Kochs signal support for Scott Walker

[brooklynite]

Source: new York Times

Charles G. and David H. Koch, the influential and big-spending conservative donors, have a favorite in the race for the Republican nomination: Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin.

On Monday, at a fund-raising event in Manhattan for the New York State Republican Party, David Koch told donors that he and his brother, who oversee one of the biggest private political organizations in the country, believed that Mr. Walker was the Republican Party’s best hope for recapturing the White House.

“We will support whoever the candidate is,” said Mr. Koch, according to two people who attended the event. “But it should be Scott Walker.”

The remark — made before dozens of top New York donors who had gathered to hear Mr. Walker speak at the Union League Club — could effectively end one of the most closely watched contests in the “invisible primary,” a period where candidates crisscross the country seeking not the support of voters but the blessing of their party’s biggest donors and fund-raisers.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/04/20/koch-brothers-signal-support-for-scott-walker/

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So, we know who's winning the money primary...

[mike_c]

1. of course they support Walker....

He is well behaved property. What's not to support?

[whathehell]

3. Yep..He's a big Union Buster.

As I understand it, his state is in a mess, but so is Christie's. It seems to

be a + for Republicans when campaigning.

[Jackpine Radical]

7. That's what makes him dangerous. He stands astride the Great Divide among the Republicans.

The Tea Party loves him because he comes across just as crazy as they are, while he has solidified his credentials with the Big Money Boys by handing the natural resources of WI over to them, destroying the unions, plunging headlong into school privatization, and beginning the process of turning the University of Wisconsin system into a trade school. For starters.

The other candidates are really loved by one side or the other. Big Money loves Jeb, whom they recognize as one of their own (just as the did Willard Whatsisname), and the wingnut crazies have their own clown car collection of nutcases, Elmer Gantrys, and miscellaneous cases f Delusional Disorder.

[Blanks]

15. Perhaps it's not a divide so much as a blurry line...

I'm a little nervous because it was too easy to see how stupid Dubya was compared to Gore.

Whoever has the biggest purse wins and if the Kochs chose Walker, they can clean him up and make him palatable to the conservative masses.

We should all be concerned.

[Jackpine Radical]

23. Stupid doesn't matter. Hasn't since RayGun.

[Blanks]

38. Reagan could give speeches at least...

I remember in January of 2002 they reported on what Dubya was working on. He was practicing the state of the Union address - all month.

Reagan didn't even have to do that when he was suffering from Alzheimer's.

[wordpix]

39. Walker has a golden tongue and can give speeches, too

I don't like what comes out of his mouth but the stoopids love it, and he says it well. He's fluid when he speaks, which is what the Kochs care about in a puppet.

[BeyondGeography]

2. He's, um, pliable

[Half-Century Man]

4. A long standing piece of their property.

Perfectly willing to spend who he was elected to represent to those who paid for him to get elected.

A nearly perfect judas goat (other than that glaring bald spot) to lead the others to slaughter.

[Jackpine Radical]

26. A corporate puppet in a Tea Party hat.

[Half-Century Man]

32. A homoneyculus

An artificially produced life form in the shape of a human being, made from political contributions from the wealthy, brought to life in an unholy alliance of citizens united and corrupted alchemy.

[forest444]

5. If the Krock brothers' money is on Walker.

So's mine. If I were a betting man, I'd say our buddy Alfred E. Walker wins the nomination.

[Jackpine Radical]

8. Wow, people are starting to believe me.

[forest444]

13. I should hope so!

I just read your post above, Jackpine. As good a description of the GOP primary dynamic as I've seen in so few words.

Spot on, my man!

[Dopers_Greed]

6. Not surprising

Considering he is the absolute worst in the current GOP field

[erronis]

9. I think there are several tied for the bottom rungs

And no one has taken up the challenge to get to the top.

What a pity the Republican Party is. If they didn't have millions of dollars spent on rigging elections, they'd not even be a footnote in the history books.

[murielm99]

10. Is there any clue as to why they don't support

Jebbie? Is he too independent, too wealthy in his own right? Is he just smart enough to defy them, not poor enough to be bought outright? Does he have too much baggage?

I think it is all of the above. Still, I am a bit surprised they chose Walker. I regard Scottie as weak.

On edit: I think Jeb will be the nominee. In a field of crazies, he is actually the sanest. The party will look for some sanity, when all is said and done.

