#David Koch

[odinsblog]

Billionaire fossil fuel mogul David Koch died August 23, 2019. Though he will rightfully be remembered for his role in the destruction of the earth, David Koch’s influence went far beyond climate denial. Ronald Reagan may have uttered the famous words, “Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem” back in 1981—but it was David Koch, along with his elder brother Charles and a cabal of other ultrarich individuals, who truly reframed the popular view of government. Once a democratic tool used to shape the country’s future, government became seen as something intrusive and inefficient—indeed, something to be feared.

“While Charles was the mastermind of the social reengineering of the America he envisioned,” said Lisa Graves, co-director of the corporate watchdog group Documented, “David was an enthusiastic lieutenant.”

David Koch was particularly instrumental in legitimizing anti-government ideology—one the GOP now holds as gospel. In 1980, the younger Koch ran as the vice-presidential nominee for the nascent Libertarian Party. And a newly unearthed document shows Koch personally donated more than $2 million to the party—an astounding amount for the time—to promote the Ed Clark–David Koch ticket.

“Few people realize that the anti-American government antecedent to the Tea Party was fomented in the late ’70s with money from Charles and David Koch,” Graves continued. “The Libertarian Party, fueled in part with David’s wealth, pushed hard on the idea that government was the problem and the free market was the solution to everything.”

In fact, according to Graves, “The Koch-funded Libertarian Party helped spur on Ronald Reagan’s anti-government, free-market-solves-all agenda as president.”

Even by contemporary standards, the 1980 Libertarian Party platform was extreme. It called for the abolition of a wide swath of federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Bureau of Land Management, the Federal Election Commission, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Federal Trade Commission, and “all government agencies concerned with transportation.” It railed against campaign finance and consumer protection laws, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, any regulations of the firearm industry (including tear gas), and government intervention in labor negotiations. And the platform demanded the repeal of all taxation, and sought amnesty for those convicted of tax “resistance.”

Koch and his libertarian allies moreover advocated for the repeal of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other social programs. They wanted to abolish federally mandated speed limits. They opposed occupational licensure, antitrust laws, labor laws protecting women and children, and “all controls on wages, prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates.” And in true libertarian fashion, the platform urged the privatization of all schools (with an end to compulsory education laws), the railroad system, public roads and the national highway system, inland waterways, water distribution systems, public lands, and dam sites.

The Libertarian Party never made much of a splash in the election—though it did garner almost 12 percent of the vote in Alaska—but doing so was never the point. Rather, the Kochs were engaged in a long-term effort to normalize the aforementioned ideas and mainstream them into American politics.

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#politics #republicans #libertarians #koch brothers #koch bros #libertarianism #conservatism #ronald reagan #reaganism #charles koch #david koch #libertarian party

[grisha-crows]

“leigh bardugo’s books have no mistakes-“

#she didnt #mean it #she was just in a silly goofy mood #david koch #matthias helvar #six of crows #crooked kingdom #helnik #rule of wolves #grishaverse #shadow and bone #leigh bargudo

[nodynasty4us]

From the February 5, 2023 item:

Koch didn't say yet who he plans to back for president. He probably hasn't decided. Most likely he wants to see what the field looks like and who has the best chance to stop Trump. That won't be known for at least half a year, maybe more. It could be a tough call because candidates Koch likes on the economic issues may be anathema on the cultural issues.

Read the rest of the short piece for all the reasons why top Republican donor, libertarian-leaning David Koch is at odds with Trump about nearly everything.

#david koch #donald trump #libertarians

[mientus-com]

mientus lookbook 17 with David Koch

#mientus #male model #david koch #lookbook

[msclaritea]

Peter Thiel and his Mafia friends financed republicans like Hawley and JD Vance, while snapping up and creating Leftist 'Independent' media and an avalanche of Leftist/Progressive mouthpieces, who it seems helped sink Cuomo in order to install the now Mayor, Eric Adams. The authoritarian flashes he is showing will only get worse for New York if he isn't removed.

