Koch brothers

~ susie

Oh, look! They want to be closer to their pet governor:

The billionaire brothers whose political action committee gave Gov. Scott Walker $43,000 and helped fund a multi-million-dollar attack ad campaign against his opponent during the 2010 gubernatorial election have quietly opened a lobbying office in Madison just off the Capitol Square. (“The lobbyists for Koch Companies Public Sector registered with the state on January 5, two days after Walker’s inauguration.”)

Charles and David Koch, who co-own Koch Industries Inc. and whose combined worth is estimated at $43 billion, have been recently tied by many media outlets to Walker’s push to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public workers. The two have long backed conservative causes and groups including Americans for Prosperity, which organized the tea party rally Saturday in support of Walker’s plan to strip public workers of collective bargaining rights and recently launched the Stand with Scott Walker website.

……..

“It’s curious that the Kochs have apparently expanded their lobbying presence just as Walker was sworn into office and immediately before a budget was unveiled that would allow the executive branch unilateral power to sell off public utilities in this state in no-bid contracts,” says Lisa Graves, executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy, a watchdog group that focuses on corporate power.

Koch Companies Public Sector LLC occupies a seventh-floor suite at 10 E. Doty St., one block off the Capitol Square. According to a tenant who requested anonymity, the lobbying group moved in two weeks before Walker was elected governor on November 2. When contacted for confirmation, Jeffrey Schoepke, the company’s regional manager, said through a receptionist that he could not answer any questions and would have to forward them to other company officials.

Published by susie

One thought on “Koch brothers”

  1. Nice info, Susie — and now, for something completely crazy, a Utah internet-based talk show host has filed recall petitions against 8 of the WI senators on the lam.

    Well, that sounds like a homegrown approach, eh? What, no R’s in Wisconsin could get it together to do this?

    Date: February 22, 2011
    The Government Accountability Board has received campaign registration statements for the recall of eight Wisconsin State Senators, filed by American Recall Coalition in Salt Lake City, Utah.

    The districts and Senators are:

    • District 4 – Senator Lena Taylor
    • District 6 – Senator Spencer Coggs
    • District 12 – Senator Jim Holperin
    • District 16 – Senator Mark Miller
    • District 22 – Senator Robert Wirch
    • District 24 – Senator Julie Lassa
    • District 26 – Senator Fred Risser
    • District 30 – Senator Dave Hansen

    The registrations were filed electronically between February 18 and 21. American Recall Coalition must file paper copies of the registration statements. Those registration statements also must contain the names and signatures of one qualified elector from each of the Senate districts, something the initial electronic registrations did not contain. (My emphasis)

    Link gives timelines for recall elections. I hope the state will have them all at once. might save money….

    Via DKos diary by Kodiak54, from list of WI Lefty Blogs courtesy of DCBlogger.
    _____
    Well, the “group” in Utah is a rightwing talkshow host.

    …a right-wing, Internet-based talk show host who’s heavy into fighting any kind of amnesty for undocumented immigrants, and who — get this — recently filed a recall petition in Arizona against Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik. The sheriff is another Democrat who — after Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and others were shot last month in Dupnik’s jurisidiction — had harsh words for talk show hosts and others engaging in hateful and violent speech. Yes, free speech for Democrats is grounds for removal from office, if you’ve the blunt ideology of a typical right-wing bloviator.

    Here’s how the Salt Lake Tribune reports this.

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