Joe Conason: The Billionaire Right-Winger and the Tea Party

Summary

---

Despite the kaleidoscopic proliferation of political media over the past decade, most of what Americans hear and read about the workings of our democracy can be politely termed superficial. Only very rarely does journalism fully penetrate the glittering illusions created by partisans on every side to reveal the grittier realities. When a reporter does blast through the usual scrim of deception, that is worth noting - as in the case of Jane Mayer's investigation in the current issue of The New Yorker of the Koch family and its malign influence.

For decades, the Koch brothers, billionaire heirs of one of the largest privately held companies in the United States, have covertly sought to promote their hard-right ideology through third parties, think tanks, foundations and front groups. Their late father, Fred, having earned a fortune assisting the nascent Soviet oil industry, eventually became a right-wing extremist and member of the John Birch Society. His sons, especially David Koch, have not only expanded the family business but infiltrated their father's political views into the mainstream.

See the full content of this document

Extract

---

Joe Conason: The Billionaire Right-Winger and the Tea Party

Happily for them, the expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars on nonprofit and "educational" ventures has served their corporate priorities perfectly. While...

See the full content of this document

---