Media, Politics, Society

Is the Scott Walker Story Just the Tip of the Koch Brothers’ Political Iceberg?

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!

**********

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)

Billionaire Right-Wing Koch Brothers Fund Wisconsin Governor Campaign and Anti-Union Push (Democracy Now)

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)

630 thoughts on “Is the Scott Walker Story Just the Tip of the Koch Brothers’ Political Iceberg?”

  1. Henman:

    So why did you chose Marx over free markets?

    What I found with Marx was that he was speaking against the remnants of the feudal system in Germany at the time and the class stratification of that system.

    Capitalism, at least in the early days of this country, helped create a large middle class. Granted there was a large landed gentry and during the gilded age you did have a small number of very wealthy people. But there was also a substantial middle class. I speculate had Marx lived in America he would not have written about communism. For 2 reasons, one he would never have been influenced by Hegel and for another the class structure was not as stratified here. And you were free from the restraints placed on you by the class structure in Europe. You didn’t have to become a cobbler or a baker as was your father.

  2. SwM,

    He’s a good one (Brown)and he gets votes in republican districts … a lot of votes from otherwise “good” republicans.

  3. Moar-

    Put down the Sowell and find yourself a nice girl. Spend those checks you get from the Koch Bros. on something more rewarding. Besides, I heard Sowell’s a lousy kisser and you won’t get any until the fourth date.

    Personally, I prefer the Marx Brothers to the Koch Brothers. The Koch Brothers aren’t funny at all. Karl Marx had a better sense of humor. “Das Kapital” killed! It killed, Jerry!

  4. Reading and comprehension are not the same thing. Apes read philosophy, Otto. They just don’t understand it.

  5. rafflaw,

    “HenMan,
    What is Moar referring to when he says yours is bigger than his??”

    Lol!

  9. HENMAN:

    good for you. I don’t have a degree in economics but I have read the following:

    Capitalism and Freedom
    Theory of Money and Credit
    Causes of the Economic Crises (Crash of 29)
    Causes of the Depression (Rothbard)
    Volume I of Bastiat’s works (Volume II is in the que)
    The Law
    The Road to Serfdom
    The Communist Manifesto
    Das Kapital (in English unfortunately)
    Knowledge and Decision (Sowell)
    Basic Economics (Sowell)

    and numerous essays by some of the above. So I have a nodding acquaintance with the subject.

    But I imagine yours is bigger than mine since it is not my occupation.

  12. rafflaw,

    Well, come to think of it, these trolls are uptight white guys so I guess it would appropriate! 😀

  14. Moar-

    I don’t need to google any of the 6 economists you mentioned. I have read them all- von Mises, Hayek, Friedman, and Rothbard extensively. I attended a lecture by Friedman. I have also read all of Ayn Rand’s novels and several years’ worth of “The Objectivist” and the “Objectivist Newsletter”. Now- let’s hear your qualifications for discussing Objectivism or economics in general.

  15. rafflaw,

    Yeah, I haven’t had an opportunity to use the tighty-whitey reference in a while … needless to say, I was giggling pretty damned hard while typing it!

  17. Henman:

    thanks. I can cross you off my ignorant list, you passed the spelling test.

  18. Mike S. wrote:

    Slarti,

    [Me]: “Since anything further preaching would be to the choir (and the deaf), the question becomes: how do you start a grassroots movement?”

    I think the movement has started and lo and behold there are no leaders. In any moment of change there is an advantage to a diffusion of leadership. This to me avoids the traps of the past, where the whims and emotions of leaders, corrupted the purity of the sentiment.

    I would agree that these are pitfalls that go with having a leader, but there are issues with the lack of a leader as well and while mostly they are inevitable and acceptable consequences of organic grassroots movements (like the lack of centralized control), others (like coordination of resources to avoid duplication of effort and allow for a concentration of effort on our opponents’ vulnerabilities) are necessary for any large-scale enterprise. I was also implicitly asking the question ‘what can I do?’ – Elaine has given us a wonderful example of what a single person can do and I was out at the capitol last weekend, but, personally, I would like to be doing more. Any movement of this sort has a critical growth rate which it needs to be able to sustain itself to the point where it reaches critical mass and achieves its ends – and by the very nature of a grassroots movement anyone can contribute. I am heartened by the recall efforts – now even if Governor Walker succeeds he’ll probably lose his Senate (and his own seat as well in a year or so…). It is starting to seem more and more likely that any union busting managed by Governor Walker wont survive very long (or only long enough to become a rallying point…).

