Robert Reich Tells Republican Friend: "The Koch brothers are intent on stealing our democracy.”

[kpete]

Robert Reich
1 hr ·


A few moments ago, in the lobby of the hotel I'm staying at in Washington, I ran into an old friend who’s become a conservative Republican. He’s incensed at the news that billionaire investor George Soros has committed $5 million to lawsuits attacking voting restrictions put in place by Republican-led legislatures and governors -- including ID requirements and limits on early voting. “You criticize the Koch brothers,” he said. “Soros is doing the same thing, but he’s a liberal so you don’t criticize him.”

“There’s a huge difference,” I said. “The Koch brothers’ political machine is spending over $900 million on the 2016 election – much of it to dismantle environmental and safety regulations, and cut taxes on the wealthy, in order to further enrich themselves. Soros is spending $5 million to help preserve the voting rights of the poor, minorities, and young.”

“That’s a lot of crap,” he said. “Soros just wants to give Democrats an advantage, even if it invites voter fraud.”

“Voter fraud is a red herring,” I said. “It’s nearly non-existent. These restrictions were put in place to make it harder for millions of low-income Americans to vote. Soros deserves the thanks of everyone who cares about our democracy. The Koch brothers are intent on stealing our democracy.”

At this point he turned around and walked away, muttering to himself


https://www.facebook.com/RBReich/posts/1010043675674895

[cantbeserious]

1. All To True - I Will No Longer Settle For The Lesser Of Two Corporate Evils - Go Bernie Go

eom

[blm]

2. I'm a Bernie supporter, too, but don't get why you saw a voting rights OP

as an opportunity to turn it into a 'lesser of two corporate evils' thread.

Voting rights are being taken away EXCLUSIVELY by GOP and NOT by the Dems - NOT the far left, left, center-left, or centrist Dems.

[cantbeserious]

4. Lessor Of Two Corporate Evils - Mainstream Parties And Their "Anointed" Candidates

All beholden to corporations.

[blm]

7. Back up your claim and PROVE that Democrats are working against voting rights.

.

[cantbeserious]

9. Never Said That Democrats Were Working Against Voter Rights - Does Not Change The Fact

That the "anointed" candidates of both parties are captured interests of their corporate and oligarch patrons.

[blm]

12. So you use a voting rights thread as JUST an opportunity to hijack.

That means there is no difference between you and ………those who are LIKE you.




Rand2016…..uh…….because.

[cantbeserious]

13. Personal Attacks - A Very Poor Debating Technique

eom

[blm]

16. A hijack is a hijack.

And THAT is a very poor debating technique.

[Scuba]

33. Your posts on this thread are lame.

[blm]

36. You are always welcome to disagree with my observations, Scuba.

You agree with using this thread to attack Dems, feel free to say so. Or is it JUST me you resent for noticing that the poster's reply was doing what the conservative moron in the story did - blame both parties for something being done 99% of the time by GOP?

Your benevolence is heartwarming.

[blm]

27. You're pushing the same BS as the RWer Reich references - BOTH sides do the same

mantra, even when handed proof that both sides are definitely NOT the same.

The RWer is telling Reich that what Soros is doing is akin to what Kochs doing.

You chose to weigh in with your brilliant both sides are the same agreement.

[dreamnightwind]

26. Actaully just earlier today I learned Democrats also in some cases work against voting rights

It surprised me too.

Voting Rights - The GOP is waging an all-out war on Democracy (from Thom Hartmann's The Big Picture RT)

Here, I corrected the flawed auto-transcript of Youtube so it matches what was said, just the section on Democrats working against voting rights.

