1 year, 9 months ago
Your Tea Party is a Koch Party, now what?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129425186
Now that it's been revealed that most Grass Roots campaigns against the Government are really Astroturf campaigns (funded by the very animal they proclaim to fight), how can you recover from this embarrassment and start over?
Would your political agenda survive without dirty money? There are many valid and important views that have been overlooked due to a lack of funding. Would yours have gone by the wayside too if not for the Koch Industries? Does that make the hiding of funding and false advertising by these groups justifiable or hypocritical? How does it make your politics any different from what you're fighting?
Extra points for answers without rhetoric and comparisons to things that detract from answering the question.
Now that it's been revealed that most Grass Roots campaigns against the Government are really Astroturf campaigns (funded by the very animal they proclaim to fight), how can you recover from this embarrassment and start over?
Would your political agenda survive without dirty money? There are many valid and important views that have been overlooked due to a lack of funding. Would yours have gone by the wayside too if not for the Koch Industries? Does that make the hiding of funding and false advertising by these groups justifiable or hypocritical? How does it make your politics any different from what you're fighting?
Extra points for answers without rhetoric and comparisons to things that detract from answering the question.
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M$1 Answer
Why aren't rich people (in this case, the 2 rich Koch brothers) allowed to give to political movements they support? Why does that make it dirty money?
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M$
Businesses (Koch Industries) ARE allowed to give money now. It's the law. It's who and how the money is being used that brings this particular instance into question.
Listen to the article (or read about it in the New Yorker), then try answering again.
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=129425186&m=129446997
If a computer billionaire like Bill Gates were to be fighting environmental regulations, then I'd think gosh what a shame, but it's his opinion. But when an oil and paper industry giant like this Koch is secretively funding anti-environment "think tanks" and "grass roots" that directly affect his industries, that's blatantly foul play.
Its not foul play to use your money for your interest, in funding think tanks. Just because think tanks receive money from him doesn't mean its predestined they'll find evidence that support just his beliefs.
You mean it's just coincidence that they always do? Perhaps a sufficiently enlightened billionaire would fund independent research; but, not the Koch brothers. They keep a tight rein on everything.
I DID listen to it. Its full of misconceptions about the tea party and libertarianism. The tea party is for a smaller government. And if the Koch brothers are for that, then why can't they give money to that. Blaming problems on lobbying is non-sense.