Koch, Democrats, and the Reality Looking Glass
I remember the sensation — experienced through a number of years, as I entered adult life — of learning that all of the liberal (now “progressive”) junk with which my head had been filled in school, through entertainment, and through Rolling Stone was simply wrong. Often inverted. So, I do appreciate the challenge for those who haven’t stepped through the looking glass.
By if you’re still on the other side of it, take a moment to consider some recent political stories. Just consider them. See if they fit your understanding of the world.
First, consider a post to which Rhode Island Public Radio political analyst Scott MacKay linked in a tweet:
For the last election, Koch PAC spent $4.9 million in disclosed contributions (figures that appear on the chart referenced by Strassel). But they also spent over $407 million on undisclosed campaign entities, which does not show up in the CRP chart.
The infamous Koch Brothers, if you haven’t heard, are the designated target for vilification from progressives, with a heavy hand from Democrats, especially powerful national Democrats, and certain journalists, like MacKay. So total and irrational is this vilification, that two unions representing hospital employees are protesting a new wing to a hospital in New York because one of the Kochs, David, donated $100 million to build it.
That $100 million kind of puts the political donations in perspective, especially when you follow the links about the claim about campaign contributions. The trick (so misleading as to be a lie) is that to get to $407 million, the progressive-activist reporters total up pretty much every donation to the entire conservative movement, whether or not the Kochs are the source.
Meanwhile, receiving much less attention is the “major Democratic donor” who just plead guilty “to funneling millions of dollars in illegal campaign donations to federal and local politicians.” And that “all nighter” that a group of Senators (including Rhode Island’s own Sheldon Whitehouse) held regarding climate change?
Beyond exercises in faith and identity politics, the Democratic all-nighter should be understood as a very odd fundraiser. Most fundraisers feature one or two politicians speaking to dozens of donors. Monday night featured a dozen politicians speaking to one donor: Energy billionaire Tom Steyer. …
Steyer plans to spend $100 million this election helping his climate allies, as my Washington Examiner colleague Byron York reported.
On my side of the mirror, it’s difficult not to suspect that the Left likes to accuse the Right of doing what they’re doing so that when they’re caught they can claim they were really trying to combat the evil conservatives.