Every year the Koch brothers hold one or more conclaves of their conservative millionaire and billionaire pals to discuss future strategies and collect donations for candidates and causes that will benefit their parochial interests. These affairs are put on under the tightest security so as to protect the elite attendees from being identified or from having to encounter the riff raff (i.e. ordinary American citizens) they hope to oppress.
Earlier this year, an event in the California beach resort at Dana Point, the Lear Jet Set gathered as usual, but they had a mole in their midst. A recording was just published by The Nation that includes some frank talk by participants including GOP senate candidates Tom Cotton (AR), Joni Ernst (IA), and Senate Republican Leader, Mitch McConnell. McConnell kicked things off by expressing his gratitude to his wealthy benefactors, Charles and David Koch saying that…
“I want to start by thanking you, Charles and David for the important work you’re doing. I don’t know where we’d be without you.”
McConnell’s smarmy sycophancy extended to some blatantly miscast interpretations of the onerous Citizen’s United decision by the Supreme Court. McConnell said…
“What did the case decide? Well as you all know, corporations that own a newspaper or a television station (inaudible), they’re free to say whatever they want to say about anybody at any time. But if you were a corporation that didn’t own a newspaper or didn’t own a television station, you couldn’t. So all Citizens United did was to level the playing field for corporate speech. In other words, no longer did corporations have to own a newspaper or a television station in order to say whatever they wanted. It simply leveled the playing field.”
That is a deliberate bastardization of the decision and McConnell, a lawyer by profession, knows it. Corporations have always been able to say whatever they wanted at any time. They have the money to run ads in those corporate newspapers and television networks. They can fund any number of public relations campaigns to disseminate whatever message they please. And they can hire lobbyists to promote their interests to politicians and the media. They have always had these avenues of communication.
What Citizen’s United gave them was a veil behind which they could covertly mold the political landscape to their liking. They can now contribute unlimited sums to Super PACS without disclosing where the money came from. It wasn’t speech they were angling for, it was anonymity. They needed to disguise their participation in campaigns because American’s know that these upper-crusters don’t have the people’s interests at heart.
It was that secrecy that Citizen’s United provided. It was never about “leveling the playing field.” The field was already slanted severely toward the rich, and this just made things worse. It made it more difficult than ever for the voices of average citizens to compete with the wealthy captains of industry who could shout everyone else down.
With the publication of this recording we are afforded a view into the luxury suites of the plutocrats who seek to dominate our society. We have always known their self-serving intentions, but it is chilling to hear it from their own lips when they think no one is listening.
Probably the gay Koch brother – the one they never talk about – is the nice one. Relatively speaking, of course.
The Koch brothers already have hidden gay cousins: Diet and Cherry. 🙂
(sorry, I had to do that one).
This of course is no big deal with the Rethuglicans. Now, watch the conniptions they will have should Nancy Pelosi ever meet with Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. It should be very interesting…but stupid.
“Smarmy sycophancy” alone was worth the price of admission. Another great expose, Mark. Please consider shamelessly advancing yourself more often on MMFA. I’ve been missing you there.
Thanks so much.
Can I deputize you to post my articles on MMfA (and anywhere else you want)? I’d appreciate it. I read it every day, but can’t always spend time in the comments section. Also, it really helps to share on Facebook.
Absolutely. Whenever and wherever appropriate.
I’ve just placed this item on the Myths and Facts about the Koch bros. thread. Hope it draws you much traffic, friend.