    A case in point from the other side is the Teabaggers, whose strings are pulled by outside money and the likes of Dick Armey. Many of their membership have a right to feel disaffected by the current state of this country, but have been led by their leadership into serving as pawns for the Plutocrats.

    Unfortunately, I think that so many of them are low information voters (or high propaganda voters – i.e. FOX News viewers) and will remain dupes instead of getting pissed of by the use and betrayal by their masters.

    The glory of the internet as an organizational/informational tool is that it is diffuse. Rather than revolutionary party lines, there is a multiplicity of opinions that seem to coalesce into effective action. Whichever way it finally turns out Wisconsin serves as an example of motivation/stimulation of our side. It has helped to open people’s minds and change paradigms for them. The revolution this time won’t be quick and it won’t be violent. It will be the final rotting of the “Reagan Revolution” and the development of a new consciousness
    regarding how our system is dysfunctional. Change is coming but
    it won’t happen over night. Just as Sam Gomper’s radical idea of social security, took three decades to enact.

    I agree, but I think we’re also fighting against the clock – we’ve got to solve enough problems quickly enough that we avoid passing a tipping point until things can be stabilized enough to pull ourselves back from the brink. It’s sort of like juggling a bunch of knives, chainsaws, and lit pipe bombs blindfolded…

    If this time we can focus on the problems macro-cosmically and develop macro-cosmic solutions, rather than getting bogged down in individual issues, we will be successful. To me the individual issues like educational reform; employment; health care; women’s rights; gay equality; pay equality; civil rights;
    to name a few, all stem from the same macro-cosmic defect to wit: Corporatism and Plutocracy. We must fight to redress all those issues, but with a consciousness informed by the root cause of these abominations.

    I agree. I think that taxing the rich (and corporations) is a good overarching policy to start with – if the deficit and debt can be lowered without placing the burden on the vast majority of Americans (most of whom are already carrying a heavy load) it will take some of the stress off of the system and begin a virtuous cycle.

    our side

    ???

  19. Moar-

    You said, “This has got to be the most ignorant group of people I have ever met.”

    Ignorant, but charitable. Here’s a little help with your spelling:

    Ludwig von Mises

    Friedrich Hayek

    Frederic Bastiat

    Murray Rothbard

  20. From Think Progress (3/3/2011)
    Blogger From Koch’s Law Firm Defends Koch, Doesn’t Disclose Ties
    http://thinkprogress.org/2011/03/03/bloggers-kneel-to-koch/

    Excerpt:
    Fighting back against public scrutiny, Koch Industries is relying on a small army of conservative bloggers, reporters, and lobbyists. Chief among them is John Hinderaker, a blogger at the “Powerline Blog.” However, in his now daily defense of the Koch brothers, Hinderaker has failed to disclose that his law firm counts Koch Industries as a major client.

    Hinderaker has been on the war path defending Koch. He has tasked himself with sniping at ThinkProgress posts, spending the last few weeks defending forced-abortion lobbyist and Koch operative Tim Phillips, celebrating Koch’s self-interested propaganda against climate change science, and generally making juvenile swipes at yours truly, including posting my picture and calling me a “high school student.” In a bizarre rant defending “what a great company Koch Enterprises is,” Hinkeraker even claims ThinkProgress is being paid “millions of dollars by left-wing billionaires” to report on Koch Industries. But here’s what he didn’t say:

    – Hinderaker Has A Disclosure Problem. Hinderaker is an attorney for the law firm Faegre and Benson. Despite his previous role handling “ethics and professional responsibility” for Faegre, he has failed to disclose in his Koch-friendly blogging that Koch is a major client for his firm. Faegre represented Koch Industries in cases related to Koch’s theft of oil (using the famed “Koch Method” of manipulating oil data) in Texas and North Dakota, in cases against Koch’s own employees regarding Koch’s speculative weather derivatives business and an environmental whistleblower case, and in a case against a Koch subcontractor. In an ongoing case, Hinderaker’s firm represents Koch Industries in a class action suit brought by a group of plaintiffs regarding oil Koch allegedly stole from wells in Oklahoma. In addition, Hinderaker has defended the Bradley Foundation after we profiled the group and its support for Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI). Hinderaker never disclosed that he is a fellow of the Claremont Institute, a front that has received over $3 million from the Bradley Foundation.

    Asked about his failure to disclose his firm’s financial relationship with Koch, Hinderaker told ThinkProgress’ Scott Keyes today that he has no comment.

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