Koch network: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{short description|Charles G. and David H. Koch and their activities in US politics}}

[[Charles Koch|Charles G.]] (born 1935) and [[David Koch|David H. Koch]] (1940–2019), sometimes referred to as the Koch brothers,<ref name=mayer-dark-2-3/> have become famous for their financial and political influence in [[Politics of the United States|United States politics]] with a [[Libertarianism|libertarian]], more sospecifically, [[Right-libertarianism|right-libertarian]] or [[Libertarianism in the United States|American-style libertarian]] political stance. From around 2004 to 2019,<ref name="Cillizza-changed-2019">{{cite news |last1=Cillizza |first1=Chris |title=The Point. How the Koch brothers fundamentally changed modern politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/23/politics/david-koch-charles-koch-brothers/index.html |access-date=19 December 2022 |agency=CNN |date=23 August 2019}}</ref> with "foresight and perseverance",<ref name=mayer-dark-2-3/> the brothers organized like-minded wealthy libertarian-oriented conservatives, spent hundreds of millions of dollars of their own money to build an "integrated" and  "stealth" network of think tanks, foundations, "grassroots" movements,<ref name="Cillizza-changed-2019"/> academic programs, advocacy and legal groups to "destroy the prevalent statist paradigm"<ref name=mayer-dark-statist>article by Charles Koch, "The Business Community, Resisting Regulation", in the ''Libertarian Review'', August 1978, quoted in {{cite book|title=Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right |date=2016 |first1=Jane |last1=Mayer |publisher=Doubleday |pages=54}}</ref> and reshape public opinion to favor minimal government.<ref name=mayer-dark-2-3>{{cite book|title=Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right |date=2016 |first1=Jane |last1=Mayer |publisher=Doubleday |pages=2–3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RsYr_iQUs6QC&q=koch&pg=PA144|title=The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society|last1=Dryzek|first1=John S.|last2=Norgaard|first2=Richard B.|last3=Schlosberg|first3=David|year=2011|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0199566600|language=en}}</ref><ref name=Fisher/> As of mid 2018, the media has been encouraged to refer to the "Koch network" rather than the "Koch brothers".<ref name=severns-assailed-2018/>

The Koch brothers are the sons of [[Fred C. Koch]] (1900–1967), who founded [[Koch Industries]], now the second largest privately held company in the United States. As of 2012 they owned 84% of Koch Industries stock,<ref name=Fisher>{{cite news | last=Fisher|first=Daniel|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2012/12/05/inside-the-koch-empire-how-the-brothers-plan-to-reshape-america/#49acde6e650b | title=Inside The Koch Empire: How The Brothers Plan To Reshape America | work=[[Forbes]]| date=December 5, 2012 | access-date=December 15, 2013}}</ref> and as of December 2022, Charles Koch was estimated to have a net worth of $66 billion, making him the 14th-richest person in the world.<ref name="Bloomberg-billionaire">{{cite news |title=Bloomberg Billionaires Index |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/charles-d-koch/ |access-date=21 December 2022 |agency=Bloomberg}}</ref> Fred C. had four sons, but the other two, Fredrick and William, are not involved in the family business; Charles and David bought them out in 1983,<ref>The brothers settled in 2001, in {{cite magazine|author=Kroll, Luisa|title=Billionaire Family Feuds: The High Stakes Of Dysfunction And Dissent|date=June 1, 2012|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/luisakroll/2012/06/01/billionaire-family-feuds-the-high-stakes-of-dysfunction-and-dissent|magazine=Forbes|access-date=July 10, 2012}}</ref> and neither are involved with the [[Koch family foundations|family foundations]], or Charles and David's political or philanthropic network.

The brothers' ideology is [[Libertarianism|libertarian]], more specifically the [[Right-libertarianism|right-libertarian]] branch most ~~common~~commonly found in [[Libertarianism in the United States|American-style libertarianism]].<ref name=belkin-2020>{{Cite news |last=Belkin |first=Douglas |date=2020-11-13 |title=Charles Koch Says His Partisanship Was a Mistake |language=en-US |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/charles-koch-says-his-partisanship-was-a-mistake-11605286893 |access-date=2022-03-23 |issn=0099-9660 |quote=At 85, the libertarian tycoon who spent decades funding conservative causes says he wants a final act building bridges across political divides.}}</ref>

