Community | February 08, 2011 | 1 comment

On first day of new Congress, Koch’s operatives met with GOP chairman planning to gut the Clean Air Act

source: http://climateprogress.org/2011/02/08/koch-gut-clean-air-act/

WakeUpPeople
In January, ThinkProgress interviewed billionaire pollutocrat David Koch about his views on climate science, his Tea Party movement, and his political plans for the future. On the day of our interview, we also discovered that he planned to hold a party for the new Republicans he helped elect.

As we have documented, Koch not only financed the rise of the anti-Obama Tea Party, he has also helped guide the movement to support the narrow business priorities of his conglomerate Koch Industries: Koch funds rallies for young children that attack the EPA, Koch’s front groups spread doubt about climate change, and Koch’s Americans for Prosperity hands out Tea Party talking points attacking clean energy. Building on this research, the Los Angeles Times reported this weekend about the central influence of Koch in the new GOP Congress.

According to the Times, just before David Koch spoke to ThinkProgress following House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) swearing in ceremony, he had met with Boehner in the Speaker’s office. Koch’s top political deputy, former Jack Abramoff operative Tim Phillips, met with the new Energy and Commerce Committee chair Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) that day as well:

When the 85 freshman GOP lawmakers marched into the Capitol on Jan. 5 as part of the new Republican House majority, David Koch was there too. The 70-year-old had an appointment with a staff member of the new speaker, Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio). At the same time, the head of Americans for Prosperity, Tim Phillips, had an appointment with Upton. They used the opportunity to introduce themselves to some of the new legislators and invited them to a welcome party at the Capitol Hill Club, a favorite wine-and-cheese venue for Republican power players in Washington.

The Times also reported a fact that most of the traditional media has ignored: in addition to direct donations to candidates, Koch groups spent tens of millions in largely undisclosed money hosting rallies and running “issue ads” in support of climate science-denying GOP candidates in 2010.

As the Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson has detailed, the Republican push to eviscerate the EPA and the Clean Air Act meshes perfectly with the goals of Koch Industries. Koch is a major polluter, and opposes EPA regulations on carbon emissions and other hazardous air pollutants.

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1 comment // On first day of new Congress, Koch’s operatives met with GOP chairman planning to gut the Clean Air Act // Video

  • WakeUpPeople
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      WakeUpPeople  

    • The Koch Klan has deep pockets full of money and politicians. They call the shots. They fund the astroturf campaigns. If you can't see that they are motivated by greed and power, then you are surely not paying attention or the wool has been pulled over your eyes. If you really think that Koch Industries has America's best interests at heart, then you are obviously a sucker for propaganda. They ONLY have their best interests in their blackened hearts.

      The EPA has the DUTY to protect the environment of the USA. They HAVE to regulate CO2 because the SCOTUS specifically ruled that excessive CO2 is a pollutant. Does CO2 naturally exist in our atmosphere? Yes, but sometimes too much of something is a bad thing and that is why CO2 must be regulated. The Koch brothers are attempting to push legislation that limits the authority of the EPA over such matters without the consent of corruption-filled Congress. (Congress is where the Koch brother's keep their voting lapdogs.)

    • 1 year ago
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