A rare look inside the Koch brothers empire (with an amazing chart)

[Faygo Kid]

Quite a revealing article. Shows how truly sham organizations like the 60 Plus Association are. The plutocrats are winning, and the Kochs are their organizers. And DON'T buy Papa John's pizza, apparently. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/02/05/a-rare-look-inside-the-koch-brothers-political-empire/?hpid=z5

The labyrinthian design of the political network backed by the Koch brothers and their fellow conservative donors serves several purposes, but one of the biggest is to ensure the privacy of its financial backers. As we detailed last month, the money flows through a complex maze of tax-exempt groups and limited liability corporations, creating multiple barriers that shield the identities of the donors. Such anonymous contributions should be allowed, Charles Koch has argued, to protect people from the attacks that he and his brother David and their company have fielded. Critics say the Kochs and their allies seek to influence elections without accountability.

Now a document published by Mother Jones provides a rare glimpse inside the closely held network. The spreadsheet -- apparently left behind by a guest who attended a recent Koch-sponsored donor seminar at a resort outside Palm Springs – lists the names of more than 40 top donors, along with the senior Koch officials they met with during the three-day conclave.

This is not the first time we’ve learned the names of some of the Koch network donors. But the document reveals the vast resources of the group’s backers, which includes top corporate executives, hedge fund billionaires and longtime Republican financiers. Several of those in attendance also have been top contributors to American Crossroads, the super PAC co-founded by Karl Rove. . .

[el_bryanto]

1. That is an interesting chart

The Kochs do have their fingers in a lot of pies.

Bryant

[global1]

2. I've Said It Before - If Ian Fleming Were Alive and Writing Another James Bond Novel.....

the Koch Brothers would be the villains. Where is James Bond now when we need him?

[NYC_SKP]

3. K/R. They met at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort in Indian Wells. Here's the spreadsheet:

They held a "Billionaires Meeting" there in 2012, too.

Reportedly, the buy the whole place out, it's closed to the public.

[KoKo]

4. Kick...Thanks! More relevant at this point than Woody Allen and Zimmerman...

but then those distractions are big news to many.

Just hate to see this go to archives.

[KoKo]

5. "Center to Protect Patient Rights" (now who could find fault with that?)

And how many innocent folks could be duped by ads, legislation and activities of a group working to "Protect Patient Rights" thinking it sounds like a good cause.

[kickysnana]

6. "We control the horizontal. We control the vertical...." n/t