The late David Koch described himself as a [[Social liberalism|social liberal]],<ref name="Eric Black-5-19-14" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Fischer |first=Sara |date=2014-12-14 |title=David Koch is pro-choice, supports gay rights; just not Democrats {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/12/14/politics/david-koch-gay-rights-abortion-democrats/index.html |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=CNN |language=en |quote="I'm basically a libertarian. And I'm a conservative on economic matters and I'm a social liberal" [...] Koch, who supports gay rights and women's right to choose, said if candidates he gives to don't share those ideals, "That's their problem. I do have those views." [...] "I'm really focused intensely on economic and fiscal issues, because if those go bad the country as a whole suffers terribly."}}</ref> and in the early years of their political activity ran for vice president as the [[United States Libertarian Party|Libertarian Party's]] candidate.<ref name=nyt-quixotic-2014/>

However, his "intense" focus was "on economic and fiscal issues" - i.e. being [[Fiscal conservatism|fiscally conservative]] or [[Economic liberalism|economically liberal]]<ref name=":0"/> rather than other libertarian causes, and as of 2014 the millions of dollars both brothers donated to candidates went to [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]], not Libertarians.<ref name="Eric Black-5-19-14">{{cite web|last1=Black|first1=Eric|title=Move from Libertarian Party to GOP: Koch brothers change tactics, not beliefs |url=https://www.minnpost.com/eric-black-ink/2014/05/move-libertarian-party-gop-koch-brothers-change-tactics-not-beliefs|website=www.minnpost.com|access-date=May 19, 2014|date=May 19, 2014}}</ref>

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;Libertarian candidate

David was the [[United States Libertarian Party|Libertarian Party's]] vice-presidential candidate in 1980,<ref name=nyt-quixotic-2014>[https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/us/politics/quixotic-80-campaign-gave-birth-to-kochs-powerful-network.html ''Quixotic ’80 Campaign Gave Birth to Kochs’ Powerful Network''] May 17, 2014 NYT.</ref> running on a platform of abolishing Social Security, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]], the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], and public schools.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Libertarians: Freedom to a Fault?|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|first=Phil|last=Kerby|date=September 13, 1979|page=D1|url=https://~~pqasb~~www.~~pqarchiver~~proquest.com/~~latimes/doc~~docview/158993448~~.html~~|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="nytimes-dk-1984">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/16/arts/man-without-a-candidate.html|title=Man Without a Candidate|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|author-link=Charlotte Curtis|first=Charlotte|last=Curtis|date=1984-10-16}}</ref> (His brother Charles also supported his candidacy.)<ref name="mayer2010"/>

By being a candidate, Koch took advantage of campaign finance laws exempting him from limits on donations and ultimately "contributed about $2.1 million, more than half the [Libertarian] campaign budget.”<ref name=nyt-quixotic-2014/><ref name="Eric Black-5-19-14"/><ref name="nytimes-dk-1984"/> This gave the candidates enough cash to run advertisements and try to get on the ballot in all 50 states.<ref name=nyt-quixotic-2014/>

However, he and running mate [[Ed Clark]] won only 1.1% of the vote,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://reason.com/archives/2008/11/17/where-did-the-libertarian-part|title=Where Did the Libertarian Party Go Wrong?|first=Brian|last=Doherty|date=November 17, 2008|access-date=September 9, 2011|work=[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]}}</ref> and the experience of running for office led him to change course: "I had enough ... [W]e are not a nation that debates issues. We vote on candidates' personalities."

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In a paper analyzing the John Birch Society, Charles Koch “argued in favor” of at least imitating the society when it came to "not widely advertising" who ran the society.<ref name=mayer-dark-55>{{cite book|title=Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right |date=2016 |first1=Jane |last1=Mayer |page=55}}</ref> Their father is quoted as saying, “The whale that spouts is the one that gets harpooned."<ref name="Tucker-HP-2016">{{cite news |last1=Tucker |first1=Pete |title=Did the Kochs Bring Us President Trump? |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-the-kochs-brought-us-president-trump_b_583df558e4b002d13f7a8771 |access-date=24 December 2022 |agency=Huffington Post |date=1 December 2016}}</ref>

