Tag Archives: Koch

Hating the Federal Government, Except…

One of the members of the new (but not improved) Benghazi Select Committee is Mike Pompeo of Kansas.  Guess what company is based in his district?  Koch Industries!  And guess what congressman the Koch Brothers have donated more money to than any other?  Mike Pompeo!

Pompeo was first elected in the Tea Party wave of 2010, and, as you’d expect, he spouts lots and lots of anti fedrul guvmint rhetoric.

But Pompeo loves, loves, loves the feds when it comes to GMO’s.  He’s pushing a bill to prohibit states from requiring labeling on or otherwise regulating genetically modified foods.

Pompeo and his Tea Party friends champion states’ rights — except when the states might do something they don’t like.

 

Why Are Conservatives Making a Crazy Criminal a Hero?

“Pretty soon, there was an armed standoff as men with guns assembled around the ranch. The BLM people wisely backed off, and there was a great cock-a-doodle-do’ing all over the right, because Cliven Bundy’s inalienable right to get something for nothing from the rest of us had been upheld with Second Amendment enthusiasm. Bear in mind that Bundy’s entire position is that he can not pay his bills, and that he can ignore a federal judge, because he feels the federal government is illegitimate. … This is conservatism — and, therefore, Republicanism — playing footsie with sedition. This is not the first time, either.

“Republican politicians, especially in the west, have slow-danced with the militia movement for quite some time. A Republican congresswoman named Helen Chenoweth was so close to the movement that, after Timothy McVeigh blew up the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, she pronounced herself upset that the government had failed truly to understand the militia movement.

“In the states, the Republican party has embraced the traditional historical basis for this movement, having actively discussed — and, in some cases, tried to implement — the doctrine of nullification. This, of course, was the fundamental theoretical basis for the greatest act of sedition of all time, and one for which too many people seem overly nostalgic these days. The difference between the present moment, and the days when Helen Chenoweth was riding the range, of course, is the fact that there is a powerful and loud right-wing media infrastructure at the disposal of the people peddling this constitutional poison. Americans For Prosperity jumped right on the Bundy case. Of course, AFP — and the Koch brothers who fund it — isn’t in this for airy philosophical debates on the role of government. They’re in it to break the control of the federal government over the lands that they want to exploit for their own profit, and they are willing to help engage the single most destructive political theory in the country’s history to help them do it. It is reckless and dangerous, and anybody who gets used by these people is a sap. And useful idiots, like Sean Hannity and all the someones like him, are going to get somebody killed behind this stuff.”

“Range War in Nevada,” Charles P. Pierce, Esquire

I get party differences over abortion, gay marriage, taxing and spending, etc.  But why shouldn’t D’s and R’s agree that a man who refuses to pay his grazing fees is a criminal and should be punished, not celebrated?  I thought the GOP was supposed to be the “law and order” party.  Why are they all freaked out about food stamp fraud, but don’t want this guy to pay the million bucks he owes?

From John Birch to Tea Party

The John Birch Society was founded in 1958, and six years later the GOP nominated Barry Goldwater.

Maybe we’re in the middle of a similar six-year cycle.  The Tea Party first elected candidates in 2010, and one of theirs might get the 2016 GOP nomination.

I’ve also been thinking about how the John Birch Society, despite being denounced by the GOP establishment, is still exerting a lot of power, both money and candidate-wise.  David and Charles Koch’s father, Fred, didn’t just found Koch Industries, he was also a co-founder of the JBS.  And Rand Paul’s father, Ron, has endorsed the JBS and spoken at their events, including giving the keynote at their 50th anniversary in 2008.  Scary stuff.

The Threat is from Christians, Not Muslims

The right wing keeps warning about the non-existent threat of Sharia law taking over this country.  The real theocratic threat is not from Islam, but from Christianity, specifically the doctrine of Dominionism/Reconstructionism, which calls for all of us to be ruled by biblical law.  These nutjobs are pursuing an alliance with the Libertarians to take over the GOP and the country.

