Koch Industries Replies to Obama for America's Campaign Lies and Distortions

Shocker that the President's campaign lied about Koch Industries, the left's favorite new target.  Koch Industries sent a reply:

Mr. Jim Messina
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

Dear Mr. Messina:

Because every American has the right to take part in the public discourse on matters that affect the future of our country, I feel compelled to respond directly about a fundraising letter you sent out on February 24 denouncing Koch. It is both surprising and disappointing that the President would allow his re-election team to send such an irresponsible and misleading letter to his supporters.

For example, it is false that our “business model is to make millions by jacking up prices at the pump.” Our business vision begins and ends with value creation — real, long-term value for customers and for society. We own no gasoline stations and the part of our business you allude to, oil and gas refining, actually lowers the price of gasoline by increasing supply. Either you simply misunderstand the way commodities markets work or you are misleading your supporters and the rest of the American people.

Contrary to your assertion that we have “committed $200 million to try to destroy President Obama,” we have stated publicly and repeatedly since last November that we have never made any such claim or pledge. It is hard to imagine that the campaign is unaware of our publicly stated position on that point. Similarly, Americans for Prosperity is not simply “funded by the Koch brothers,” as you state — rather it has tens of thousands of members and contributors from across the country and from all walks of life. Further, our opposition to this President’s policies is not based on partisan politics but on principles. Charles Koch and David Koch have been outspoken advocates of the free-market for over 50 years and they have consistently opposed policies that frustrate or subvert free markets, regardless of whether a Democrat or a Republican was President.

If the President’s campaign has some principled disagreement with the arguments we are making publicly about the staggering debt the President and previous administrations have imposed on the country, the regulations that are stifling business growth and innovation, the increasing intrusion of government into nearly every aspect of American life, we would be eager to hear them. But it is an abuse of the President’s position and does a disservice to our nation for the President and his campaign to criticize private citizens simply for the act of engaging in their constitutional right of free speech about important matters of public policy. The implication in that sort of attack is obvious: dare to criticize the President’s policies and you will be singled out and personally maligned by the President and his campaign in an effort to chill free speech and squelch dissent.

This is not the first time that the President and his Administration have engaged in this sort of disturbing behavior. As far back as August, 2010, Austan Goolsbee, then the President’s chief economic advisor, made public comments concerning Koch’s tax status and falsely stated that the company did not pay income tax, which triggered a federal investigation into Mr. Goolsbee’s conduct that potentially implicated federal law against improper disclosure of taxpayer information. Last June, your colleagues sent fundraising letters disparaging us as “plotting oil men” bent on “misleading people” with “disinformation” in order to “smear” the President’s record. Those accusations were baseless and were made at the very same time the president was publicly calling for a more “civil conversation” in the country.

It is understandable that the President and his campaign may be “tired of hearing” that many Americans would rather not see the president re-elected. However, the inference is that you would prefer that citizens who disagree with the President and his policies refrain from voicing their own viewpoint. Clearly, that’s not the way a free society should operate.

We agree with the President that civil discourse is an American strength. That is why it is troubling to see a national political campaign apparently target individual citizens and private companies for some perceived political advantage. I also hope the President will reflect on how the approach the campaign is using is at odds with our national values and the constitutional right to free speech.

Sincerely,

Philip Ellender
President, Government & Public Affairs
Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC

Remember That Emailed Death Threat to WI Lawmakers? Unions Various and Sundry

The news came that an arrest has been made to the e-mailed death threat that was sent to republican lawmakers in the Wisconsin legislator.  Sadly, not only is she young (26), but she is teacher.  Not just a teacher, but an early education teacher.  Don't remember this story? 

WE want to make this perfectly clear. Because of your actions today and in the past couple of weeks I and the group of people that are working with me have decided that we’ve had enough. We feel that you and the people that support the dictator have to die. We have tried many other ways of dealing with your corruption but you have taken things too far and we will not stand for it any longer. So, this is how it’s going to happen: I as well as many others know where you and your family live, it’s a matter of public records.


We have all planned to assult you by arriving at your house and putting a nice little bullet in your head. However, we decided that we wouldn’t leave it there. We also have decided that this may not be enough to send the message to you since you are so “high” on Koch and have decided that you are now going to single handedly make this a dictatorship instead of a demorcratic process

If you and your goonies feel that it’s necessary to strip the rights of 300,000 people and ruin their lives, making them unable to feed, clothe, and provide the necessities to their families and themselves then We Will “get rid of” (in which I mean kill) you

What is really sad is sad fact that she more than likely will not lose her credentials and will be allowed to continue to be around very young children.  She is working with pre-school aged children.  This woman has no business being around young children.  On top of the fact that she is obviously deranged, she isn't too bright to think she wouldn't be caught.  Hasn't she ever heard of IP addresses? 


H/T to Underground Conservative and Another Black Conservative. 

You can also click over to Nice Deb and read some stories on how the unions are using thug like tactics in order to get local businesses to support their viewpoints.  Although it seems that there is a blow back going on. 

