Thread: Kochs Signal Support for Scott Walker

Kochs Signal Support for Scott Walker

Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, at a Republican Leadership Summit in Nashua, N.H., on Saturday.Credit Ian Thomas Jansen-Lonnquist for The New York Times

Charles G. and David H. Koch, the influential and big-spending conservative donors, have a favorite in the race for the Republican nomination: Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin.

On Monday, at a fund-raising event in Manhattan for the New York State Republican Party, David Koch told donors that he and his brother, who oversee one of the biggest private political organizations in the country, believed that Mr. Walker was the Republican Party’s best hope for recapturing the White House.

“We will support whoever the candidate is,” said Mr. Koch, according to two people who attended the event. “But it should be Scott Walker.”

The remark — made before dozens of top New York donors who had gathered to hear Mr. Walker speak at the Union League Club — could effectively end one of the most closely watched contests in the “invisible primary,” a period where candidates crisscross the country seeking not the support of voters but the blessing of their party’s biggest donors and fund-raisers.

Most of the leading Republican candidates have aggressively courted the Kochs, who control a network of political nonprofits, “super PACs” and hundreds of like-minded donors, all of which are planning to spend almost $900 million over the next two years advancing conservative candidates and policies.

But while the Kochs are influential among their peers, it is unclear whether they will favor Mr. Walker with more than good will.

In his remarks, made after Mr. Walker had addressed the group, Mr. Koch suggested that the political organizations they oversee — which include Americans for Prosperity, a grass-roots organization, and Freedom Partners, a donor trade group with an affiliated super PAC — would not intervene in the Republican primary process on behalf of a single candidate.

But according to the two attendees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely describe the remarks, Mr. Koch indicated that the Koch family might personally offer financial support to Mr. Walker.

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/firs...T.nav=top-news

It is strange how conservatives support candidates that favor alien labor. Saw a poll this morning and you add the favored percentages of all the candidates and you easily see that Republicans favor non-American workers and cheap labor. But American voters favor all the republican candidates who cut their living standard. That sure did not support what I am told by some friends buy it sure does add credence to my contention that we must not vote for either major party. Explanations accepted. Thoughtful explanation s?

The Ny times is such a liberal rag...

Take, for example, studies arguing for a liberalized immigration policy by the Cato Institute, a conservative libertarian think tank started by the vast wealth of right-wingers Charles and David Koch.


http://www.alipac.us/f12/why-some-mo...ration-315426/

David Koch is pro-choice, supports gay rights; just not Democrats

By Sara Fischer, CNN
Updated 9:28 AM ET, Mon December 15, 2014


David Koch is one of the country's most prolific campaign donors.

Story highlights

• David Koch is pro-choice and supports gay rights, but not Democrats
• Koch is one of the country's top political donors and gives largely to Republicans
• The libertarian supports a balanced budget

David Koch, one of America's richest businessmen and largest political donors, says he is just fine with giving money to candidates who hold different social views than he does because its his economic concerns that matter most.

"I'm basically a libertarian. And I'm a conservative on economic matters and I'm a social liberal," he told ABC's Barbara Walters in an interview that aired on "This Week."

Koch, who supports gay rights and women's right to choose, said if candidates he gives to don't share those ideals, "That's their problem. I do have those views."

"What I want these candidates to do is to support a balanced budget," Koch said. "I'm really focused intensely on economic and fiscal issues, because if those go bad the country as a whole suffers terribly."

Koch and his brother, Charles, are top executives and board members of Koch Industries, a multinational corporation that is largely involved in manufacturing, energy, trade and investments.

Collectively, the Koch brothers have spent millions of dollars of their personal wealth to promote a small government, free-market agenda.

Often criticized by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, for his vast campaign spending, Koch said he plays fair and by the rules of the game.

"I contribute to public candidate campaigns and there is a federal limit on how much you can contribute to each individual candidate," Koch said. "They have a law in that regard and I feel that I'm doing it properly.

Who are the Koch brothers?

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/14/politi...ion-democrats/

http://www.alipac.us/f12/immigration...ration-318987/