· Wednesday,
September
18th,
2013 at 4:05 pm
As much as we think we know about the infamous Koch brothers, there
is a lot we don't know. But thanks to the Center for Media and
Democracy's PR Watch, we are now more informed about how they've been
spending their billions.
For example, money went to the NRA, NFIB, the Chamber of Commerce,
Koch cut-outs, Generation Opportunity (youth propaganda machine), the
tea party, the Heritage Foundation, and the California (and probably
more) ballot initiative subverter, CPPR, along with old stand-bys like
60+.
Via PR Watch:
Today, the Koch-funded "Freedom Partners," which
secretly distributed $250 million during the 2012 election season,
posted its first federal tax report which uncloaked several Koch-related
entities that were previously unknown. [...]
The new-ish organization, formally known as "Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce," lists five entities which it owned 100% of:
-
The "American Entrepreneur Fund LLC," which had assets of $885,316 and whose activities are listed as simply as "projects"
-
The "American Enterprise Group LLC," which had assets of $424,975 and whose activities are listed as "management"
-
The "American Strategies Group LLC," which had assets of $97,714 and whose activities are listed as "public outreach"
-
The "MIC LLC," with assets of $25,000 and whose job was "research"
-
And, "American Strategic Innovations LLC," with assets of $4,976, whose job was also research
Here are a few revelations, with more details at
the link:
- The Koch-fueled "Center to Protect Patient Rights" (CPPR) got more than $100 million last year.
- The not-so-independent National Federation of Independent Businesses
claims to represent small business owners. It is the antithesis of
being funded by the family fortune of one of biggest billionaire
corporations in the world, Koch Industries.
- The Kochs have claimed no role on gun policy; the NRA got millions.
As controversy has grown over the role of the Koch-funded American
Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in pushing so-called "Stand Your
Ground" legislation, Koch Industries has repeatedly issued denouncements
that it has any role in gun policies.
In addition to these, the Freedom Fund Chamber of
Commerce spent another $50 million on other groups, cumulatively, some
of which are well known and some of which have flown below the public's
radar.
Again, among those groups are the "Tea Party Patriots" operating out
of Woodstock, Georgia; "The Republican Jewish Coalition"; the "Heritage
Action for America, Inc.," connected to the Heritage Foundation, which
has deep Koch connections; and "The National Right to Work Committee,"
who received $1,000,000 for pushing anti-worker, union-busting measures.
Money talks. We need to talk back, only louder.
All of these entities, whose assets totaled more than $1.4 million as
of October 2012, share the same street address: 2200 Wilson Boulevard,
Suite 102-391, Arlington, Virginia 22201. All of these corporations are
registered in Delaware. The activities of these groups is not known and
their current assets are also unknown. (These corporations are listed on
the form as "disregarded" in IRS lingo not because they no longer exist
but because of a technical tax definition for certain companies that
are similar to sole proprietorships or controlled by just a few people.)
The Koch-Fueled CPPR Got More than $100 Million Last Year
The Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce's tax filing also lists the
names and amounts of all of the entities it funded between late 2011 and
the eve of the 2012 elections. Here is the list of the top five groups
to which the Kochs' Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce funneled
millions:
- "Corner Table LLC," known as the "Center to Protect Patient Rights"
(CPPR): three infusions of cash totalling $114,678,000. CPPR is at the
center of a probe by the California Elections Board on "dark money"
spent through shell groups to influence two ballot initiatives, among
other concerns that have been raised about it.
- "PR Dist LLC," described as "Americans for Prosperity," which is directed by David Koch: two infusions totaling $31,600,000
- "The 60 Plus Association Inc.," $15,660,000
- "American Future Fund," $13,600,000
- "Concerned Women for American Legislative Action Committee," $8,150,000
Kochs Have Claimed No Role on Gun Policy; the NRA Got Millions
In the past 18 months as controversy has grown over the role of the
Koch-funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in pushing
so-called "Stand Your Ground" legislation, Koch Industries has
repeatedly issued denouncements that it has any role in gun policies.
