The Koch brothers’ political operation intends to spend $889 million in the run-up to the 2016 elections, according to an attendee at the operation’s annual winter donor gathering in the California desert.
The spending goal, shared with donors at a Monday morning session at the Rancho Mirage Ritz Carlton, reflects the sweeping ambition of a private conservative political network that in many ways has eclipsed the power of the official Republican Party.
The $889 million spending goal dwarfs the $404 million the Republican National Committee spent during the 2012 election and the $188 million it dropped during last year’s midterm campaign.
Almost a billion dollars spent by one family in an attempt to buy elections. That should frighten just about everybody.
Unless of you are the beneficiary of that kind of spending of course.
From this same gathering comes this quote:
“Americans have taken an important step in slowing down the march toward collectivism,” Charles Koch said in his speech, seemingly in reference to the Republican takeover of the Senate during the 2014 midterm elections.
“But as many of you know, we don’t rest on our laurels. We are already back at work and hard at it! In fact, the work never really ends. Because the struggle for freedom never ends,” Koch said.
You know there is a part of me, a hopeful part of me, that wants to believe in the American voter and trust that they cannot be swayed by enormous ad buys in local markets by outside groups.
But then I remember what happened up here in Alaska this last election cycle, and I know I am being naive.
There is simply no way that Dan Sullivan should have beaten Mark Begich, and simply pit without the Koch brothers and Karl Rove he wouldn't have.
Since the Citizens United decision politics has become a numbers game.
In many ways it has ALWAYS been a numbers game, but these days it is not the number of voters that seems to count, it is the number of dollars spent for each of those voters.