What liberals refuse to see when it comes to unions is that they are not interested in helping the "average working person" they only care about power and money. 

The unions are trying to boycott Koch's businesses, but are finding out that the Koch's actually have a good working relationships with unions in the private sector.  Conservative objections to unions have to do with how they hold taxpayer hostages with their demands.  It has nothing to do with the workers themselves. 

A number of organizations are advocating a boycott of the products that come from companies owned by the Koch family. This is problematic for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it could potentially hurt the wrong people.


The Koch brothers own Georgia Pacific. It is an American consumer goods company that makes everyday products like facial tissue, napkins, paper towels, paper cups and the like. Their plants are great examples of American advanced manufacturing. Incidentally, GP makes most of its products here in America. The company’s workforce is highly unionized. In fact, 80 percent of its mills are under contract with one or more labor union. It is not inaccurate to say that these are among the best-paid manufacturing jobs in America.

Read the whole post here, it was written by the man who does the bargaining for paper workers.  There is no reliable connection to the Koch brothers and Gov. Walker of Wisconsin.  Their PAC gave him a minuscule part of the money he raised (less than 1%) for his election bid, and they have never met.  Yet, the unions are pushing unsuspecting people into boycotting Georgia Pacific products that will only end up hurting the very workers they say they are trying to protect.  People who are some of the most highly paid manufacturing workers in the country.   Yeah, boycott that company.  You will cause layoffs for people who have nothing to do with what is going on in Wisconsin and make no difference to the bank account of the Koch's.  Good idea.  Even this man goes a long way in verifying the story that the Koch brothers are not at all what they are being made out to be.  The left just may have to find another boogey man.  What the record shows is that the Koch's businesses follow the law and believe in compliance with the law.  As American citizens they have the right to exercise their rights and get involved in the political process.  Their PAC is something that is not directly tied to their businesses.  It is a personal venture that they have every legal right to do.  The political process in only a very small part of the charitiable works that they involve themselves with.  The vast majority of their money goes to medical research, hospitials, and the arts. 

This presents a dilemma and a paradox. While the Koch brothers are credited with advocating an agenda and groups that are clearly hostile to labor and labor’s agenda, the brothers’ company in practice and in general has positive and productive collective bargaining relationships with its unions

And let us not forget that if you have the audacity to follow the law and get rid of illegal workers this is what the left will do to you:

The Koch Brothers - Things that I Learned UPDATES

There is a very extensive article on the Koch brothers in The Weekly Standard.  The article is based on what the facts are about them as opposed to how they have been portrayed by left leaning media outlets and blogs. 


Here are some interesting facts:

The Koch's do not drill for oil.  They are involved in refining. 


The Koch's are actually libertarians, not conservatives.  They were involved in the founding of The Cato Institute. 


Charles and David are painted as trust fund babies.  Neither of them worked for the company until after their father became ill.  Both had successful careers that had nothing to do with their father and the company has flourished under their leadership. 


In the late 70's many prominent conservatives believed that Charles Koch was working against them. 


David Koch ran for Vice President of the United States in 1980 on the Libertarian Ticket.  Obviously he was not a fan of Reagan.  He was thrilled by getting 1% of the vote.  To him that meant a movement of liberty and limited government was forming. 


In 1983 they founded a non profit Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE). While President Bush was in office the attendance to the seminars that they held were gaining more attention and increasing in size of attendance.  Due to internal shake ups, the now defunct CSE turned into two organizations; Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks.  Both of these formed well before Obama took office.  AFP is partially funded by the Koch's, but FreedomWorks is not.  (FreedomWorks is 96% by small private donations, they hope to be at 100% soon.)


After two near death experiences; one with prostate cancer and being the lone survivor of the first class passengers of an airplane crash, David became more involved in  philanthropy:

Most of his money went to medical research and cultural institutions. His multimillion-dollar gifts went to MIT, Johns Hopkins, Lincoln Center, the American Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and elsewhere.

Only a very small percentage of his philanthropic endeavors involve public policy or politics.


The Koch's have never met Gov. Walker of Wisconsin.  Less than 1% of the money raised by Walker came from the Koch brothers. 


During the 90's the Koch's businesses had some serious issues with EPA and other regulatory issues.  They have taken steps to correct those problems and the company policy is to be 100% complaint 100% of the time.

On July 25, 2000, Clinton’s EPA sent a letter to Charles Koch congratulating his company on plans to reduce emissions at the Pine Bend and Corpus Christi refineries. “I appreciate that Koch took the initiative to work with EPA to develop an agreement that would advance the common interests of Koch, EPA, and the general public,” wrote Office of Regulatory Enforcement director Eric V. Schaeffer. “The Koch representatives were outstanding in their cooperation throughout the negotiation process.” None other than Janet Reno said she was “pleased” with the agreement. Koch’s cooperation, said then-EPA administrator Carol Browner (now President Obama’s climate czar), was “unprecedented.”



