Kochs claim no role in efforts to kill health care law

[Faygo Kid]

Source: USA Today

Koch Industries, the conglomerate run by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, has not taken a position on Republican efforts to defund President Obama's health care law as a condition of reopening the government, a top company official said in the letter sent Wednesday to senators.

Company officials believe the 2010 health care law will increase deficits and taxes and "lead to an overall lowering of the standard of health care in America," but have not "lobbied on legislative provisions defunding Obamacare," Philip Ellender, the company's top lobbyist, said in the letter.

However, the CEO of Heritage Action, a leading group pushing the effort to strip money to pay for the Affordable Care Act from the budget, told reporters Wednesday that his group had received $500,000 from the Kochs. Michael Needham said the donation was not the largest contribution to the organization, and he declined to identify other contributors.

"I'm not going to talk about who my donors are," Needham told reporters at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. He did not specify whether the Koch donation came from corporate or personal accounts. Heritage Action operates as a non-profit organization and does not have to publicly disclose its donors. . .

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/10/09/heritage-action-obamacare-koch-brothers/2951525/

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If you believe the Koch brothers have no role in this disaster, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

[BlueJazz]

1. Democratic Underground rules prohibit me from even saying what I would do with the Cockroaches..

...if I was in an extremely sensational, wonderful mood. On a bad day, it's unspeakable.

[Heather MC]

12. Only speaking about Cockroaches

We squish them

[Snake Plissken]

2. This just made six on the list

http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/207311/the-5-creepiest-things-about-how-the-koch-brothers-engineered-the-shutdown/

[displacedtexan]

24. OMG! Some of those anti-health care statements have been posted verbatim here on DU.

You should post a separate OP with the info at that link.

If it has already been posted, ignore me.

But thanks for the link!

[pscot]

3. $200 million just doesn't go as far

as it used to.

[wordpix]

20. gawd forbid they should pay taxes on their combined $110 BILLION

and some of that tax goes to help sick people.

I seriously hope the good people of DC, many of whom are very poor in the shadow of the nation's capitol, register their displeasure at getting their food subsidies cut off. I wonder what it would be like if they gather at the Capitol to show their displeasure when they're feeling good and hungry?

[olddad56]

4. funding the campaigns for all of the Tea Party nut jobs didn't really help the situation.

[Paladin]

5. Pack it up, Teabaggers.

Your sugar daddies are trying to lie their way out of the mess they initiated. I am overjoyed to see this taking place.

[elleng]

6. That's the corporations, right?

No surprise. We, and media, should not confuse them with the individuals.

[DallasNE]

7. Another Misleading Headline

Sen. Reid accused the Koch brothers of supporting the defunding of Obamacare as a condition for not shutting down the government. The spokesman for the Koch brothers did not answer Reid's charge and instead used a strawman then knocked down the strawman by saying the Koch brothers never supported using defunding Obamacare as a condition for reopening the government. The spokesperson did not say they had "no role", only that they have stayed out of the "reopening" debate. I have not been following their role closely enough to know if that statement is accurate regarding reopening the government or not but the headline is misleading at best. A better headline would read "Koch spokesperson ducks question on role in shutting down the government".

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. Classic mis-direction and non-denial denial.

The company has not taken a position, but the Koch brothers sure have.

The company can deny all it wants, but that says nothing about the Koch brothers actions as individuals.

It's so transparent, but low information types and especially people lacking critical thinking skills will get taken in.

[maindawg]

9. liers

thieves , con artist, and liers. they should be prosecuted under RICO for obstructing the US government along with Adelson, Beoner, Meese, and Norquist and Rove.

[NCagainstMcCrony]

10. Oh the irony

What I find most amusing in all of this is. If the nation does default on the debt then the US dollar will tank. And I mean really tank. So, the people with the most dollars, ie. the ones who made this happen, will be the ones to lose the most.

[freshwest]

17. I don't think so. They'll buy up assets at a penny on the dollar. They love depressions.

'Buy low and sell high' or manipulate affairs to make it happen. They'll have even more power if the USA goes belly up.

Don't think they'll suffer, they are far beyond the economic framework most of us live and work in. This will be a great victory for these guys.

[vinny9698]

11. They know the gig is up. Republicans are now finding out the truth about Obama Care they like it:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/danmunro/2013/10/05/lifelong-republican-buys-obamacare-silver-plan-and-says-im-so-happy-that-this-came-along/
The Kocks know that the Obama Care is going to be successful. They knew this all along. Now that they know they can not do anything about it. They are on the band wagon.

[libdem4life]

13. Same old GOP story...happy to accept Democratic-provided largesse...when it's for them or theirs.

Same could be said for most Social Security/Medicare/SSDI folks, as well. Many Republicans on the former programs didn't "pay into it" but cash the checks as their right, nonetheless.

[hedgehog]

14. Here's the problem right here:

"Heritage Action operates as a non-profit organization and does not have to publicly disclose its donors. . . "

[kimbutgar]

15. They are becoming aware that people on the left are calling them treasonous and are

Behind the soft political money coup of the US. I still think they are behind Rafael Ted is crazy Cruz and are supporting his call for the shutdown. They own the GOP in the house and senate the evil puppetmasters.

The koch's are treasonous pigs who need their company seized by the government for polluting our country and they belong in jail for sedition of our country. I guess the polite cocktail class isn't asking them for donations anymore. What they did with PBS was appalling. We all have to keep piling on and boycott their products. The kock's are traitors to our country.

[4bucksagallon]

16. The Kochs are getting squirrelly.

Nervous is probably a better word.....I don't want to offend squirrels

[wordpix]

22. clearly they've hired some PR people due to their bad press

[Jack Rabbit]

18. . . . and I'm a retired Kamikaze pilot

Last edited Wed Oct 9, 2013, 10:07 PM - Edit history (1)

Notice the lead paragraph says Koch Industries has taken no position on Republican efforts to defund Obamacare as a condition of reopening the government.

[center]
OK, guys, let me make this perfectly clear:
[font size="5" color="red"]
CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE
[/font]
and therefore . . .
[font size="4" color="red"]
No corporation ever says anything with any authority without the owners (in this case, Dave and Charlie) speaking for it.
[/font]
Consqeuntly . . .
[font size="4" color="blue"]
Methinks there are two Birch Society born-and-bred bastards who are trying to hide behind their own corporate logo
[/font]
this makes Dave and Charlie not only
[font size="5" color="red"]
FASCISTS
[/font]
but
[font size="5" color="red"]
COWARDS.
[/font][/center]
Am I getting through to you, Messrs. Koch?

[blkmusclmachine]

19. LIES

[wordpix]

21. repug acquaintance was thrilled that her new hip = $29,000 pd by Medicare BUT railed against ACA

Last edited Thu Oct 10, 2013, 09:28 AM - Edit history (1)

When I said, "Why is Medicare, a federal health insurance program, so great for you but the ACA is horrible for others to have, and it's not even gov. health insurance?" No answer.

These R's are just too stoooopid.

[Myrina]

23. Pay No Attention To The Man Behind The Curtain ...

n/t