The Center for Media and Democracy, however,
has documented how extreme gun policies of the
National Rifle Association
(NRA) have flourished while Koch Industries has had a seat on and led
ALEC's Private Enterprise Board (which was recently rebranded as the
Private Enterprise Advisory Council).
While it is not known if Koch Industries has donated any funds to the Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, what is known --
as CMD has documented
-- is that this organization is filled with Koch operatives, was
launched in the same building as the Charles Koch Foundation, and has
very close ties to David and Charles Koch, who are two of the richest
men in the world.
Now, with this tax filing it is clear that this Koch-related
operation is directly funding the NRA. The NRA received more than the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, receiving $3,465,000. The NRA describes itself
as a membership organization, where people can pay $35 to be a member
and get a subscription to one of the NRA magazines. However, the NRA has
not disclosed how much of its funding comes from gun manufacturers or
non-profit groups such as the Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce.
The Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce also gave millions to the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent
Business, and the National Association of Manufacturers.
More Mysteries of the Koch Network Exposed
In addition to these, the Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce spent
another $50 million on other groups, cumulatively, some of which are
well known and some of which have flown below the public's radar:
- "American Commitment," $6,260,000
- "Partnership for Ohio's Future," $500,000
- "West Michigan Policy Forum," $1,000,000
- "American Energy Alliance," $1,460,000 (has previously been connected to the Kochs)
- "American Values Action," $230,000 (spent $14
million on "independent expenditures" including phone calls against
Obama during the 2012 election; donors unknown/not registered as a PAC)
- "Common Sense Issues, Inc.," $50,000
- "Heritage Action for America, Inc.," $500,000 (connected to the Heritage Foundation, which has deep Koch connections)
- "ORRA LLC (EVANGCH4 Trust)," $5,055,000
- "POFN LLC (Public Notice)," $5,466,250
- "Republican Jewish Coalition," $700,000
- "RION LLC (Center for Shared Service Trust)," $2,738,000 (closely connected to the Charles Koch Foundation)
- "SLAH LLC (Public Engagement Trust)," $1,500,000 (Arlington)
- "State Tea Party Express," $600,000 (operates out of Willows, California)
- "STN LLC (Themis Trust)," $5,781,000
- "TONA LLC (Libre Initiative Trust)," $3,112,000
- "Tea Party Patriots," $200,000 (operating out of Woodstock, Georgia)
- "TRGN LLC (Generation Opportunity)," $5,040,000 (a
group aimed at Gen X that tries to pin the economic crash that began
under President George W. Bush on Democrats)
- "The National Right to Work Committee," $1,000,000 (which pushes anti-worker, union-busting measures)
Some of these groups have been directly connected to the Koch fortune by prior research, such as the
Heritage Foundation's arms (which are long-time recipients of Koch money), the
Center for Shared Service (which helps recruit right-wingers for jobs in the Koch network and which shares an office building with the
Charles Koch Foundation)
Themis and
Libre (which advance Koch corporate agenda of Ayn Rand-style economic policies), and the
Tea Party
groups (which the Kochs initially claimed to the New Yorker's Jane
Mayer that they had little to do with, despite evidence to the
contrary).
Other groups were not yet tied to Koch money, like
Generation Opportunity
(which is aimed at college graduates struggling to find work in this
economy and which attempts to blame progressive policies for the
economic crisis that was actually spurred by Koch-style deregulation
peddled by David Koch's
Citizens for a Sounds Economy, which pressed for the repeal of Glass-Steagall protections, the predecessor group of Koch's Americans for Prosperity).
Others, such as the array of LLCs in the list in addition to the gigantic sum given to
CPPR,
raise additional questions about the Koch agenda and how it was spent
during the last election cycle when hundreds of millions in dark money
was poured into so-called issue ads and other "public education"
activities that coincided with election themes.
The Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce describes itself as devoted
to advancing its members "common business interests." It is a trade
group organized under section 501(c)(6) of the tax group, with corporate
members (which may be able to write-off part of their investment as a
business expense). The question a growing number of people are asking is
how the pursuit of these common business interests is actually
undermining the prosperity of ordinary Americans, while advancing the
interests of some of the richest few in the country.
(This article has been updated, including new links.)
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