Not surprisingly, the Koch brothers' “ambitious enterprise” was “largely hidden” from public view.<ref name=mayer-dark-9/> They avoided “all but the minimum legally required financial disclosures”. The guest list at their gatherings was “shrouded in secrecy”.<ref name=mayer-dark-9/> Guests were admonished to destroy all paperwork, make no mention of the event online or to the media, and make all arrangements through Koch staff, not resort employees. Any audio or visual recording gear (smart phones, ~~i-pads~~tablets, cameras) were confiscated prior to sessions.<ref name=mayer-dark-9/> At at least one gathering, white-noise-emitting-loud speakers were pointed outwards from the event by audio technicians to foil any media attempting to listen in. When one breach of secrecy occurred, "an intense week-long internal investigation" was launched "to identify and plug the leak".<ref name=mayer-dark-9>{{cite book|title=Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right |date=2016 |first1=Jane |last1=Mayer |page=9}}</ref> Interested in maintaining their discreet influence, Charles and David have donated to non-profit groups who do not disclose their donors.<ref name=Bykowicz/> The secrecy abated somewhat starting at the 2015 summer seminar, when some reporters were invited and "allowed to attend some sessions, including those featuring many of the Republican Party’s presidential candidates".<ref name="NYT-30-7-2015"/>

===Donors===

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===Political contributions===

In 2008, the three main Koch family foundations contributed to 34 political and policy organizations, three of which they founded, and several of which they directed.<ref name="mayer2010"/> As of 2011, Koch Industries' political action committee had donated more than $2.6 million to candidates.<ref name=MJ/> The Koch brothers support primarily Republican candidates and in 2010 they supported [[California Proposition 23 (2010)|California Proposition 23]], which would have suspended the state's ''[[Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.followthemoney.org/press/ReportView.phtml?r=434&ext=4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111213204146/http://www.followthemoney.org/press/ReportView.phtml?r=434&ext=4|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-12-13|title=Names in the News: David and Charles Koch |website=followthemoney.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=A Foil for the Koch Brothers?|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2011-03-15|url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/a-foil-for-the-koch-brothers|access-date=2012-10-05|first=Todd|last=Woody}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=~~http~~https://~~articles~~www.latimes.com/~~2010~~archives/la-xpm-2010-sep/-04~~/local/~~-la-me-prop-23-koch-20100904-story.html | work=Los Angeles Times | first=Margot | last=Roosevelt | title=Bid to suspend California global-warming law gets million from billionaire brothers' firm | date=September 4, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.followthemoney.org/press/ReportView.phtml?r=434|title=Names in the News: David and Charles Koch |website=followthemoney.org}}</ref> The brothers pledged to donate $60 million in the 2012 election season to defeat President [[Barack Obama]].<ref>[http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/02/koch-brothers-pledged-60-million-defeat-obama/48291 Koch Brothers pledge to defeat Obama in 2012], theatlanticwire.com</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/koch-brothers-pledged-60-million-defeat-obama-212914975.html|title=The Koch Brothers Pledged $60 Million to Defeat Obama|date=February 3, 2012|website=Yahoo News}}</ref> According to [[OpenSecrets]], of $274 million in anonymous 2012 contributions, at least $86 million is "attributed to donor groups in the Koch network".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2013/12/1-in-4-dark-money-dollars-in-2012-c.html |title=At Least 1 in 4 Dark Money Dollars in 2012 Had Koch Links |last1=Maguire |first1=Robert |date=December 3, 2013 |website~~=[[OpenSecrets]] |publisher~~=[[OpenSecrets]] |access-date=December 3, 2013}}</ref><ref name=Kraske>{{cite news | url=http://www.kansascity.com/2013/12/05/4670792/when-it-comes-to-political-donations.html | title=When it comes to political donations, the Koch Brothers trump all | newspaper=[[Kansas City Star]] | date=December 5, 2013 | access-date=December 5, 2013 | author=Kraske, Steve}}</ref>

====Governor Scott Walker contributions====

According to ''[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]'', Koch Industries' [[Political Action Committee]] (PAC) contributed the second largest donation to [[Scott Walker (politician)|Scott Walker]]'s [[Wisconsin gubernatorial election, 2010|2010 campaign]] for governor of Wisconsin. It donated $43,000, second in size only to PAC donations of $43,125 from both the Wisconsin realtors and the Wisconsin home builders.<ref name=MJ>{{cite magazine|url=http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/02/wisconsin-scott-walker-koch-brothers|title=Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker: Funded by the Koch Bros|magazine=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]|date=2011-02-18|access-date=2011-04-15}}</ref><ref name="gab.wi.gov">{{cite web|title=Campaign Finance Limits and Deadlines|url=http://gab.wi.gov/campaign-finance/limits-deadlines|publisher=Wisconsin Government Accountability Board|access-date=November 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014173636/http://www.gab.wi.gov/campaign-finance/limits-deadlines|archive-date=October 14, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> That contribution amounted to less than 0.5% of Walker's campaign total<ref name=Continetti>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Continetti |author-link=Matthew Continetti |title=The Paranoid Style in Liberal Politics|work=[[The Weekly Standard]]|date=April 4, 2011|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/paranoid-style-liberal-politics_555525.html?nopager=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110329092753/http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/paranoid-style-liberal-politics_555525.html?nopager=1|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 29, 2011}}</ref> because of the limits placed on campaign contributions.<ref name="gab.wi.gov"/> Most support for Walker was in the form of expenditures estimated at $3 million from Americans for Prosperity (AFP).<ref>{{cite web|title=The Koch brothers alone gave twice as much money to Scott Walker as the total amount of money raised by Tom Barrett|url=http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2012/jun/20/debbie-wasserman-schultz/billionaire-koch-brothers-gave-8-million-wisconsin/|publisher=PolitiFact|access-date=November 5, 2013}}</ref> Due to Koch's contribution to Walker's campaign, David Koch became a symbolic target for the protests.<ref name=Continetti/>