Thom: Let's ask Catherine Culliton Gonzalez senior attorney and director of
3:13 voter protection at the Advancement Project. Catherine welcome back
Katherine: thank you good to see you, thanks for having us
Thom: so first off your thoughts on
3:20 the Hillary speech today
Katherine: I think it's a wonderful first step forward in the fight
3:24 for voting rights and
3:26 you know I think people could interpret it politically but let's be honest the
3:29 Democratic Party is also guilty of voting rights violations
3:33 I wish that, uh, it's particularly in the south if you look at
3:37 redistricting and you look at some of the
3:39 the reactions
3:42 to changing demographics in the south in Texas where she spoke you know it's been
3:46 some folks in the Democratic party that have been
3:49 troublesome as well too
3:50 I'll just tell you my first voting rights case was against
3:53 officials who are part of the Democratic party in Penns Grove New Jersey
3:57 a number of years ago so I think you know people get the impression that this is a
4:02 political issue
4:03 but we're a nonpartisan group and we know millions of voters across the
4:06 country who are fighting hard for their voting rights and really welcome what
4:10 Hillary Clinton said today and commend her for that and we hope that
4:14 all the parties would adopt such a stance

There is no claim of equivalence, it is obviously much more of a problem on the Republican side. I think what this woman said was probably true but her motivations in making that point were to not allow voting rights issues to be framed as a partisan issue.

And though I am also a Bernie supporter, I agree with your replies to the other poster about thread-jacking, didn't seem the place for that, as much as I agree with him/her.

[blm]

28. Occasional violations is nowhere near wholesale disenfranchisement being WRITTEN INTO LAW.

These groups know that, but, they have to protect their identities as nonpartisan groups to maintain their legitimacy in media appearances. This is another example of bending over backward to prevent any perception of partisanship.

It would be akin to Reich agreeing that Soros does it, too, instead of noting the EXTREME differences as he does here.

[dreamnightwind]

29. I mostly agree

She spoke of some Democratic responses to changing demographics in the south, singling out southern Texas, but didn't explain what mechanisms had been used. The implication was some southern Texas Democrats were not happy with all the influence from Latino residents. Knowing a little about the racist history of some southern Democrats (most of who turned Republican when the civil rights legislation happened in the 60's) I wouldn't discount what she said.

Obviously the larger reality of this issue is the Republican Party is trying to stay electable by erecting obstacles to voting that disproportionately impact people who trend Democratic.

[Ilsa]

3. Robert Reich is a patriot who

Isn't afraid to tell the truth to the traitors attempting to dismantle democracy.

[jwirr]

5. K&R

[blm]

6. Voting rights are being targeted EXCLUSIVELY by the GOP. NO Democrat is part of it

no matter what part of the left to center spectrum space they occupy.

Anyone claiming there is no difference on this issue is LYING…Rand2016 needs lies spread on the internet to survive.

[freshwest]

8. +1

[JonLP24]

11. Democrats wouldn't because of the need of more voters participating the process

GOP's odds go up when the number of voters goes down so they have been ramping up the "War on Voting" while for the most part Democrats insult those who didn't show up to the polls rather than a matching counter effort to make voting easier. For election purposes it wouldn't make sense for a Democratic politician to decrease the electorate in favor of older, white, and wealthier voters

[Overseas]

14. And let's not forget Paul Weyrich's famous statement mocking one person one vote

"I don't want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of people. They never have been from the beginning of our country, and they are not now. As a matter of fact our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down."


- See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/i-dont-want-everybody-vote#sthash.3bunSc0u.dpuf

[yardwork]

31. Yes.

[JonLP24]

10. Stealing? Its already been sold to the highest bidders a long time ago

How else does it explain the defense budget and oil & bank board members serving as Secretary of Defense?

[cali]

34. yes. And yet my op saying just that was met with howls of outrage

from those who brush off the facts.

[JonLP24]

35. I censor myself quite a bit due to howls of outrage

Not that I ever say anything offensive but just because I don't expect much meaningful discussion

The howls of outrage should be directed at the politicians not putting people first.

