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posted by LaminatorX on Wednesday January 28 2015, @05:21AM   Printer-friendly
from the mo-money-mo-problems dept.

Nicholas Confessore reports at the New York Times that the Koch Brothers and their political network plan to spend close to $900 million in the 2016 election, an unparalleled effort by coordinated outside groups to shape a presidential election that is already on track to be the most expensive in history. The group’s budget reflects the rising ambition and expanded reach of the Koch operation, which has sought to distinguish itself from other outside groups by emphasizing the role of donors over consultants and political operatives. Hundreds of conservative donors recruited by the Kochs gathered over the weekend for three days of issue seminars, strategy sessions, and mingling with rising elected officials. These donors represent the largest concentration of political money outside the party establishment, one that has achieved enormous power in Republican circles in recent years. “It’s no wonder the candidates show up when the Koch brothers call,” says David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to Mr. Obama. “That’s exponentially more money than any party organization will spend. In many ways, they have superseded the party.”

Espousing a political worldview that protects free speech and individual and property rights with equal protection for everyone under the law Koch says: “It is up to us. Making this vision a reality will require more than a financial commitment. It requires making it a central part of our lives.” Told of the $889 million goal, Mark McKinnon, a veteran GOP operative who has worked to rally Republican support to reduce the role of money in politics, quipped: “For that kind of money, you could buy yourself a president. Oh, right. That’s the point.”

 
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  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday January 28 2015, @04:57PM

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Wednesday January 28 2015, @04:57PM (#138950) Journal

    When you realize that no matter whom you vote for, nothing changes, then you're closer to the actual reality in this country and this world. The corporate media is gearing up to present us with part 3 of Clinton vs. Bush, without the slightest acknowledgement that the public is sick to death of this series. It doesn't matter which of them wins. Everyone will lose, because the whole will dissolve in chaos and fire. That might be stayed if the secular equivalent of Pope Francis were elected, but we all, Right and Left, know that won't ever, ever happen.

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    Washington DC delenda est.
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