One more malignant, poisonous criminal whose sole contribution to history is bringing the end of civilization a little closer is gone. Jane Mayer’s review of a book documenting the Koch brothers’ perfidy is appropriate reading today.
“Kochland” is important, Davies said, because it makes it clear that “you’d have a carbon tax, or something better, today, if not for the Kochs. They stopped anything from happening back when there was still time.” The book also documents how, in 2010, the company’s lobbyists spent gobs of cash and swarmed Congress as part of a multi-pronged effort to kill the first, and so far the last, serious effort to place a price on carbon pollution—the proposed “cap and trade” bill. Magnifying the Kochs’ power was their network of allied donors, anonymously funded shell groups, think tanks, academic centers, and nonprofit advocacy groups, which Koch insiders referred to as their “echo chamber.” Leonard also reports that the centrist think tank Third Way quietly worked with the Kochs to push back against efforts to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, which could have affected their business importing oil from Canada. Frequently, and by design, the Koch brothers’ involvement was all but invisible.
Others have chronicled the cap-and-trade fight well, but Leonard penetrates the inner sanctum of the Kochs’ lobbying machine, showing that, from the start, even when other parts of the company could have benefitted from an embrace of alternative energy, Koch Industries regarded any compromise that might reduce fossil-fuel consumption as unacceptable. Protecting its fossil-fuel profits was, and remains, the company’s top political priority. Leonard shows that the Kochs, to achieve this end, worked to hijack the Tea Party movement and, eventually, the Republican Party itself.
He will be remembered. Unkindly.
The vile will be vilified.
Very few private citizens in world history have done as much damage as this man.
My first impulse to “One down” was to say “10000 to go”. But it is probably true that there are fascist mastheads like Murdoch, Koch, Bolsonaro, Trump and his kleptocracy, Johnson/Morrison, and there are obviously too many dumb followers to count who just do exactly that, follow.
It’s a start anyway.
Cripes, every obituary I just saw said “philanthropist” instead of misanthrope. Heavy.com says he almost bought it in a 1991 plane crash. Am I bad for thinking “what a shame”?
https://heavy.com/news/2019/08/david-koch-dead/
“I did not attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.” —The Hon. E. R. Hoar
This is one of those occasions when i regret that Hell doesn’t exist. I can only hope his any memory of him fades very quickly
This concentration of power is not compatible, in the medium term, with Democracy.
In the long term, civilization becomes incompatible with it, and we’re running out of the long term already.
Mayer’s own book on the subject, Dark Money, is also well worth reading.
Yay. But like Epstein, I’m sure he’s set things up to ensure that his spiteful vendetta against the world’s carrying on without him continues unabated.
The level of greed in these people truly astonishes me. If my income were to increase by only a few thousand dollars, it would make a noticeable difference in my lifestyle. A million dollars? Whoa!
But a billion dollar increase in a Koch brother’s income wouldn’t change the way they live day to day in any way whatsoever. The extra money would just sit in their bank accounts, so what’s the point? I honestly don’t get it.
Well, technically true and more palatable to mainstream media. I remember being taken aback seeing the Koch brothers featured prominently as contributors to our children’s hospital. It doesn’t make up for all the damage they did, but I’m still glad our hospital has some of their money.
I wonder how much his death will matter. The money and organization remain. Anyway, we’ll see.
“Cripes, every obituary I just saw said “philanthropist” instead of misanthrope.”
I know. He apparently was a big ballet fan, and a major supporter of the NYC Ballet. Some years ago my wife and I went to see the iconic Nutcracker production and were disgusted to note that the the former NY State Theater was now the David H. Koch Theater. We don’t live in NYC and so we hadn’t known that before then. While I suppose I’m glad at least some of his money went to good causes, it doesn’t even begin to make up for the damage he did. After all, Hitler apparently loved the opera.
Alas, the retired brother died, the unretired one remains active.
But, there is an upside, the surviving brother is 83 years old.
tbp1@12 Well, if our hospital turns into the David Koch Children’s Hospital, I may need to make some tough choices (pretty sure they won’t and I’ll cross that bring when I come to it).
tbp1 (#12) –
Much of the time when the grotesquely wealthy “donate to charity”, it is to things like ballet, opera, universities, etc. They give only to things that maintain and expand the patriarchal, racist, sexist and classist systems they are part of. They would never give to something meaningful that would help society. in general
Harry Rosen’s actions are the exception. But then, he grew up poor and was only one step removed from those he chose to help.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/26/us/tangelo-park-orlando-florida.html
Also worth pointing out that the Koch’s “charitable donations” to universities are better understood as propaganda efforts.
The economics school at George Mason University being the clearest example.
Daddy Charles is 83, but then there’s Chas Koch. Any one know much about the position of heir apparent, other than he is now president of Koch Industries venture capital arm? Oh, and he claims to have spent the early 2000s banging out Led Zeppelin covers and “screwing around in Austin.”
Intransitive (#16) Since I happen to like opera, ballet and classical music in general, and am a university professor, I am in favor of people donating to them. I think supporting the arts DOES help society in general, but I certainly take your point.