She describes the auction process at the local levels as a politician would show up at a church or cookout make a promises go back to their offense and give away stuff to the big money interests hence the hopelessness but there are OPs insulting us for the hopelessness but it is exactly that type of behavior as to why I'm hopeless. The howls of outrage are pathetically misdirected imo

[Populist_Prole]

15. That conservative dope is just a blockhead with confirmation bias

He'll take any ills that afflict him, ills made worse, if not outright, by the republican party, and attribute then them to the democratic party out of spiteful, childish tribalism.

Waste of time talking to an ideologue.

[blm]

17. Exactly - breitbart is his main source for information about this nation's governance,

apparently.

[calimary]

18. This canard they try to shove at us all the time - whining and mewling about how unfair it is

that GEORGE SOROS is in there giving money to our side - Oh how awful! How awful!

Oh CRIPES!!!!

Okay, George Soros gives our side a paltry five mill. When he could plunk a whole lot more down because he has it. Okay fine.

The koch brothers on the other hand - spend many times that much on THEIR side. 180 times that much, if you do the math comparing 5 to 900. ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY TIMES THAT MUCH!!!!!!! So then, how is this somehow "equivalent"?

Please show me HOW 5 is somehow equal to 900. Help me understand how that's so. Show me (I'm from Missouri, okay? SHOW me!)! Get me any average third-grader outta their math class on any random weekday morning and have THEM show me that. SHOW ME HOW 5 IS EQUAL TO 900. I realize you are all going by kkkarl rove's "THE math." But his "THE math" DOES NOT ADD UP in the real world.

This is another one of those lovely false equivalencies that the GOP has embroidered onto the proverbial whole cloth. It's like saying a brick is the exact same thing as a grain of aquarium gravel - just because both happen to be hard.

[blm]

19. How many BILLIONS of dollars from RevMoon's propaganda empire went to GOP

and extreme RW causes over the last 3 decades? Then Rupert Murdoch came along and started BROADCASTING all that propaganda, adding BILLIONS MORE in broadcast airtime.

Yet the dumbed down GOP voting base can't see the vast forest for that damn toothpick that keeps popping up every now and then and getting in the way.

[calimary]

20. This ridiculous "George Soros = BAAAAAAD" meme has just gone TOO far.

Needs to be corrected URGENTLY and beaten back down - VIGOROUSLY AND RELENTLESSLY.

We HAVE TO wipe that out. Force-feed that correction everywhere and to everybody.

George Soros is an ant hill compared to the Mount McKinley of foster fries, the Annapurna II of shel adelson, and Mount Everest of the koch brothers. And that's just the most glaringly prominent three billionaire-level entities off the top of my head. There are many more. MANY more - on their side than are on ours. And they've got the two biggest high-rollers on the list, in the koch brothers.

Again - it's like saying a brick is exactly the same as a grain of aquarium gravel. Because they're both hard, y'see.

[blm]

21. Preaching to the choir, calimary - Still in the foxhole with you.

; )

[calimary]

22. Oh - I just thought of something.

The next questions after these rants (mine included!!!) always and inevitably is - "okay, HOW do we do it?" "How does this get done?" "So what can we DO about it?" Well - maybe here's what WE can "DU" about it!!!!

Let's start thinking up some ways to say it.

What we need, as the old radio slogan goes, is a "phrase that pays."

How clever can any of us be, in articulating the message? How clever can we get? We've got some SUPERLATIVE minds and thinkers and writers on this board. Some people here just have a way with words. Big time. Let's think up a way (or ways) to say it - in the cleverest, most beguiling, funniest, mostest killer-est and MEMORABLE way possible. The more clever it is, the funnier it is, the more colorful it is, the more MEMORABLE it will be and if it's clever, other people will find it easier to repeat. Cuz it makes THEM look clever and funny and shrewd and smart, too.

Let's try to think something up! Bumpersticker-size too. Has to be something that just cream-pie's it onto people's faces with one big ol' splat that just simply cannot be ignored or avoided. Something easy to grasp for all the low-information voters and Short Attention Span Club members out there. Something that really sticks to yer ribs, as my mom used to say about the good solid long-burning carbs she always wanted to feed me. Then it'll get used. And the more it gets used the easier it'll spread and go viral. And then the meme is established. The idea becomes validated. The seed is planted. Might even take root, too! Said, READ, and SPREAD!

