It's been pretty clear for some time now that the Big Fossil 0.1 percenters are going to be going all in to prevent a second Obama term. And with the cover of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, it looks like they are going to flat out just try to buy the Presidency.
The Huffington Post is reporting that the Koch Brothers have pledged $ 60 Million to defeat President Obama. Yes, you read that right - two people will be spending $ 60 Million to defeat the President who wants to move us away from fossil fuels into a clean energy future. Talk about subverting Democracy...
WASHINGTON -- At a private three-day retreat in California last weekend, conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch and about 250 to 300 other individuals pledged approximately $100 million to defeat President Obama in the 2012 elections.
A source who was in the room when the pledges were made told The Huffington Post that, specifically, Charles Koch pledged $40 million and David pledged $20 million.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Surely their conservative buddies at the Supreme Court will be happy to see that their Citizens United decision is allowing just two people to have the same amount of financial influence on an election as 6 million Americans who contribute 10 dollars each, or 600,000 Americans who donate 100 dollars each, or 60,000 Americans who donate 1,000 dollars each.
Yes, dear conservative S.C. justices, it is obviously really good for Democracy when two guys have just as much say in our elections as hundreds of thousands or millions of Americans!
The Citizens United ruling has got to be one of the worst decisions in the history of the Supreme Court, and it looks like we're about to see just how bad that ruling was.
Oh, and it looks like the hedgefunders aren't too happy with Obama, either:
Also at the conference was Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of the Citadel Investment Group. He supported Obama in 2008, leading his employees to contribute more than $205,000 to the campaign. By the time of the election, however, he had switched his allegiance to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Since the election, he has openly discussed his "frustration" with Obama's policies, stating that he is "greatly concerned about the fiscal instability of the U.S." In the fourth quarter of 2011, Citadel employees completely abandoned Obama, contributing nothing to his campaign while giving $120,500 to presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Thank you, Justices Roberts, Alito, Scalia, Thomas, and Kennedy. You have shown clearly whose side you are on in the 0.1 percenters war on all Americans who don't happen to be filthy rich!
Disgusting.
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Addendum:
I hope that this attempted purchase of the Presidency makes it abundantly clear to all Kossacks and DailyKos readers just how important the 2012 election is. If we can counter this with lots of small donations, grass roots organizing, and volunteering for campaigns, then we can make sure that the Koch Brothers lose that $ 60 Million.
11:31 AM PT: cotterperson provided a link to a quality article by the AP about how the 2012 will affect not just the S.C, but also the other federal courts:
http://www.ky3.com/...
Definitely worth the read, imo.