According to the ''Palm Beach Post'', David Koch was active in Wisconsin politics. Americans for Prosperity reportedly spent $700,000 on ads supporting Governor Scott Walker's changes to collective bargaining.<ref>[http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/david-koch-intends-to-cure-cancer-in-his-2185046.html?page=2 "David Koch intends to cure cancer in his lifetime and remake American politics"], ''The Palm Beach Post'', February 2012.</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Carey|first=Nick|title=Money flows into Wisconsin governor recall fight|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-campaign-wisconsin-idUSTRE81F12L20120216|work=Reuters|access-date=November 5, 2013|date=February 16, 2012}}</ref>

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Charles Koch criticized Trump's [[Trump travel ban|Muslim travel ban]] suggestions during the campaign and went so far as to say "it's possible" that Hillary Clinton could be a better president, although he strongly denied rumours that he would actually support Clinton.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/31/charles-koch-brothers-support-hillary-clinton-blood-libel |title= Charles Koch says rumours he will support Hillary Clinton are 'blood libel' |last=Pengelly, Martin |date=July 31, 2016 |website=The Guardian |access-date=June 6, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/koch-brothers-donald-trump-clash-resistance-conservative-billionaires-network-us-president-charles-a7560706.html? |title=Koch brothers lead billionaire resistance against Donald Trump |last=Forster |first=Katie |date=February 3, 2017 |website=The Independent |access-date=June 5, 2018 }}</ref> In June 2018, the Kochs backed a multimillion-dollar campaign organized by three pro-free trade political groups to oppose the [[Trump tariffs]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44366737 |title=Billionaire Koch brothers take on Trump over tariffs |date=June 5, 2018 |website=BBC |access-date=June 5, 2018 }}</ref>

On the other hand, although ~~they”~~they ~~disavowed~~”disavowed Trump” and opposed the extremes of ~~the~~his populist movement, so many Koch operatives served in top positions in the Trump administration ([[Mike Pence]], [[Mike Pompeo]], [[Wilbur Ross]], [[Betsy DeVos]], [[Rebekah Mercer]]) that [[Politico]] dubbed it “Trump’s Koch administration.”<ref name="Tucker-HP-2016"/>

Koch’s have been accused of setting the general tone of Trump and the Trump-dominated Republican Party<ref name=mayer-dark-anchor-32>{{cite book|title=Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right |date=2017 |edition=Anchor books Ebook |first1=Jane |last1=Mayer |pages=32}}</ref>—helping to "convince voters that Washington was corrupt and broken and that, when it came to governing, knowing nothing was preferable to ~~expertise”,~~expertise.”<ref name=mayer-dark-anchor-32/> ~~(after all, climate scientists had expertise but were trying to convince everyone that the climate was warming/changing and that [[fossil fuels]] were the problem).~~

According to a “former employee in the Koch’s political ~~operation”~~operation," “we are partly responsible” for the Trump populist movement nastiness. “We invested a lot in grassroots army that was not controllable”.<ref name=mayer-dark-anchor-35-6>{{cite book|title=Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right |date=2017 |edition=Anchor books Ebook |first1=Jane |last1=Mayer |pages=35–6}}</ref>

===Change in focus===

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===2024 Republican Party presidential primaries===

