The Koch Brothers Are Going to Try To Buy Congress By Spending $125 Million

X Facebook Email Flipboard Pinterest Print Reddit

The Koch brothers are going to try to buy Congress this year by outspending both the Republican and the Democratic parties combined.

Via Politico:

The Koch brothers’ main political arm intends to spend more than $125 million this year on an aggressive ground, air and data operation benefiting conservatives, according to a memo distributed to major donors and sources familiar with the group.

The projected budget for Americans for Prosperity would be unprecedented for a private political group in a midterm, and would likely rival even the spending of the Republican and Democratic parties’ congressional campaign arms.

The group has already spent more than $35 million on ads attacking vulnerable Democrats in key Senate and House races, according to sources, including Sens. Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Mark Pryor of Arkansas. The $125 million projection comes from a memo obtained by POLITICO labeled as a “Confidential Investor Update” provided to major donors in March, but a source familiar with AFP called the figure a “very conservative estimate. We’re on track for more than that.”

This is the problem that Supreme Court’s dismantling of campaign contribution has unleashed. The Koch brothers are now free to spend an unlimited amount of funds to try to buy the government. It is easy to see whom Republican candidates are going to be loyal to, when the Kochs are outspending the Republican Party.

The reason why the Republican controlled House is so dysfunctional is because there is no party loyalty. When talking heads talk about the “tea party” dividing the House, what they really mean is Koch owned candidates who no have no loyalty to anyone, but the Koch brothers are pursuing their own agenda.

The good news is that the Kochs have been spending money like mad since Citizens United, and their success has been limited to local/state level races and House seats. The Kochs can buy ads, but they can’t buy votes.

The power is still with the voters, and Democrats now have 125 million reasons to come out and vote this November.

Author
Recent Posts

Follow Me

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

Follow Me