Posted on 07/29/2018 6:05:51 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
Billionaire activist Charles Koch said Sunday that his network of big-spending political groups would be more aggressive in going after Republicans who have failed to adhere to fiscally conservative principles.
Speaking to a small group of reporters in a rare interview at a five-star resort in the Rocky Mountains, Koch vowed to hold GOP lawmakers accountable for their votes when they break with the network’s free-market views on issues like spending and tariffs.
“I regret some of the [lawmakers] we have supported … we’re gonna more directly deal with that and hold people accountable,” Koch said.
The Koch network will spend about $400 million this election cycle on politics and policy, with much of it aimed at electing Republicans or promoting conservative causes.
But they’ve also spent money to hold GOP lawmakers accountable, particularly on spending.
So far this cycle, groups affiliated with the Koch network have run ads calling out 10 GOP House members and two Republican senators for supporting the $1.3 trillion spending bill that passed in March or for refusing to back spending clawbacks.
The network has also spent money on ads this cycle thanking Democrats who have supported some of their initiatives, like Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), who voted in favor of bank reform. Heitkamp is one of 10 Senate Democrats running for reelection in states Trump carried in 2016.
“I know this is uncomfortable, it’s uncomfortable for me too,” said Emily Seidel, the CEO of Americans for Prosperity, the network’s primary political arm.
“But if you’re a Democrat and you stand up to [Sen.] Elizabeth Warren [D-Mass.] and corral enough votes for financial reform … you’re darn right we’ll work with you,” Seidel said.
Koch said he’s hopeful his network can support more Democrats going forward.
“I’m looking for policies that will move forward a society of mutual benefit, where everybody has the opportunity to realize their objectives, so I don’t care what initials are in front or after somebody’s name,” Koch said. “I’d like there to be many more politicians who would embrace and have the courage to run on a platform like this.”
“I’m happy and our organization is happy to support anyone and we’d love there to be more Democrats that support these values and these issues,” he added.
Koch network officials see an opening to work with Democrats on some of their top initiatives, like criminal justice and immigration reform.
Senior officials and top donors from the network, who have gathered in Colorado Springs this weekend for their biannual seminar, have been expressing deep frustration with President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress for passing the $1.3 trillion spending package.
“If you’re a Republican who sits on the committee who wrote the worst spending bill in the history of our country, and you voted for it, you’re darn right we’ll hold you accountable,” Seidel said to thunderous applause. “The fact that we’re willing to do this during an election year shows we’re dead serious.”
They’re also apoplectic over Trump’s tariffs.
Republicans will be touting economic growth ahead of the midterm elections, but Koch on Sunday warned that the president’s trade disputes could send the economy into a recession.
“I have no idea, it depends on the degree [of the trade war], yeah, if it’s severe enough, it would,” Koch said.
Koch did not back Trump’s presidential bid in 2016 and officials in his network have at times been withering in their criticism of the president.
“The divisiveness of this White House is causing long-term damage,” said Brian Hooks, president of The Charles Koch Foundation. “When in order to win on an issue, someone else has to lose, it makes it very difficult to unite and solve the problems of this country.”
In a video shown to donors on Sunday, Koch warned against “a rise in protectionism” — a swipe at Trump’s immigration and trade policies.
But he also noted in the interview on Sunday that the network has successfully worked with the administration on several of their top priorities, including experimental drug reform, the tax-cuts bill and criminal justice reform.
“We agree with some things and we disagree with others,” Koch said.
This weekend’s Koch network gathering at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs comes just 100 days before the midterm elections. Still, the network this weekend has largely eschewed politics, focusing instead on their philanthropic initiatives, like Stand Together.
Stand Together is one of its fastest growing groups, with a budget that has gone from $8 million only two years ago to $40 million this year. Stand Together works with 86 nonprofit groups developing programs aimed to lift people out of poverty.
He can go shit in his hat.
If that is an accurate quote, Mr. Koch ought to get an idea before making the $400 million spend.
If you really want to understand the Koch mindset, talk with a worker at the Koch-owned Georgia-Pacific corporation. There are too many stories of corporate stupidity at GP - too many worker fatalities - to be dismissed as disgruntled workers talking out of school.
The corporate culture stench goes all the way back to Wichita.
They’re neither conservative nor NeverTrumpers. They’re libertarians of the open borders stripe. Take the good with the bad. You would think they would appreciate Trump’s cutting regulations a bit more though.
Some Libertarians I have known remind me of the sterile, linear logic often used by Jesuit Priests or students.
They tend to overlook the side effects or collateral damage their decisions are likely to cause.
How many votes does Charlie Koch have? If only dollars could vote. The new slogan would be “One dollar, one vote”.
About 10 years ago, I used to think The Koch Brothers were conservative. Now I know that they are #NeverTrumpers at best, and Globalists at worst.
Same here. They’re no better than Soros. Lou Dobbs sure doesn’t care for them either.
re mp
Kochs are deep state shills.
There is one lesser known Koch who held a fundraiser for Donald Trump at his estate on Martha’s Vineyard during the 2016 presidential race.
I forget his first name, but he is much better than his ahole billionaire open borders relatives.
But the RINOpublicans share their globalist ideology.
Very few in the COP [Controlled Opposition Party] are conservatives.
The RNC was usurped by Trotskyists - Neoconservatives - after WWII.
Yes... which is why I refuse to call them libertarians. They are more libertine - socially and fiscally (i.e., motivated by selfishness, not liberty).
Anyone who allows for governmental welfare and open borders is no libertarian.
Bingo. It was Trotskyists (so-called Neoconservatives) who usurped the RNC after WWII. (1947-48 was a pivotal period in world history.)
Pat Buchanan published an excellent essay recently about how the nation flourished under protectionism.
Neocons like Mark Levin who refuse to acknowledge both the Republican Party’s history on tariffs and the economic efficacy of tariffs for America are not to be trusted.
Irving Kristol canonized the deceitful term, Neocon, and frauds like his son have sustained the foul brand.
They are not on the ballot, and they do not hold office.
I could not care less what they think.
I look at the Koch brother as the republican version of Soros. crony capitalists that are out to enrich them selves through the control of are legislative branch.
The Brothers Koch have always been pro-Open Borders and pro-Amnesty.
More like “pro-Insanity” since 80% of the immigrants they want to bring into the country vote Democrat!
Also remember that they’re lying about being against big government spending. That spending supports their efforts to keep you from rising to compete in business, including the spending on programs devised to turn women against men and to balkanize other groups. They know these tactics well, because they are not long descended from countries that are home to the tactics.
central_va is a burden to America
Fortunately no one follows the distructive course he espouses
True.
But when your business model depends on slave labor, you’re always going to need more slaves.
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