From “Why the GOP’s civil war is only going to get uglier,” C. J. Werleman, Salon:

“The battle for the heart and soul of the GOP is more than social conservatives parrying with establishment Republicans.  It is a pantomime that has many actors performing on a number of stages, but with only one clown: libertarians.

“Libertarians are a funny bunch.  By funny I mean ignorant not only of basic economics but also the ride they’ve been taken on by the Christian Right and the neo-Confederates within the Republican Party.

“Nullification is the common cause that drives this anti-establishment triumvirate.  Nullification of the federal government is the weapon of choice for theocrats, libertarians and white supremacists.  Since 2010, state legislatures have put forward nearly 200 bills challenging federal laws its sponsors deem unconstitutional.

“Libertarianism and the nullification movement merge seamlessly with the Christian Right, because the ‘sacralized lost cause of the South is often undergirded by Christian Reconstructionism,’….  Reconstructionism, or Dominionism, is an ideology that calls on Christians to take over the federal government and then make the laws of the nation ‘biblical.’

“Reconstructionism merges Christianity with laissez-faire capitalism to arrive at a vision of government that endorses biblical law at the local level, alongside a limited federal government.  Essentially that makes it the perfect philosophy for wedding theocrats in an unholy marriage with libertarians and Old Dixie.

“Ultimately, the Republican Party’s civil war will be long and protracted, especially given the vast sums of money involved in determining a winner.  The Chamber of Commerce’s war chest and Karl Rove’s epic fundraising will only go so far in overcoming a triumvirate that not only has boots on the ground in the form of enthusiastic ballot box lever pullers, but also the financial backing of America’s most prominent libertarians:  Charles and David Koch.”

“Get Off Your Asses”

From “Ryan-Akin, Romney-Trump,” Brent Budowsky,  The Hill:

“This column is an expression of contempt toward some of the wealthiest Democrats in America, who fail to understand the consequences if the forces I describe here take power in America.

“On almost all matters of high policy, the Republican ticket might well be called the Ryan-Akin team. Ryan and Akin agree on almost every major issue.

“The Republican campaign might well be called the politics of Romney-Trump. Voters might ask why Donald Trump, the standard-bearer of a campaign of nut-case birtherism to advance bigot-based politics, will be showcased at the Republican convention while the last Republican president, George W. Bush, will be hidden from public view.

“Romney-Ryan, Ryan-Akin and Romney-Trump share a vision of politics that gives extremism and hate a privileged seat at the table of GOP power.

“Romney, Ryan, Akin and Trump agree on almost every issue. Wealthy Democrats suffering a life crisis about whether they should enter the arena against mega-donations by the Adelsons and Koches might ponder why they make their mega-donations, why Romney and Ryan fall to their knees paying homage to them, and what kind of America we get if they buy the power of the presidency, the House, the Senate and the Supreme Court for a generation.

“The GOP wages war against Medicare and Social Security because they despise what they consider evil liberal programs. Their extremist platform before the election doesn’t scratch the surface of what they will try to do if they win the election, especially if they control Congress and courts. They know most voters disagree with them, so they lie about the president’s Medicare position and try to hide their extremism as Romney and Ryan hide their tax returns.

“When Republicans say they want to ‘take back America’ they are dog-whistling that they want to take back America from seniors who benefit from Medicare and Social Security, from uppity women who seek fair pay and freedom of choice, from uppity blacks they demonize in dishonest Trump-style welfare ads, from Hispanics they picture as climbing over walls to immigrate here and against whom they employ the shameless pandering Mitt Romney employed demonizing Hispanics even against other Republicans in Republican primaries.

“To wealthy Democrats having difficulty deciding whether they should enter the arena with their fists flying against the shared vision of Ryan, Akin, Romney and Trump I propose:

“Get off your asses, before it is too late.”  Emphasis added.

