David Koch, co-owner of Koch Industries with his brother, Charles Koch, came into the spotlight again recently when a blogger pretending to be David Koch prank called Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and taped their 20 minute phone conversation.
Koch has said since that he doesn't "directly" support Gov. Walker and his union-busting budget. Perhaps that's technically true, even though the Koch Industries' political action committee did contribute $43,000 towards Walker's election.
As entertaining as it may be to parse out the truth of that narrow claim, what about some of that indirect support?
Between 1997-2008, the Koch brothers spent over $48 million funding conservative think tanks and research institutions [pdf.] Representatives of these think tanks and research institutions are often quoted as independent experts in news articles about issues which impact Koch interests and political goals, may stage 'grassroots' political events that are covered in the media, or get editorials published in news outlets that fail to mention their connections to the Kochs.
Here's a small taste of some of the recent publicity and media cover that Koch-funded organizations have given to Walker and his fellow Republicans as they go about their union-busting and pension-cracking, transparently revealed in their own words as a political attack on their opponents:
Mercatus: $9.8 million
Eliminating CBA might help Wisconsin workers but don't try to tell them that
... Eileen Norcross and researchers at George Mason University's Mercatus Center argue that if collective bargaining were eliminated then state's wouldn't do what they do now when they don't have the money to fulfill contracts for state employees and that's not paying into workers' pensions. "What the public sector workers should realize, in Wisconsin, is that [eliminating CBA] would give the Legislature more flexibility to protect their pensions going forward," Norcross says. ...
Researchers: Wisconsin's State Workers Could Benefit From CBA Proposal
... But according to researchers at George Mason University, anecdotal evidence suggests that doing away with collective bargaining could actually end up playing in Wisconsin's public employees' favor.
Eileen Norcross, lead researcher on the State and Local Policy Project at GMU's Mercatus Center, points out that there is an inherent problem with CBAs in the public sector that aren't found in the private sector. ...
States may find targeting workers isn't easy
... [David] Primo, from the Mercatus Center, said government officials may end up backing away from salary battles and instead using their political capital to insist on pension changes that will save more money in the long run.
He also predicted they'll look for ways to cut benefits without needing union approval. Maybe they can require employees to pay more for their health insurance, he said. Maybe they can cancel pensions for newer workers who aren't yet vested in the system. ...
The Cato Institute: $5.3 million
Madison Protest: Unions Are Angry -- but Wisconsin Should Go Even Further, an op-ed placed in the Christian Science Monitor by the Cato Institute's director of tax policy:
... Wisconsin's proposed union reforms are on the right track. But state governments should repeal collective bargaining in the public sector altogether, following the successful policies of Virginia, North Carolina, and other states. That would give policymakers the flexibility they need to make tough budget decisions on pensions and other fiscal challenges facing their states. ...
Wisconsin Assembly passes union proposal
... Others predicted the opposite effect. Chris Edwards, a Cato Institute economist, predicted that Wisconsin will ``kick start a movement toward public sector union reform.'' ...
Americans for Prosperity: $5.2 million
Pro-Walker bus tour ends with rally in Madison
... A bus tour around the state of those supporting Gov. Scott Walker ended Sunday with several hundred coming to the Alliant Energy Center holding signs that said "Collective Bargaining is Not a Right" and "Remember November? Wisconsin Majority Stands with Gov. Scott Walker."
The tour, sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, stopped in several communities including Milwaukee, Rhinelander and La Crosse over four days. Among the speakers encouraging support of Walker's budget-repair bill was Joe the Plumber, who rose to national fame during the 2008 presidential election. ...
Wisconsin protesters face off over anti-union bill
... Saturday's line-up included rallies organized by Tea Party Patriots, the Tea Party movement's largest umbrella group, Americans for Prosperity and American Majority. Their supporters carried signs with a fresh set of messages: "Your Gravy Train Is Over ... Welcome to the Recession" and "Sorry, we're late Scott. We work for a living."
... Conservative commentator Andrew Breitbart, talk radio host Herman Cain and Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher, who rose to fame during the 2008 presidential election when he confronted then-candidate Barack Obama over taxes, appeared at an American Majority rally in Madison. ...
Citizen Advocate Phillips: Obama, Unions 'Out of Whack' With Economy
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's attempts to end bargaining on "out-of-whack" pension and benefit rights are not union busting but rather an effort to restore balance between public and private workers, Americans for Prosperity's Tim Phillips tells Newsmax.TV. The move will lead to similar budget fixes across the country, Phillips predicted. ...
Institute for Humane Studies: $3.9 million
Blogger from Koch's law firm defends Koch, doesn't disclose ties
... Koch funds a number of conservative media positions using grants distributed by the Phillips Foundation, a conservative journalism front funded by Koch charitable foundations, the Koch-owned Institute for Humane Studies, and the Charles Koch fellowship. ...
Heritage Foundation: $3.4 million
Are Wis. public employees overpaid?
By Andrew G. Biggs and Jason Richwine - The Heritage Foundation
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Holds Firm Against Protesters
... A Walker victory would likely embolden other GOP governors to take similar steps. "Walker is that first fight," says Brian Darling, director of government relations at the Heritage Foundation. "This is going to happen in other states because the unions are going to dig in and fight [with] what little they have left."
The Reason Foundation: $1.7 million
Heritage and Reason deflate myths in PEU [Public Employee Union] debate
... Heritage Foundation and Reason TV take a look at both claims coming from the protests in Madison, Wisconsin, as well as a more fundamental myth that only Republicans are talking about cutting budgets and reducing the power of PEUs. ...
The Manhattan Institute: $1.3 million
Scott Walker may have wasted political capital by sparing wisconsin's police and fire fighters
... "When Mitch Daniels abolished collective bargaining for state workers in Indiana by executive order, his move included the state police," the Manhattan Institute's Josh Barro told The Daily Caller. "The reforms being debated in Ohio include police and fire workers."
... "Politically, police and fire unions are not Republican bastions; they split their allegiances between the parties," Barro said. "Because they are a swing constituency, Republican politicians have more incentive to try to make nice with them than with other public employee unions. ... I can understand why [Walker] would make a strategic choice to exclude them -- politicians pick their battles all the time with an eye toward coalition building -- but I do think it's unfortunate." ...
With indirect supporters like this, who needs friends?
Crossposted from SEIU.org, by Natasha Chart