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Koch Group, Spending Freely, Hones Attack on Government
By CARL HULSE and ASHLEY PARKER
WASHINGTON — Americans for Prosperity — the group backed by David H. and Charles G. Koch that has been pouring millions of dollars into competitive Senate races to the rising alarm of Democrats — was also among the politically active groups on the ground in this month’s special House election on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
But its agenda had little to do with the fate of David Jolly, the Republican candidate who won that race. The group’s ground troops — including those who knocked on doors, ran phone banks and reached out through social media to gauge ways to motivate voters — were part of a much greater project, with a prize much larger than a congressional seat.
Americans for Prosperity turned the Florida contest into its personal electoral laboratory to fine-tune get-out-the-vote tools and messaging for future elections as it pursues its overarching goal of convincing Americans that big government is bad government.
“We’re focused on optimizing our efforts,” said James Davis of Freedom Partners, a Koch-influenced trade association that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars to Americans for Prosperity and other conservative groups. “Being in the field and testing during the slower periods, and in smaller areas, allows you to refine strategy and tactics so that you can make the larger investments with confidence.”
“Too often our side will gear up for an individual issue battle or in some cases an election, but we don’t have a permanent infrastructure,” Mr. Phillips said. “What we took from studying it was that we have to have a bigger, more permanent infrastructure on the ground in these states, and this takes time.”
Koch Industries
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Koch Industries, Inc. /ˈkoʊk/ is an American multinational corporation based in Wichita, Kansas, United States, with subsidiaries involved in manufacturing, trading and investments. Koch also owns Invista, Georgia-Pacific, Flint Hills Resources, Koch Pipeline, Koch Fertilizer, Koch Minerals and Matador Cattle Company. Koch companies are involved in core industries such as the manufacturing, refining and distribution[1] of petroleum, chemicals, energy, fiber, intermediates and polymers, minerals, fertilizers, pulp and paper, chemical technology equipment, ranching,[3] finance,[citation needed] commodities trading, as well as other ventures and investments. The firm employs 50,000 people in the United States and another 20,000 in 59 other countries.[4]
In 2013, Forbes called it the second largest privately held company in the United States (after Cargill), with an annual revenue of $115 billion,[5][6][7] down from the largest in 2006. If Koch Industries were a public company in 2013, it would have ranked 17 in the Fortune 500.[8]
Fred C. Koch, after whom Koch Industries, Inc. is named, co-founded the company in 1940 and developed an innovative crude oil refining process.[9] His sons, Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, and David H. Koch, executive vice president, are principal owners of the company after they bought out their brothers, Frederick and William "Bill" Koch, for $1.1 billion in 1983.[10] Charles and David H. Koch each own 42% of Koch Industries, and Charles has stated that the company will publicly offer shares "literally over my dead body".[5]
are there any 'tulipers that think the Koch Bros are the beneficiaries of Big Government?
By CARL HULSE and ASHLEY PARKER
WASHINGTON — Americans for Prosperity — the group backed by David H. and Charles G. Koch that has been pouring millions of dollars into competitive Senate races to the rising alarm of Democrats — was also among the politically active groups on the ground in this month’s special House election on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
But its agenda had little to do with the fate of David Jolly, the Republican candidate who won that race. The group’s ground troops — including those who knocked on doors, ran phone banks and reached out through social media to gauge ways to motivate voters — were part of a much greater project, with a prize much larger than a congressional seat.
Americans for Prosperity turned the Florida contest into its personal electoral laboratory to fine-tune get-out-the-vote tools and messaging for future elections as it pursues its overarching goal of convincing Americans that big government is bad government.
“We’re focused on optimizing our efforts,” said James Davis of Freedom Partners, a Koch-influenced trade association that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars to Americans for Prosperity and other conservative groups. “Being in the field and testing during the slower periods, and in smaller areas, allows you to refine strategy and tactics so that you can make the larger investments with confidence.”
“Too often our side will gear up for an individual issue battle or in some cases an election, but we don’t have a permanent infrastructure,” Mr. Phillips said. “What we took from studying it was that we have to have a bigger, more permanent infrastructure on the ground in these states, and this takes time.”
Koch Industries
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Private | |
| Conglomerate | |
| 1940 | |
| Fred C. Koch | |
| Wichita, Kansas, U.S. | |
| Worldwide | |
| Charles de Ganahl Koch (Chairman & CEO) David H. Koch (Executive VP) |
|
| Asphalt, chemicals,commodities trading, energy,fibers, fertilizers, finance,minerals, natural gas,plastics, petroleum, pulp and paper, ranching[1] | |
 US$ 115 billion (2012)[2] |
|
| Koch family (84%) | |
| 60,000 (2013)[1] | |
| Georgia-Pacific, Invista, Flint Hills Resources | |
| Kochind.com | |
In 2013, Forbes called it the second largest privately held company in the United States (after Cargill), with an annual revenue of $115 billion,[5][6][7] down from the largest in 2006. If Koch Industries were a public company in 2013, it would have ranked 17 in the Fortune 500.[8]
Fred C. Koch, after whom Koch Industries, Inc. is named, co-founded the company in 1940 and developed an innovative crude oil refining process.[9] His sons, Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, and David H. Koch, executive vice president, are principal owners of the company after they bought out their brothers, Frederick and William "Bill" Koch, for $1.1 billion in 1983.[10] Charles and David H. Koch each own 42% of Koch Industries, and Charles has stated that the company will publicly offer shares "literally over my dead body".[5]
are there any 'tulipers that think the Koch Bros are the beneficiaries of Big Government?
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