They say you should only speak good of the dead. He’s dead. Good.
I wish him a speedy reunion with his brother.
I don’t find any joy in someone’s death, but I’m not exactly sad.
He did support public television, so I guess I’m grateful for that. Then again, it’s kind of like giving the homeless guy on the corner a buck on your way home from the bank heist.
It’s how they keep “score”. It’s validation of their intellect or business prowess or whatever*. They can’t find happiness in simply being successful or seemingly in other aspects of their lives. They have to to keep
racking up the pointsraking in the dollars. Luckily, there’s at least a few like Buffett and Gates who’ve committed to giving away most of their wealth upon their passing. Others, like the Waltons… it’ll take torches and pitchforks to get and put that money to any kind of worthwhile use.* Maybe they’re disappointing in the sack and can’t be arsed to learn.
Lee Fang:
I don’t often say it, but good riddance, Mr Koch, don’t let the coffin lid hit you on the way out.
I won’t say this welcome news, but I’m certainly not going to call it unwelcome either. Especially considering the Ruth Bader Ginsburg news.
Extra money does not exist, very little of the wealthy keep very much in banks it is invested in things that will appreciate in value in times of growth and maintain capital in times of recession.
To be wealthy in the way people like the Koch’s are and to maintain that wealth and growth they need to gain power and control of as much as is possible to control; government, society, intellectual thought, morals.
Democracy is anathema to that kind of wealth and power
it is too bad there is no one who can take the wealthy aside and explain to then the folly they are engaging in and where it will likely end because it is clear that they think it is not going to happen because they are in control but they forget how badly they are outnumbered.
who will be next?
uncle frogy
The Third Way, well-known boosters of New Democrats like the Clintons and Joe Biden, tied in with the Democratic Leadership Council which deliberately funded primary challenges against New Deal Democrats to replace them with corporate-friendly, pro-war candidates, worked with the Koch brothers? Goodness, what a surprise. Shocked, I am shocked. This is totally unbelievable news.
MichaelE@25
Oh fuck. Pancreatic cancer? You know, I was feeling bad about the idea of pissing on Koch’s grave thinking of him as a donor to the hospital one of my kids’ lives depends on.
But the GOP would absolutely piss on RBG’s grave while praising Je$u$ for her early demise. I just hope this is not as deadly as it sounds.
Don’t get too excited at his passing. All the organizations he founded and funded will continue to write policy for the foreseeable future. Even in death, he will rule over us all.
Ragutis wrote:
I’ve got bad news for you. Most of this philanthropy (or philanthrocapitalism) isn’t really doing good. Much of it comes with strings attached requiring opening of domestic markets, and all of it ends up undermining local governments and democracies, giving the very rich veto power over who deserves help and those who do not. And a not insignificant portion is donated to “charities” which are little more than political think tanks which exist to write corporate-friendly law.
All of it undermines democracy, and it’s time we stop letting these people launder their reputations on the cheap like this.
Sigh. I recall, from watching Nova all the way to the end credits, this: Major funding for NOVA is provided by the David H. Koch Fund for Science, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS viewers. (and the preceding sentence was copied from the bottom of the Nova web page, where it’s part of the footer for every page for the program)
(For those who’ve never heard the name, it’s pronounced like “coke”, not like “kotch” (as the former NYC mayor with the same surname was pronounced))
To the best of my knowledge, Nova has never been accused of skewing climate science in favor of the denialists. Anyone ever hear otherwise?
OK, clearly I needed to just search for that. I haven’t read all of these links yet, but:
https://observer.com/2010/09/could-david-koch-be-calling-the-shots-on-pbss-emnovaem/
(2010-09-07) https://thinkprogress.org/pbs-ombudsman-getler-whitewashes-the-koch-funded-greenwashing-episode-of-nova-that-whitewashes-the-519cbcd3e50d/
https://pando.com/2014/03/03/more-pbs-conflict-woes-as-activists-move-to-eject-david-koch-from-board-of-nova-station/
https://current.org/2014/04/activists-turn-up-heat-on-wgbh-over-role-of-david-koch/
http://www.pbs.org/publiceditor/blogs/ombudsman/2015/12/11/global-warming-koch-and-nova/
http://www.pbs.org/publiceditor/blogs/ombudsman/2016/12/21/the-climate-is-changing-will-nova/
Accused? Yeah, it was, but there doesn’t appear to be much evidence of PBS skewing their content, nor of any significant pressure or influence to do so.
Hey, prove me wrong. Can’t make me think much worse of the Kochs, though I may end up a bit disappointed in PBS.
As for RBG, the news seems about as good as it could be, under the circumstances. I think she’ll still be there in January 2021. It’s up to us to make sure the right person is in place to nominate someone to replace her when she’s ready to leave.. (Can you imagine trying to fill those shoes?)
I recall the Koch brothers’ fortune was built on fraud and back stabbing
Ragutis @33:
… And the right people in the Senate to make that nomination actually stick. Flipping the Senate is doable this time around, but it will take a lot of effort.