David and Charles Koch, also known as the Koch Brothers, are the sons of Fred C. Koch, the founder of Koch Industries. Koch Industries, a multi-national energy and chemical corporation, is the second-largest privately held company in the United States. The Koch Brothers, the current owners of Koch Industries, are billionaire industrialists and supporters of conservative political interests. Their political initiatives include support of unlimited political campaign spending, attempts to undermine health care options for the poor and middle class, implementation of policies that deregulate big businesses and spreading misleading information to further their political agenda. The Koch Brothers often use organizations that they support in order to implement initiatives.

The Koch Brothers helped to found and provide support for Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a conservative political advocacy group. They use AFP to carry out selected political activities. Several of the AFP’s actions are described below.

  • In June 2011, AFP placed fake eviction notices on the doors of several families in the Delray neighborhood of Detroit. They took this action to attempt to shock residents into supporting AFP’s political agenda.
  • AFP spent $45 million in the 2010 election.
  • AFP has provided support for Tea Party initiatives.
  • AFP opposes Obamacare. They ran over $3 million worth of advertisements opposing the Affordable Care Act. The ads, which target women and young adults, were designed to discourage young adults from obtaining health care through Obamacare.

The Koch Brothers:

  • oppose climate change legislation. In 2011, the EPA reported that Koch Industries emitted over twenty-four million tons of carbon dioxide.
  • fund and support organizations that make significant contributions to Republican candidates
  • actively oppose universal health care.

Because of the Koch Brothers’ broad financial and political resources, Republican candidates who are receiving  support from them are extremely well funded.  In many cases, the Koch Brothers use their influence to influence candidates to support their political agendas.  VOTE DEMORATIC!  Let’s do all we can to prevent the Koch Brothers’ policies and ideas from becoming binding policies and laws.