Quote of the Day

“Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) is now Exhibit A for the fact that the Republican Party has been taken over by radicals, extremists, ignoramuses and nuts. Not every Republican is as tactless as Akin, who publicly says what many Republicans privately believe and who publicly votes almost exactly the way Paul Ryan votes and the way a large majority of House Republicans vote. I dare any Republican to list the issues where Paul Ryan and Todd Akin disagree. All of Romney’s money, Rove’s machinations, the Koches’ cash and Adelson’s dough cannot hide the fact that on matters of major policy, Paul Ryan and Todd Akin are in nearly 100 percent agreement. Along with a majority of House and Senate Republicans.

“The resonating power of the Akin fiasco is that it strips the Republicans of any remaining mask of moderation and dramatizes the fact of Republican extremism.”  Emphasis added.

Brent Budowsky, “Akin=Ryan=Palin=Cantor=McConnell=poison tea,” The Hill

If You Believe It, You Deserve It

Mitt campaigned in Colorado today (good luck with that, since the marijuana ballot initiative will bring out young voters) and slammed President Obama’s plan to extend the Bush tax cuts only for those making less than $250,000:  “For job creators and small businesses, he announced a massive tax increase.”

That’s not true, and it drives me crazy to hear it, but I’ve decided that if voters are dumb enough to believe it and Mitt wins, they will get what they deserve.

First of all, most small business owners don’t earn over $250,000.  In fact, Obama’s plan would not affect 97% of small businesses.

Second, Frank Luntz recognized that arguing against raising taxes on the rich to help with the deficit was a tough, losing slog and suggested that instead of calling them the rich, the GOP should call them “job creators.”   He deserves an enormous bonus from the Koch Brothers.  That’s evil genius at its best.  I tip my hat in admiration and frustration at Luntz’s gift for the Orwellian.

But the rich are not job creators.  Some of them are employers, but employers don’t create jobs, consumers do.  If you have a little ice cream shop, and you can handle the traffic yourself, you don’t hire anyone else.  Your tax rate has nothing to do with it, you’re just going on how much demand there is for your product.  If demand increases when school lets out, you may hire a high school kid part-time to help out.  If the line is out the door all day long and people are walking away rather than waiting, you’ll hire more people so you don’t lose those customers.  But it’s people wanting ice cream cones and hot fudge sundaes that dictates your hiring, not the IRS.

That’s why our periods of highest growth and greatest prosperity since WWII have come when marginal tax rates on the rich were much higher than they are now.  Consumers had money in their pockets to buy ice cream cones — and cars and carpet and clothing.

If the Obama campaign can’t get this very basic economics across to people, and the GOP gets away with their “job creators” BS, Obama deserves to lose.

Meanwhile Out at The Hamptons

Mittens was at a fundraiser today for $25,000 a person (that included a buffet lunch) at Ron Perelman’s estate in East Hampton (before his fundraiser at David Koch’s in Southampton for $75,000 a couple).  Attendees were interviewed as they waited to go through security at Perelman’s place, “The Creeks.”

From “Donors arrive at Hamptons fundraisers with advice for Mitt Romney,” Maeve Reston, L. A. Times:

“A New York City donor a few cars back, who also would not give her name, said Romney needed to do a better job connecting. ‘I don’t think the common person is getting it,‘ she said from the passenger seat of a Range Rover stamped with East Hampton beach permits. ‘Nobody understands why Obama is hurting them.’

“‘We’ve got the message,’ she added. ‘But my college kid, the baby sitters, the nails ladies — everybody who’s got the right to vote — they don’t understand what’s going on. I just think if you’re lower income — one, you’re not as educated, two, they don’t understand how it works, they don’t understand how the systems work, they don’t understand the impact.'”  Emphasis added.

These people have the right to vote.  Can you imagine?

I think the “common person” is getting it just fine.  Those of us who have never set foot in the Hamptons, let alone have beach permits there, know that if Ron Perelman and the Koch Brothers are for Mitt, we should be against him.