The donor network of [[Charles Koch]] announced it would fund a primary challenge to Trump during the [[2024 Republican Party presidential primaries]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Arnsdorf |first=Isaac |date=5 February 2023 |title=Koch network to back alternative to Trump after sitting out recent primaries |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/05/koch-trump-2024-gop-presidential-primary/ |access-date=2023-02-05 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> On November 28, the Koch Network announced its endorsement of [[Nikki Haley]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://apnews.com/article/nikki-haley-koch-network-endorsement-desantis-trump-938d932aaf2b9b299c32b4d736aaade4 | title=Nikki Haley wins backing from powerful Koch network as she aims to take on Trump | website=[[Associated Press News]] | date=November 28, 2023 }}</ref>

===Impact===

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agency=Gallop |access-date=26 December 2022}}</ref>

According to Kert Davies, the founder and director of Climate Investigations Center, "you’d have a carbon tax, or something better, today, if not for the Kochs. They stopped anything from happening back when there was still time."<ref name="Robinson-2019">{{cite news |last1=Robinson |first1=Nathan |title=The Koch brothers tried to build a plutocracy in the name of freedom |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/28/the-koch-brothers-tried-to-build-a-plutocracy-in-the-name-of-freedom |access-date=24 December 2022 |agency=The Guardian |date=28 Aug 2019}}</ref> In January 2011, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine included the Koch brothers on its list of the top twelve people blocking progress on [[global warming]].<ref name=rollingstone>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/lists/whos-to-blame-12-politicians-and-execs-blocking-progress-on-global-warming-20110119/tim-phillips-president-americans-for-prosperity-19691231 |title=7 Tim Phillips President, Americans for Prosperity |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=February 3, 2011 |access-date=September 8, 2014}}</ref> In 2011, ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' reporter [[Margot Roosevelt]] called the Koch Brothers "the nation's most prominent funders of efforts to prevent curbs on [[fossil-fuel]] burning".<ref>Margot Roosevelt.[~~http~~https://~~articles~~www.latimes.com/~~2011~~local/la-xpm-2011-mar/-31~~/local/~~-la-me-berkeley-climate-20110331-story.html "Berkeley scientists' climate data review puts them at center of national debate"], ''Los Angeles Times'', March 31, 2011.</ref>

In "2011 and 2012, Koch Industries Public Sector LLC, (the lobbying arm of Koch Industries)", pushed for the [[Energy Tax Prevention Act]], which would have prevented the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gases, according to the Investigative Reporting Workshop at [[American University]]<ref name=Rayfield /><ref name=Holmberg>{{cite web | url=http://investigativereportingworkshop.org/investigations/the_koch_club/story/Koch_climate_pledge_strategy/ | title=Koch: Climate pledge strategy continues to grow | publisher=Investigative Reporting Workshop, American University School of Communication | date=July 1, 2013 | access-date=December 14, 2013 | author=Holmberg, Eric | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402101439/http://investigativereportingworkshop.org/investigations/the_koch_club/story/Koch_climate_pledge_strategy/ | archive-date=April 2, 2015 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

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}}</ref><ref name="Rust">{{cite web|last1=Rust|first1=Susanne|title=Berkeley project seeks to resolve climate change debate|url=http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/berkeley-project-seeks-resolve-climate-change-debate-8953|access-date=November 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321033300/http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/berkeley-project-seeks-resolve-climate-change-debate-8953|archive-date=March 21, 2017|date=March 1, 2011}}</ref> Unfortunately for the Koch's campaign, Richard Muller later reversed his views, issuing a statement in mid-2012 supporting [[Scientific opinion on climate change|scientific consensus]].<ref name=Perlman>{{cite news | url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:SFCB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1405E195648EA098&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0FB3382EE6AD1E46 | title=Staunch opponent of theories on causes of global warming explains his about-face | date=July 31, 2012 | agency=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] | access-date=September 21, 2013 | author=Perlman, David | location=San Francisco, CA}}</ref><ref name=Wile>{{cite web | url=http://www.businessinsider.com/koch-brothers-funded-study-proves-climate-change-2012-7 | title=Everyone's Talking About The Koch Brothers-Funded Study That Proves Climate Change Is Real | website=[[Business Insider]] | date=July 30, 2012 | access-date=September 21, 2013 | author=Wile, Rob}}</ref>

