stain on our freedom.
Moar,
In what way do I think ‘2+2=6’?
From Mother Jones (2/4/2011)
The Koch Brothers’ Vast Right-Wing Media Conspiracy
Watched any conservative programs lately? Chances are, you’ve seen an oil-funded pundit.
— By Kate Sheppard
http://motherjones.com/environment/2011/02/koch-brothers-media-beck-greenpeace
Excerpt:
Last June, Glenn Beck paused in the middle of a rant about the economy and climate on his television show for an important, if rather unexpected, aside. “I want to thank Charles Koch for this information,” he said. Beck’s statement was totally without context, thrown in amid jabs at Al Gore and endorsements of the free market. Months later, it came to light that he recently had been a guest of honor at a semiannual confab sponsored by fossil-fuel billionaire Charles Koch and his brother, David, an event the pair hosts to connect conservative think tanks, politicos, and media types like Beck.
Koch Industries, a Kansas-based company founded in 1940 by father Fred Koch, is the second largest privately held company in America. Charles and David Koch are tied as the fifth wealthiest people in the nation, worth a combined $43 billion. Their money comes through a variety of business interests—ranching, mining, oil refining, and production of paper products, fertilizer, and chemicals. It would be an understatement to say that they have much at stake when it comes to efforts to cut climate-changing emissions.
Indeed, the brothers have spent $31.3 million since 2005 on organizations that deny or downplay climate change, according to a forthcoming report from Greenpeace that updates its report on Koch’s climate denial work released last year. But it’s the web of media influence the Kochs have created that perhaps accounts best for their power—particularly when it comes to sowing doubt about climate change.
Koch Industries describes its semiannual shindigs, which began in 2003, as an “opportunity for attendees and presenters to discuss ways of preserving and advancing economic freedom in the United States and to share ideas about the free-market principles that have made our country great.” The guest list for last weekend’s meeting is still under wraps, but the June 2010 event in Aspen drew a who’s who of conservative media stars; Besides Beck, there were Philip Anschutz, owner of the Examiner newspapers and the Weekly Standard; Charles Krauthammer, syndicated columnist and Weekly Standard contributor; Stephen Moore, Wall Street Journal editorial board member; and Ramesh Ponnuru, senior editor for The National Review.
Andrew Breitbart, the mastermind behind the conservative news sites Breitbart.com and Breitbart.tv, made his presence at the meeting known by rollerblading out to heckle some of the 1,500 protestors who’d gathered outside of the gate.
The Kochs’ influence over the conservative media may be obvious at such powwows. But to the general public, it’s not always apparent that the pundits they read about in blogs and see on TV have a direct relationship to the company. So says Derek Cressman, regional director of state operations with Common Cause, the group that organized the protests outside the Koch Bros gates. “They don’t see that connection between the pundit and the fact that it’s funded by an oil company,” says Cressman. “The global warming deniers aren’t being candid that their funding is coming from people with an enormous financial stake in how we deal with climate change.”
Take, for example, Planet Gore, the denialist blog at National Review Online. Planet Gore, along with NRO’s main blog, The Corner, regularly features guest posts by representatives of think-tanks and foundations that have benefited from the Koch’s largesse. Prime examples include Chris Horner and Ian Murray of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who have each posted hundreds of items on the site. NRO’s blogs regularly promote the institute’s work to undermine climate science, such as the lawsuit the group filed against NASA last fall for temperature records. CEI has received more than $700,000 in Koch funds over the years.
Pat Michaels, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, is another regular guest blogger. Cato has received $13 million from Koch family foundations since 1998. (Michaels’ refusal to disclose how much money he’s taken from fossil fuel interests has drawn scrutiny—most recently when a senior House Democrat raised questions about whether he lied on his resume about his funding from energy interests.)
Other guests representing Koch-funded organizations featured on National Review Online include Jim Manzi of the Manhattan Institute (which has received $1.5 million in Koch family money), Phil Kerpen of Americans for Prosperity ($5.5 million), and Jonathan Adler of the Federalist Society ($2 million).*
The Koch brothers also spent $1 million on a ballot measure last fall to derail California’s landmark climate law, and funded groups, including the California branch of Americans for Prosperity, that were key in promoting the measure. The Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy (PRI), which has received $1.2 million in Koch money, also rallied against the climate law with a report that made extreme claims about potential job losses it would cause. The day after the report appeared, author and PRI senior fellow Benjamin Zycher appeared on the Planet Gore blog to tout it. (The ballot measure failed despite all these efforts.)
The Kochs’ influence isn’t limited to fringe media. Krauthammer has used his Washington Post column to blast the “Church of the Environment” that believes the global warming is real, and he has appeared on Fox News to discuss why any legislation addressing climate change is “dead on arrival.”
The Wall Street Journal has regularly offered up its opinion pages to Cato’s Michaels to bash climate scientists. The Weekly Standard, too, has provided a platform for Koch-backed organizations like the American Enterprise Institute to accuse scientists of being a “corrupt cabal of global warming alarmists.”
For the Kochs, the millions of dollars they have invested in think tanks and electoral politics is small change. But the value of having access to media outlets that can promote the work of other projects they fund is hard to put a dollar figure on. “In addition to building their own think tanks, they built their own media,” said Kert Davies, research director at Greenpeace. “They have their own echo chamber built up, so then when they need it, when they need to amplify a message, they simply push a button and it’s there.”
* Sentance has been rewritten for clarity.
Kate Sheppard covers energy and environmental politics in Mother Jones’ Washington bureau.
Elaine sez: “What have the Kochs done for you lately??
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Ouch! Elaine, I guess the follow-on question for Moar/Roam is, “Cash, check or direct deposit?”
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2011/02/wisconsin-gov-walker-pushes-ba.html Obama criticizes Walker, and he pushes back.
Moar,
You appear to be one of those people who enjoys tearing people down. I take it you’re suggesting that the union workers in Wisconsin are poor dependents who are “takers.”
Why are you here defending the cause of two billionaire brothers?
What have the Kochs done for you lately?
Moar,
Most of the poor want to be poor? Excuse my French, but that is just crap. The clientele here can smell that from a mile away. We are not looking to harm achievment, but we are not looking for corporations to merge with the government. Some here have lived through that or their parents have lived through that, and it won’t do anything but increase the gap between the rich and poor even more than it is now.
Elaine:
I have plenty of standards, I stay away from takers.
Most of the poor want to be poor, I grew up with them. For the most part they are a groveling mass of incompetence and stupidity. You want to save them go ahead, I have no desire to foster dependency in someone unwilling to help themselves.
By the way you and others that think like you only want to tear people down. You have no desire to help the poor, only to denigrate achievement. The posts here prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Slartibartfast:
I know what math is. But you guys think 2+2 = 6.