#SVB #Silicon Valley Bank #Bari Weiss #Libertarianism #Elon Musk #David Koch #Russian Ties

[canadianabroadvery]

“ ... I  think too many people on the left have really underestimated Koch’s intelligence and his drive, and also misunderstood his motives. There’s been brilliant work by journalists, really good digging on the money trail and the Koch operations, but much of that writing seems to assume that he is doing this just because it’s going to lower his tax bill or because he wants to evade regulations, personally. I think that really misgauges the man. He is deeply ideological and has been reading almost fanatically for a very long time. I see him as someone who’s quite messianic. He’s compared himself to Martin Luther and his effort being like the Protestant Reformation. When he invested in Buchanan’s center at George Mason University, he said he wanted to “unleash the kind of force that propelled Columbus.” ... “

#David Koch #right wing ideology #neofascism

[malefashiontrends]

(vía Falling for you: David Koch y Valentina Zenere en la edición de septiembre de Harper's Bazaar Vietnam - Male Fashion Trends)

#David Koch

[abitofale]

📷Alejandra Onieva and David Koch for L’OFFICIEL in March cover (2022).

#abitofale #Alejandra Onieva #ale onieva #source: instagram #model #actress #Instagram #alejandra onieva #my edits #face #PHOTO #L’OFFICIEL #photoshoot #cover #David Koch #Alex Onieva

[frankmweber]

Businessman, statesman or simply madman?

Elon Musk is a billionaire, that’s for sure, but besides being a no doubt shrewd business man, he also seems to be turning into a politician, expressing his opinions about global issues publicly and some of them being rather controversial. The his comments at a summit in Los Angeles in mid-September, that Taiwan was an integral part of China: That may be his opinion and, just as everyone else,…

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#David Koch #Elon Musk #free speech #George Soros #Koch Brothers #opinion #Twitter #X

[areyouafraid]

throwback

#my posts #upload #david koch

[lamajaoscura]

#clarence thomas #ken Burns #charles koch #david koch #scotus #supreme court #koch brothers

[dwindlebunnies]

This reads like an actual tumblr shit post.

#australia #Australian #David Koch #Good for her

[channeledhistory]

Clarence Thomas, Ken Burns, David Koch

#clarence thomas #Ken burns #david koch

[rivage-seulm]

The Mainstream Media Finally Discovers Noam Chomsky: For All the Wrong Reasons

For years, many progressives have complained that the mainstream media (MSM) have ignored perhaps the most insightful political commentator in the western world. I’m referring to Noam Chomsky who in a rare moment of recognition was identified (nearly 45 years ago!) by Time Magazine as “arguably the most important intellectual alive today.” Despite the unaccustomed mainstream kudo, the iconic…

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#Alan Dershowitz #David Koch #Ghislaine Maxwell #Jeffrey Epstein #Krystal Ball #Kyle Kulinski #Manufacturing Consent #Noam Chomsky #Sagaar Enjeti #Woody Allen

[pussinbootsthehousedown]

AUSTRALIANS WHY AREN'T WE TALKING ABOUT THIS AD THIS IS COMEDY GOLD

#australiaposting #australia #sunrise #david koch #tumblr ad

[reportwire]

Citadel's billionaire CEO Ken Griffin becomes GOP $100 million midterm megadonor

Citadel’s billionaire CEO Ken Griffin becomes GOP $100 million midterm megadonor

Ken Griffin, Citadel at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha, Sept. 28, 2022. Scott Mlyn | CNBC Citadel’s billionaire CEO, Ken Griffin, is one of Wall Street’s biggest political donors in the 2022 midterms, giving more than $100 million toward state and federal candidates across the country since April 2021, campaign finance records show. The $50 million Griffin has donated to Republicans running in federal…

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#Bank of America Corp #business news #Carlyle Group Inc #Citigroup Inc #David Koch #Elections #Goldman Sachs Group Inc #JPMorgan Chase & Co #Kamala Harris #KKR & Co Inc #Mitch McConnell #Morgan Stanley #Politics #ron desantis #Sheldon Adelson #Steve Schwarzman #Wells Fargo & Co