Open Thread: Charles Koch Hits Back
In a column in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Charles Koch - co-owner of Koch Industries, patron of various libertarian groups, and the left's designated villian in Wisconsin - hit back at the conspiracy theorists alleging that he is behind efforts by Gov. Scott Walker to rein in public employee unions.
For many years, I, my family and our company have contributed to a variety of intellectual and political causes working to solve these problems. Because of our activism, we've been vilified by various groups. Despite this criticism, we're determined to keep contributing and standing up for those politicians, like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who are taking these challenges seriously.
Both Democrats and Republicans have done a poor job of managing our finances. They've raised debt ceilings, floated bond issues, and delayed tough decisions.
Senior Economics Writer Stephen Moore critiques Washington's pending budget deal.
In spite of looming bankruptcy, President Obama and many in Congress have tiptoed around the issue of overspending by suggesting relatively minor cuts in mostly discretionary items. There have been few serious proposals for necessary cuts in military and entitlement programs, even though these account for about three-fourths of all federal spending.
The column is hardly groundbreaking - most of the things Koch says have been said by others - but it marks the brothers' first high profile attempt to respond to their vociferous critics. What do you think: is the effort worthwhile, or did Koch simply stoop to his critics' level?
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Comments
I think he was saying in his own words what he wanted
Submitted by Blonde on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 10:59am.
Rather than letting the media define his position. Rightly so.
Here's an interesting little video....Public Sector Unions vs. America.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Good for Koch
Submitted by Radical1979 on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 11:02am.
Well, staying out of the fray didn't work very well for W did it?
It was a very mild statement of position, good for him (them). Why should they take the nonsense from the media? No one is defending them the way Sorros is defended.
Your point is right on IMO
Submitted by Lipton on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 1:48pm.
I have been thinking that in a way, the MSM and liberal/intellectual elite are still shocked to see mainstream america stand up to liberalism after having been silent so long. That is why so many assume it is racism. maybe if we had more conservatives standing up and being visible on a national level and in our own communities than we woudn't have fallen so far.
You cant respond to libtards often enough
Submitted by Boudin on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 11:08am.
With every word, libtards show to be the self centered little dweebs they really are. This little record straightening by Mr Koch wont slow them down none. But it will expose more hypocrisy and lies from the libtards. Any truth will do that!
During the Clinton Administration
Submitted by TexasMom0517 on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 11:16am.
During Clinton's presidency, Hillary orchestrated the "vast right wing conspiracy" message using Richard Mellon Scaife as the scapegoat.
In 2011, the Obama regime is using the Kochs for the same purpose. The legacy media was enabling of the Clintons; now, the media has progressed into being COMPLICIT with the Obama administration. The tactics are the same, but the legacy media no longer has control over the message- there are too many alternatives.
Mr. Koch is right to fight back and to use whatever media formats he has available for his message. It was Breitbart who showed conservatives that ignoring the lies and misinformation of the legacy media was no longer an option. It is nothing more than the principles we all learned by experience in elementary school; if you try to ignore or placate a bully, the intimidation only gets worse. The only way to stop a bully is to stand up against him.
The Obama regime, allied with the government union bosses, and promoted by the legacy media are being exposed for the bullies that they are. Good on the Kochs for standing up to the intimidation!
Koch on target.
Submitted by Newsbubba on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 11:22am.
Both democraps and republican wussies have created this mess. I have to admit that Obambi has shown how to do it in record time, but just because the RINO's nickel and dime us to debt, it doesn't mean that they are any less guilty, just slower!
How much longer are we going to take it, America? I'm getting older every day and I don't want to miss out on all the fun when the push back comes!
Frank Rich Leaves NY Times
Submitted by Gothampc on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 11:27am.
Uber-liberal Frank Rich is leaving the NY Times. He will work for NY Magazine.
So why is he really leaving? Is the NY Times trying to shed its more liberal personnel? It seems to be an odd choice for Rich.
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/148111-Frank-Rich-to-Leave-New-York-Times-for-New-York-Magazine
If I was Koch,
Submitted by Ashrak on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 11:34am.
I would call the fella who impersonated me in a telephone call to an elected official and have an open conversation with him. I am glad he spoke up and hopes he does so some more.
Bet you won't see this on the
Submitted by ricklail on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 12:23pm.
Bet you won't see this on the nightly news.
The 3 rd world a nice place to visit. I don't want 2 live there
Submitted by upcountrywater on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 1:49pm.
