The Koch Brothers have been placing money in politics for ever—Charles and David Koch with (Koch Industries) These brothers donated $9.8 million to federal candidates for elections; where 89% of the funds went to republican candidates. They also spent $2.1 million in last years midterm elections, where 93% of the funds, went to Republican Candidates . Where 62 of the 87 new members of the House of Representative, where majority of them were freshman elected leaders—Koch, also helped 12 freshman members of the Senate. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) noted the Koch influence over the Republican Party, saying that “it apparently no longer matters in Congress what health experts and scientists think [on energy]. All that seems to matter is what Koch Industries thinks.” Indeed, one could argue the House Energy and Commerce Committee is really the “Committee from Koch” given its outsized influence. It can be argued, however, that the Republican members of Congress in general are also wholly owned subsidiaries of Koch Industries. The Koch brothers also donated $1.2 million to elect governors last year, including $1 million to the Republican Governors Association. Like new members of Congress, direct Koch donations helped elect or re-elect mostly right-wing governors. As the tables show, the Koch brothers predominantly support right-wing governors. Since taking office, these governors have been shifting the tax burden from the super rich to the middle class. For instance, not only did Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker wage an intense fight with public-sector unions to take away their collective bargaining rights but he also proposed to raise taxes on seniors and lower-income families while cutting taxes for corporations. Or take Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has proposed cuts to education and nursing homes while at the same time proposing to eliminate the estate tax, a tax that falls only on the superwealthy.
And the governor that took the most moneys in their election during 2010 was Governor Andrew Cuomo. What are some of the policies that Andrew Cuomo has passed that benefit the Koch Brothers: but what is concerning in these elections are the fact that no price is right. When you are on the chopping blocks of an election, and you need campaign ads, to get your points and views across—you are going to need money. And this is why Koch Brothers will always have 80% influence in America elections. Because no matter how good the candidate will be, the factor of having MONEY to promote that candidacy will remain clear until there’s a complete change in the cycles of elections, and campaign financing.Take this survey, and join our fight!
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