[calimary]

23. I'll even throw in

"it's like saying that a brick is the exact same thing as a grain of aquarium gravel. Because they're both hard".

Doesn't fit on a bumper sticker, though, but it does convey a mental image. Sometimes mental pictures are easier to grasp - especially since so many Americans process information visually.

Plus - simplistic image for simplistic thinkers. Exaggerations are often helpful in getting the point across. Especially if they elicit a chuckle or two! If it's funny, it also translates as likable, subliminally. We tend to like people and quotes and comedians and animal videos and such - because they make us laugh. How many people do you know in the dating and mating world who list "a good sense of humor" as a desirable trait in a potential love match? Probably armies of same!

Let's be the fiery little cellular micro-engines - the mitochondria if you will - of the organism that is liberalism, progressivism, and the entire freakin' Democratic Party TOO, for that matter!

[HughBeaumont]

38. "GEORGE SOROS!!!!! GEORGE SOROS!!1!! WHAT ABOUT GEORGE SOROS, YEW STEWPID LIBS???s@?"

Yeah, gee, let's just go and see what a rotten-as-shit character this "Jorge Sow-rows" is, shall we?

Between 1979 and 2011, Soros gave away over $8 billion to human rights, public health, and education causes.[12] He played a significant role in the peaceful transition from communism to capitalism in Eastern Europe (1984–89)[8] and provided one of Europe's largest higher education endowments to Central European University in Budapest.


Soros has been active as a philanthropist since the 1970s, when he began providing funds to help black students attend the University of Cape Town in apartheid South Africa,[54] and began funding dissident movements behind the iron curtain.

In September 2006 Soros pledged $50 million to the Millennium Promise, led by economist Jeffrey Sachs to provide educational, agricultural, and medical aid to help villages in Africa enduring poverty. The New York Times termed this endeavor a "departure" for Soros whose philanthropic focus had been on fostering democracy and good government, but Soros noted that most poverty resulted from bad governance.[59]

Despite working as an investor and currency trader, Soros argues that the current system of financial speculation undermines healthy economic development in many underdeveloped countries. He blames many of the world's problems on the failures inherent in what he characterizes as market fundamentalism.[102]

Victor Niederhoffer said of Soros: "Most of all, George believed even then in a mixed economy, one with a strong central international government to correct for the excesses of self-interest."

[calimary]

39. Wow - what a quote!

Victor Niederhoffer said of Soros: "Most of all, George believed even then in a mixed economy, one with a strong central international government to correct for the excesses of self-interest."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Soros

Well how 'bout that. No wonder the wrong-wingers hate him.

[LongTomH]

24. George Soros has become a right-wing buzzword - like Solyndra or Benghazi

Mention solar energy and the wingnuts will come back with Solyndra.

Mention the Koch Bros. or the influence of money in politics and they'll come back with Soros. When I posted on my Facebook page, about the need to control the influence of corporations, a right-wing loon made the incredibly stupid comment: "George Soros is a corporation."

I doubt that it would be worth my while to explain the difference between a corporation and a person who may own stock in a corporation. With these people, you never get beyond the talking points!

[blm]

37. Soros' donation is pocket change on the RevMoon-Murdoch-Kochs-Adelson scale.

Soros doesn't even come close to ONE of those in dollars and in wielding control and influence for personal gain and enrichment.

Oh yeah…there is always the 'Both sides do it' BS being tossed into most threads like this by RW operatives or…..merely the lazy minded.

[libdem4life]

25. I would only add to the title...stealing what is left of our democracy. I'm with Bernie, we're

closer to an oligarcy than a democracy.

[kpete]

30. well said and

so sad,

peace,
kp

[Enthusiast]

32. K&R! This post should have hundreds of recommendations!