Charles Koch, half of the Republican mega-donor duo Koch brothers, said that contrary to an earlier report, he and his brother had not settled on donating directly to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) in the 2016 Republican presidential primary.
Koch said Walker, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and Sens. Ted Cruz (TX), Rand Paul (KY) and Marco Rubio (FL) could all get his support. All three senators have announced their candidacy for president. Bush and Walker haven’t jumped into the field yet but are expected to roll out their respective campaigns soon. Koch told USA Today all five Republicans have “a good chance of getting elected.”
His comments follow a report in The New York Times which said that said the brothers signaled to donors that they would be donating directly to Walker in the primary. Koch’s new comments suggest that while Walker has had the support of the Koch brothers in the past, he’s not assured it in the primary. Donors to the Koch network have also signaled interest in Rubio.
“What we’ve told them all is that right now, we’re not supporting anyone,” Koch added. “We’re telling them that if they want our support, one way to get it is articulating a good message to help Americans get a better understanding and a better appreciation of how certain policies…will benefit them and will benefit all America.”
The Kochs have said they plan on spending a staggering $900 million in the 2016 election cycle. Support from the donors either directly or through Koch-funded groups like Americans for Prosperity would be a boon either in the primary or general election.
Democrats have fretted that there’s no comparable funder on the left that can match the funding heft of the Koch brothers.
If I were one of the Koch brothers, In order for these candidates to earn my millions, I would force these Hot Republican Honeys to gracefully walk down a gigantic marble staircase in cocktail gowns and cha-cha heels while Ted Nugent croons “A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody”. That’ll prove their fucking loyalty. And Rand Paul would look sooooo darling in an Audrey Hepburn-inspired strapless Givenchy creation!
Charlie and Dave’s vision:
Turning the US in to Al-Kochistan…
with a greedy dumb guy as their Puppet.
That arrogant grin just makes my skin crawl when I think of the damage these “mega corporate predators” are, will and have done to the community of the United States.
I think what the Democrats need more than mega corporate donors is some mega refocusing on the progressive values we all thought they had and get off their a$$es and support their candidates. I have never been so disappointed in my political party of choice since I started voting. They did almost nothing the last election to stir up the public, they have turned their back on our President so many times I am surprised he even recognizes their faces. They are not vociferous in defending and countering the nonsense of the Tea Party or the GOP candidates, many of who truly demonstrate some pretty severe mental health issues. They don’t fight any of the influence of the Corporate Religion take over or the rewriting of the history of our country.
That smug grin on Charles Koch’s face is because he knows the Democratic party is so awed by their grandiose spending that they have become impotent in defending the voters that support them.
Now that SCOTUS supports the idea of corporations being people, the Koch Boys are backing a conglomerate as their preferred choice for President.
like good magicians they have you watch the shiny coin du jour and please ignore the man behind the curtain…