[Pharaoh]

16. Because they already own Walker

and the great state of Wisconsin.

[Jackpine Radical]

28. Jeb will have trouble with the Tea Party.

Some of them hate him so much over immigration & his brother's bailout legacy that they will go third party or sit on their thumbs if he is the nominee. Some feel about him over there like some here feel about Hillary. Only they're crazier.

[maindawg]

11. Koch is the kiss of death

Last election they lost 16 out of 16 elections they were invested in. People hate the Kochs for a good reason.

[n2doc]

19. Walker won re-election LAST FALL together with an increased # of repubs in the Wisconsin Lege

You might rethink your assumptions

[Jackpine Radical]

29. Saved me the bother. Thanks.

[Still In Wisconsin]

12. In other news: water wet, sun rises in East.

Of course the Kochs are supporting Walker. He's been their waterboy for several years now.

[geek tragedy]

14. So have Rand, Ted, and Marco nt

[Faygo Kid]

17. He wins. The Kochs rule this nation.

That's it. Jeb is toast. And the Kochs will see to it that every voting place is rigged.

They own us. Our nation is finished.

[n2doc]

18. As Charles Pierce describes him

Scott Walker, the goggle-eyed homunculus hired by Koch Industries to manage their midwest subsidiary formerly known as the state of Wisconsin.

[SummerSnow]

20. lol...a picture is worth a thousand words

[cascadiance]

31. He and the Kochs are still good drinking buddies of their koolaid!

[wordpix]

42. very good, love it!

[Faryn Balyncd]

21. Walker is wose than Cruz, & the MSM falsely call him a "moderate conservative"

[Jackpine Radical]

24. Actually, he IS a moderate conservative

on a scale anchored by Genghis Khan on the conservative end.

[Auggie]

22. Koch support makes him vulnerable to attack ads for being supported by the Kochs!

If I were a campaign manager -- GOP or Democrat -- I sure would exploit that.

[wordpix]

44. good point for Dems but for R's it won't work

b/c most of them (probably) have been helped in some way by Koch $. All those secretive PACs that get Tparty R's into office no doubt hold Koch $ in their coffers.

[Shoulders of Giants]

25. Scott Walker's odds have winning the primary just skyrocketed.

The money the Koch brothers can provide him with will do wonders for him in the republican primary. In my opinion this is disgraceful. Its sad that BS ads funded by billionaires can influence so many people. Why can't people see through the nonsense in the political ads? If people actually thought before they voted, billionaires technically couldn't buy a single vote. I honestly wish people who could be so easily manipulated by political ads didn't vote, but unfortunately they do, in the millions, for the benefit of the billionaires.

[liberal N proud]

27. They are just investing in an asset

Just like they invest in oil wells.

[misterhighwasted]

30. Walker & Fiorina

Both failed mouthpieces for Koch fascists.

[Jack Rabbit]

33. Let's make the fascists spend it all on that loser

[Thor_MN]

34. This is news? Unless one has buyer's remorse, one is going to support what they have paid for.

Don't see too many Fords with Chevy bumper stickers or vice versa.

[stuffmatters]

35. Hope Walker wins the nomination. He's as repulsive both visually & politically as the Kochs.

Certain victory for any Dem candidate. Run the whole campaign about educating America on the Bircher Kochs and Walker as their trusty puppet.

[wordpix]

40. at the very least, with Kochroach $ Walker will weaken Jebbie

at least during the primaries.

[Jackpine Radical]

41. I remember thinking exactly that about Reagan--

His nomination was a guaranteed win for Carter in 1980.



Not so much.

Walker is scary.

[radhika]

36. His whole political life was designed to win their approval!

Let's just see if they stay loyal to the obedient old dog, or dump him for a newer, cuter puppy.

[RDANGELO]

37. I believe he is going to be the nominee.

He has a conservative record, but not a good one as far as creating jobs in Wisconsin. He is going to get his ass kicked.

[Jackpine Radical]

43. Reality no longer matters.

We are now in a post-reality world. Sure, he did a terrible job in WI, but his lapdog press is busy applauding how he's turning the state around.

[wordpix]

45. Jeb v. Scott Walker: this is getting good now

I can't wait to watch these two go at it with their mitts off. Hopefully they'll do each other some real damage.