Koch made Herculean efforts to get ahead of the regulatory curve. The engineers lessened the amount of excess gas burned at Koch refineries—a practice known as flaring. “We’ve reduced the flaring at our refineries to almost nil,” Dave Robertson, the company’s president and chief operating officer, told me. In August 2003 the EPA selected Koch subsidiary John Zink Company for its prestigious National Environmental Performance Track program. Koch employees traveled frequently to Washington for consultation with government officials. “I think we have a constructive relationship with EPA,” said Jim Mahoney.


Koch’s efforts continue to elicit notice. Since Obama’s inauguration, Koch companies have been recognized more than 280 times by local, state, and federal agencies for safety and environmental stewardship. In 2009 Invista voluntarily agreed to a huge settlement with EPA. “Invista is making a clean start in a settlement that achieves significant environmental benefits,” an EPA administrator said at the time. In October 2009 the EPA gave its SmartWay Excellence Award to Georgia-Pacific for reducing pollution in the freight industry. In October 2010 Flint Hills Resources agreed to a deal with the federal government over permitting rights at its Texas refinery. “The process we have agreed to with Flint Hills Resources is an excellent one,” said EPA regional administrator Al Armendariz in a press release, “and we look forward to working with the company to complete the work to transition their permits.”

The Koch's gave close to $200K to democrats in the 2010 election cycle, including Schumer, Nelson, Landrieu, and Lincoln.  Apparently, dems taking their money is fine, but Republicans are being manipulated by the evil puppetmasters. 


The harassment from the left is also affecting employees that have no family ties to the Koch's. 

The raw emotions and mindless smears left employees of Koch Industries hurt and befuddled. They kept searching for an answer. It was as if the universe had turned upside down. “All of us are given something, some more than others, and it’s up to us to build on it,” said Koch Minerals executive Steve Tatum. “Charles and David did. They built on what they inherited from their family. Hopefully, I have too. And I inherited nothing but a little help with college.



“What doesn’t seem right is when a person works to get through college, gets a degree, works for 25 years to become successful—and now you’re the bad guy,” Tatum said. “And I think, that’s the American dream, isn’t it?”


Tatum reclined in his chair and extended his hands, palms up. “Isn’t that what we want for everyone?”

It is very long article, but well worth the read. 

UPDATES

Even Politico understands how the left has gone around the bend when it comes to the Koch's.  What the progressive left is actually the one using the tactics that they are accusing the Koch's of:

Back in Washington last month, representatives from Common Cause, Greenpeace, Public Citizen and Think Progress huddled with researchers from the Service Employees International Union at SEIU headquarters to figure out how to make the most of the sudden focus on the Kochs. And meeting participants have continued to trade research about the Kochs and strategize via a Koch-related email listserv and a rolling series of conference calls. It’s amazed me frankly that other groups have gotten interested in what we’re doing” on the Koch brothers, said former Democratic congressman Bob Edgar, the president of Common Cause, which – partly through the Koch campaign – has transformed itself from a wonky campaign finance and ethics advocate into a feisty watchdog and boosted its fundraising.

“Maybe what we did is give (other groups) a little hope to explore the issues in a little more aggressive way.” Davies of Greenpeace But he also said “there are people shoehorning anything onto the Kochs. It’s a bit of a pile on, at this point predicted the Kochs “will continue to be a focal point as long as it’s an effective thing to do and as long as the left doesn’t yet have a candidate on the Republican side to talk about. It gives people something to focus on.”

 

About That "Journalist" That Punked Gov. Walker

A so-called journalist made a phone call to Governor Walker of Wisconsin pretending to be one of the Koch brothers, one of the left's favorite targets. The conversation lasted about twenty minutes. There wasn't really any gotcha moments in the phone conversation that went viral. The governor didn't say anything that he has not said publicly. In some ways it may actually be a good thing, obviously he never talked to him before.


But, what I find to be the most interesting is the person who made the phone call. His name is Ian Murphy.

So, 4000 rubes are dead. Cry me the Tigris. Another 30,000 have been seriously wounded. Boo fucking hoo. They got what they asked for—and cool robotic limbs, too.

Yes, he wrote an article on the troops. Which he called F*CK The Troops. He goes on......

Here’s where America’s military lust becomes a true perversion. If we truly valued military prowess, John McCain would be viewed as a failure. But duty alone is enough to inspire our gratitude. Hence the left’s tendency to obligatorily praise the troops while decrying the sum of their actions. Good thing, too, because this war is unwinnable

A real winner based on these comments. What I want to know is how exactly is this person considered a journalist? This article isn't journalism, it is opinion. Not that there is anything wrong with that if that is how it is identified, but be honest about it. Rush, Hannity, Beck, and others they are opinion guys. That is made clear.


Read the whole article here if you have the stomach for it. This man is a far left lunatic. Being against the war is one thing, talking about the troops who are willing to give their lives so he has the freedoms to say these vile things is totally another.

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