Americans for Prosperity is a term that needs some understanding and explanation. The Koch Brothers are in the news a lot lately. Money gives them a vast audience, and not just a few of what I call beggars, waiting with hands out.
The recent article entitled AFP Successes suggest that all is well and the organization bought and paid for the Koch Brothers is doing wonderful things for Tennessee. I think a bit of education is in line with this thinking and buy-in by politicians hungry to be reelected and all they have to do is prostitute themselves to the quite radical belief system of the Koch Brothers and their vast source of money.
The Koch Brothers influences affected the vote to expand health care for the many hundreds of thousands of fellow citizens. Their influences were felt in the demise of the common core educational standards. Does the reader know where Tennessee ranks in education circles? Perhaps it's best not to share, but we hug the bottom. Only Mississippi ranks lower.
Did you ever wonder just how sick and poor people get their health care? Well, for starters, they go to emergency rooms and that cost is passed on, you guessed it, to you and me. Savings? In a word, none.
How much does it cost citizens for the outcome of poorly educated citizens? Does not take that overworked term, rocket scientist, to answer that question. We do.
As long as the throne is filled with bags of money the politicians in this state and other will take the money from the Koch Brothers. It is free, really, isn't it?
Robert Brooks
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I agree with you, Mr. Brooks, that billionaires can use their wealth to influence American politics. But in your fixation with the Koch brothers you left out a few other names.
Have you heard of Eli Broad, Jon Stryker, Steven Spielberg, Dirk Ziff, Tom Steyer, George Soros, Jim Simons, Marylyn Simons, Penny Pritzker, Fred Eychaner, Dick Uihlein, Jonathan Soros, J.B. Pritzker, Nick Hanauer, Joe Liemandt, Reid Hoffman, Haim Saban, Sean Parker, Bernard Schwartz, Donald Sussman, Amy Goldman, near billionaires Jeffrey Latzenberg, Phillip Munger, Henry Van Ameringen, Laura Ricketts, Steve and Amber Mostyn, Tim Gill and Alida Messinger?
Many of them, along with leaders from big labor, belong to something called the Democracy Alliance, a group of some of the wealthiest in this nation brought together by the likes of George Soros for the purpose of pooling their billions of dollars to influence politics in America.
Maybe you left their names off your list of those use their fortunes to corrupt America because you agree with their politics and disagree with the Koch brothers.
Ralph Miller
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According to OpenSecrets.org The "evil" Koch Brothers are 59th on the list of largest donors in American politics.
Six of the top 10 largest political donors are unions - donating to Democrats. Three of the remaining four are AT&T, National Association of Realtors and Goldman Sachs.
Now, if the "evil" Koch Brothers are only 59th on the list of largest donors - just who is #1?
That would be Act Blue, with just short of $100 million in contributions during its lifetime, which only started in 2004...all for Democrats.
Mike Romines