The Charles G. Koch Foundation gave the Smithsonian Institution two grants totaling $175,000 in 2005/6 and again in 2010 to support research of [[climate change denier]] [[Willie Soon]]. The foundation helped finance a 2007 analysis suggesting that climate change was not a threat to the survival of polar bears,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/greenpeace-takes-aim-at-koch-industries |title=Greenpeace Takes Aim at Koch Industries |first=Tom |last=Zeller Jr. |date=March 30, 2010 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> which was questioned by other researchers,<ref>{{cite journal| doi=10.1016/j.ecocom.2008.01.004 | volume=5 | issue=3 | title=Response to Dyck et al. (2007) on polar bears and climate change in western Hudson Bay | year=2008 | journal=Ecological Complexity | pages=193–201 | last1 = Stirling | first1 = Ian | last2 = Derocher | first2 = Andrew E. | last3 = Gough | first3 = William A. | last4 = Rode | first4 = Karyn| bibcode=2008EcoCm...5..193S }}</ref> but nonetheless "echoed throughout the Koch network".<ref name=mayer-dark-210>{{cite book|title=Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right |date=2016 |publisher=Doubleday |first1=Jane |last1=Mayer |chapter =8 The Fossils| page=210}}</ref> Jane Mayer reports that Soon accepted "more than $1.2 million from the fossil fuel industry from 2005 to 2015 ... without disclosing it".<ref name=mayer-dark-210/>

Soon has stated that he has "never been motivated by financial reward in any of my scientific research".<ref name=Vidal>{{cite news|first=John|last=Vidal|title=Climate sceptic Willie Soon received $1m from oil companies, papers show|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=2011-06-27|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jun/28/climate-change-sceptic-willie-soon|location=London}}</ref>

At the state level, Koch Industries (unsuccessfully) supported efforts in 2010 to roll back [[California Proposition 23 (2010)|emission regulations in California]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/koch-electric-vehicles_us_56c4d63ce4b0b40245c8cbf6 |title=The Kochs Are Plotting A Multimillion-Dollar Assault On Electric Vehicles |quote=Koch was also a big donor to the ballot campaign|website=[[The Huffington Post]]|date=February 18, 2016|access-date=May 25, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Rutten, Tim|url=~~http~~https://~~articles~~www.latimes.com/~~2010~~archives/la-xpm-2010-sep/-25~~/opinion/~~-la-oe-rutten-fiorina-koch-20100925-story.html|title=Fiorina's billionaire backers|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=September 27, 2010|date=September 25, 2010}}</ref>

The Koch brothers' Lambe Foundation has donated to the American Energy Alliance, an offshoot of the Institute for Energy Research that promotes oil and gas energy exploration and production and looser government regulations to encourage them.<ref>{{cite news |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/secretmoney/2008/09/udall_radio_ad.html|title=New Group Tied To Oil Industry Runs Ads Promoting Drilling, Attacking Democrat|date=September 22, 2008|access-date=September 9, 2011|first=Will|last=Evans}}</ref>

In March 2015, the general counsel of Koch Industries, in a letter responding to a request from three Senate Democrats, wrote that "The activity efforts about which you inquire, and Koch's involvement, if any, in them, are at the core of the fundamental liberties protected by the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution]]", and declined to cooperate with the senators' inquiry into the funding of researchers skeptical of climate change.<ref>{{cite news |url=~~http~~https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/235308-koch-fights-senate-dems-climate-skepticism-funding-probe/ |title=Koch fighting climate research funding probe |date=March 11, 2015 |newspaper=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |access-date=March 17, 2015 |first=Timothy |last=Cama}}</ref><ref name="Yuhas 2015">{{cite web | last=Yuhas | first=Alan | title=Koch Industries refuses to comply with US senators' climate investigation | newspaper=[[The Guardian]] | date=March 13, 2015| url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/13/koch-industries-refuses-senators-climate-investigation | access-date= March 18, 2015}}</ref>

The Kochs have also funded efforts to stop the growth of solar power.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-koch-brothers-dirty-war-on-solar-power-20160211 |title=The Koch Brothers' Dirty War on Solar Power |first=Tim |last=Dickinson |date=February 11, 2016 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-solar-kochs-20140420-story.html |title=Koch brothers, big utilities attack solar, green energy policies |first=Evan |last=Halper |date=April 19, 2014 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

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Koch brothers-funded groups including Americans for Prosperity, [[Pacific Research Institute]], [[Center to Protect Patient Rights]], and [[Generation Opportunity]] opposed the 2010 [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]] (PPACA) commonly called Obamacare, favoring a free-market approach.<ref name=Franke-Ruta /><ref name=Ungar>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2011/12/27/koch-brothers-financed-research-institute-steps-up-obamacare-attacks/ | title=Koch Brothers Financed 'Research' Institute Steps Up Misleading Obamacare Attacks | magazine=[[Forbes]] | date=December 27, 2011 | access-date=September 21, 2013 | author=Ungar, Rick}}</ref>

Koch brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity and