Koch Industries gave funding to the DLC and served on its Executive Council

[brentspeak]

http://www.americablog.com/2010/08/koch-industries-gave-funding-to-dlc-and.html

This week, Koch Industries is in the news again following an http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer">expose by Jane Meyer at the New Yorker titled, "Covert Operations: The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama".

snip

But, here's a key piece of information: the Kochs haven't just given to right-wingers. Back in April of 2001, The American Prospect's http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=how_the_dlc_does_it">Bob Dreyfuss reported that the Kochs also funded the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC):

And for $25,000, 28 giant companies found their way onto the DLC's executive council, including Aetna, AT&T, American Airlines, AIG, BellSouth, Chevron, DuPont, Enron, IBM, Merck and Company, Microsoft, Philip Morris, Texaco, and Verizon Communications. Few, if any, of these corporations would be seen as leaning Democratic, of course, but here and there are some real surprises. One member of the DLC's executive council is none other than Koch Industries, the privately held, Kansas-based oil company whose namesake family members are avatars of the far right, having helped to found archconservative institutions like the Cato Institute and Citizens for a Sound Economy. Not only that, but two Koch executives, Richard Fink and Robert P. Hall III, are listed as members of the board of trustees and the event committee, respectively--meaning that they gave significantly more than $25,000.

The DLC board of trustees is an elite body whose membership is reserved for major donors, and many of the trustees are financial wheeler-dealers who run investment companies and capital management firms--though senior executives from a handful of corporations, such as Koch, Aetna, and Coca-Cola, are included.

Fitting, isn't it? The entity that tries to undermine the progressive agenda from within the Democratic Party was getting funding from the guys who are trying to destroy the Democratic Party from the outside.

Just a side note: The DLC's long-time CEO, Bruce Reed, is now the http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/35024.html">Executive Director of the Obama administration's Debt Commission, a.k.a. the Cat Food Commission.

[DJ13]

1. The ultimate triangulation strategy

Seize the GOP while undermining the opposition from within.

[ibegurpard]

2. apparently the DLC is now extinct

even though it's members and policies are currently running the show.
Guess they figured the brand was tainted and people would be too stupid to notice.

[Hawkowl]

3. No. It's just the Federal Government now

It doesn't need its quaint little acronym anymore.

[brentspeak]

4. s/k

:kick:

[ProSense]

5. Jane Meyer: "The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama"

Koch brothers contributing millions to GOP.

Here's an idea, let's take a good call out of Republican enablers who are funding attacks on the President and go back to 2001 to find some obscure donation to the DLC to confuse the issue with a lame attempt to prove that they fund Dems too.

First, what the hell does the DLC have to do with anything? Bruce Reed is on the commission? Who cares? Hillary is the SOS, and she was among the DLC leadership.

President Obama isn't a member of the DLC.

[brentspeak]

dupe

[brentspeak]

6. Obama's not an official DLC member -- yet he appoints its CEO executive director of the Catfood Comm

Obama is not a card-carrying member of the DLC, yet his entire administration has done nothing but follow just about every single DLC "Progressive Policy" position to a 'T':

1) continue the Wall St. bailouts
2) pursue more "free trade" agreements
3) insurance mandate with no public option (let alone no single-payer)
4) Arne Duncan
5) escalate the completely pointless war in Afghanistan
6) "deficit reduction" committee, packed with people who have long wanted to raise the Social Security retirement age and to cut benefits in other ways
7) watered-down financial reform (Volcker Rule not to be in effect for at least another 12 years)

You sure you want to go the "Well, Obama isn't *technically* a member of the DLC!" route?

[zipplewrath]

7. What it says about the DLC

"...a lame attempt to prove that they fund Dems too."

Actually, it was an attempt to demonstrate that the DLC is more like the GOP than anyone wants to admit. And Rahm is sitting in the White House and Hillary is over in State.

[ProSense]

8. Really?

"Actually, it was an attempt to demonstrate that the DLC is more like the GOP than anyone wants to admit."

Who doesn't want to admit this? Everyone knows the DLC is a the triangulation central.

Also, some people don't seem to care about the fact that Hillary is DLC when they start throwing around the Hillary should be President or VP crap.

[zipplewrath]

9. Yes, the DLC

You're right "some people" such as those that support the DLC, didn't seem to care.

[ibegurpard]

10. I supported Obama because it became apparent

that he could beat Hillary and actually had a shot at winning.
I now see that it made no difference because the policies I'm getting are exactly what I would've expected from Hillary.