You Didn't Build That.
The children are our
Submitted by stratman on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 4:34pm.
The children are our future.
Scary.
We saw that earlier, Rick
Submitted by Blonde on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 12:29pm.
My mom and I looked at each other....they were doing some sort of Indian Warchant.
Idiots!
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Protesting overdone
Submitted by jon_torlin on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 12:57pm.
If they aren't protesting about the ...whatever it was they were protesting for the unions, then they need to get their asses tossed out good and proper. I was seeing that on TV yesterday, I kept thinking "why aren't the cops tossing them out, all they are doing now is disturbing the peace, not protesting....."
-Jon
Blonde, here is another video of Allen West and that cair moron.
Submitted by upcountrywater on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 2:14pm.
Jawa Report
One very funny note about this video, while Hamze was trying to respond to West, you can hear several people in the audience saying "Taqiyyah!"
You Didn't Build That.
I'm so mad at myself for not attending that, upc
Submitted by Blonde on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 3:11pm.
Next time he's even close (this is a big district)....I am going!
I so look forward to his weekly update...I know he writes it himself, and it just cracks me up the way he writes....no bullshit. My tag was from his last weekly constituent e-mail, LOL.
It's amazing, too...he's like "I got up at 4:00 a.m., ran a half marathon, met with xyz, attended this conference, then met with Xenator X, attended a Commitee meeting, went to a charity event, had dinner with Y, ad nauseum"....it tires me out! He is so energetic and ecstatic to be serving in this capacity. He brings me joy! Can you imagine such a statement from such a cynic as myself? A politician brings me joy?
As for my fellow Floridians....many many are idiot snowbirds, but there are quite a few of us who get it. Obviously, enough to elect Allen in this deepest dark blue corner of the universe. Debbie Wasserman...you are next!
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Blonde, One Republican left..in leftyville
Submitted by upcountrywater on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 4:37pm.
Hawaii has the "deepest dark blue corner of the universe". Locked up.
Sam Slom is not in my district (however He is in Denny's). Sam and I email...He does bring me joy with his style.
That's great a politician that can bring you joy..
Allen West's itinerary reminds me of G. Bush 16 hour days N' days. ...
For me maybe not joy .....oy da kine a big smile
Sam Slom.
Don't be mad at yourself, just say next time, I'll go.
You are a bright gal, you already have that figgured out :-)
You Didn't Build That.
Speaking of Allen West...
Submitted by Blonde on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 5:03pm.
This is very cool.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
As I heard on Fox yesterday
Submitted by ricklail on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 3:07pm.
As I heard on Fox yesterday morning the capitol was starting to stink. They couldn't get in to clean properly because of the hippies
About 2 years ago the NC
Submitted by ricklail on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 4:10pm.
About 2 years ago the NC Department of Corrections stopped smoking in all DOC facilitiies. About 10 years ago they reconized American Indians as a religion. We got some rocks and they made a prayer circle. At that time I think where about 10 total. They found out that during their prayers they were supposed to smoke a pipe. They used to have prayers on Friday morning. Now they have them everyday. The group that has swelled to around 60 and growing. At one time you had to prove you were part American Indina but no more. There are a lot of Lumbee Indians in our place because just south east of here is the Lumbee Reservation. They are mad because the state has allowed this to happen. Yes they have gotten now where they beat their drums and chant the chants. They burn cedar and sage in the center of the smoking circle. They don't smoke in their prayer circle. So as for the chanting and beating of drums we heard that about everyday.
Just to see how much some of them know about native Americans I ask 3 questions? Do you know who Chief Joseph was? Do you know who Chief Seattle was? Who was the chief of the Chiricahua Apaches? Very few of them know about any of it. None know that Chochise was the chief to the Chiricahuas.
Things Cannot Be Put Off Any Longer
Submitted by Wildcatter1980 on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 12:55pm.
We need major fiscal policy reform now BEFORE the dollar stops being the world's reserve currency. Not only do governments need to stop spending moneys they do not have, the Federal Reserve needs to stop "printing" money to pay of that spending on the Federal level.
At no time in the past has a country not been able to just print money and not suffer dire economic problems such as hyperinflation as a result of that action. If this administration does not accept this and join the budget-cutting Republicans in making major reforms to fiscal policy, how can we not conclude that it's agenda is destroy the USA as our founding fathers conceived it?
I am reminded of a scene from the original Star Trek series episode The Doomsday Machine. Setting the scene, the Enterprise is caught in the tractor beam of the "doomsday" machine, a robot planet-destroying weapon that sustains itself by ingesting the planets it has destroyed. The hull of the robot machine is impenetrable by any weapons the Enterprise has. The Enterprise is under the command of Commodore Matt Decker, the captain of the USS Constellation which was all, but destroyed by the doomsday machine when the two first encountered each other.
(Commodore Decker ordered his crew to beam down to the third planet of the solar system they were in. However, before he was able to beam off the ship to join the rest of his crew, the doomsday machine attacked one more time knocking out the transporter system in the process. At that point all Commodore Decker could do was listen and watch as his crew begged and pleaded to no avail as the doomsday machine destroyed the planet the crew was on.)
Though caught in the tractor beam, Decker orders the Enterprise to continue to attack the machine. Reacting to this, Spock reminds Decker that the Enterprise's weapons cannot destroy the machine and that, logically, they must break free of the tractor beam and warn Star Fleet Command of the danger. Failure to do so was both illogical and suicidal. Spock proceeds to say that attempted suicide would be a valid basis for Spock to relieve Decker from command of the Enterprise. Grudgingly, Decker orders the Enterprise to break off the attack and escape the tractor beam.
This administration appears to be the guilt-ridden Commodore Decker attempting to use the Federal government, despite the limits placed on it by the U.S. Constitution, to either right the wrongs of the inequities of life or "spread the wealth" from the "evil, 'fat cat' rich" to the less-well-off or correct the perceived inherent unfairness of capitalism or obtain power and control over everyone else or whatever they really want to achieve no matter that in trying to achieve any of these can only result in the destruction of the great experiment in exceptionalism that is the United States of America.
--
If you want to know what liberal secular progressives are really doing, just listen to what they are accusing others of.
Recommended reading: Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg
The Problem with Career Politicians
Submitted by Skeptic_All on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 4:15pm.
is you have to make too many people happy and the way you make people happy in this country is by giving them 'stuff'. The only way the word 'No' is going to be used without fear amongst politicians in Washington is to remove from them the fear of retribution by the voter. Term limits would be a great first step!
Term limits: for the lazy by the lazy
Submitted by Unsane on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 6:25pm.
Term limits: a lazy way to give lazy voters an even bigger excuse to continue right on being lazy.
Yeah, they have been in effect in CA since 1990 and I don't think the state government there is exactly a model for anyone to follow...
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Holder's sense of Justice strikes again!
Submitted by jon_torlin on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 5:00pm.
Oh boy. If you didn't think Holder was being racist before, this should clear up any doubt. I hadn't seen anything from a news article that talks about this during a hearing, this comes from a commentary.
Has anyone else heard about this? Not that this comes as any surprise, but he said it in a Congressional hearing and was trying to claim there wasn't anything to it.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/joshgerstein/0311/Eric_Holder_Black_Panthe...
-Jon
Looks like the envirpmental
Submitted by ricklail on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 5:09pm.
Looks like the envirpmental wackos are coming out for this trial in Utah. This guy commited fraud plain and simple and admits it but the Hollywood crwod is still defending him.
I've seen this movie before...
Submitted by Unsane on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 6:27pm.
I heard Donald Trump interviewed by Limbaugh earlier today. That shrieking populist does not impress me in the slightest.
He's a decent businessman and a good marketer of himself. He needs to stick to it and stay far, far away from goverment.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
No way
Submitted by Unsane on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 10:55pm.
Trump is a blithering idiot. He even sees foreign policy through the prism of his being a businessman. In NO WAY do I trust him with our foreign policy.
Not to mention that he is a protectionist. He is sitting there whining about how China is manipulating its currency so it is an undervalued currency. Well, if you are going to go after China for that, I know Japan, South Korea, and virtually every single country in East Asia will be pursued with the same vigor...right???
And his cure? Why, good old fashioned protectionism.
No f-ing thank you.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Uns
Submitted by Radical1979 on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 11:10pm.
I'm not sure if I agree he's a "decent businessman". He started out with a lot of money and a business from his dad. He got the banks to loan him so much money they had to bail him out.
But he's good at promoting himself. I guess an ego that size is good for something...
Decent
Submitted by Unsane on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 11:16pm.
Decent. Not spectacular, not good. Decent.
:o)
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)