Politics

The Kochs, Glenn Beck and Titans of Industry Met to Plot 2010 Elections

By Anne Landman

ThinkProgress has discovered that the oil billionaire brothers, David H. and Charles G. Koch, who played a key role in creating and funding the Tea Party movement, hold a quiet annual, invitation-only gathering where they coordinate their political agenda with other titans of industry -- including the big health insurers, oil executives, Wall Street investors, real estate tycoons, conservative journalists and TV opinion show stars like Glenn Beck. ThinkProgress obtained a memo (pdf) that gives details about the Koch's last gathering in June, 2010. It exposes a symbiotic relationship between multi-billion dollar corporations and much of America's conservative infrastructure. Corporations represented at Kochs' meeting include businesses with a strong profit motive to block the progressive reforms President Obama is pursuing, like in areas of health care and clean energy. Participants also include consultants, like Tim Phillips, who specialize in creating fake grassroots "movements. The memo also shows that Fox News Channel opinion star Beck has been collaborating with the Kochs and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which explains why Beck asks his viewers to donate to the Chamber and why he claims that the Chamber -- the biggest business lobby in the country -- simply "defends the little guy."

Full post as published by PR Watch on October 25, 2010 (boomark / email).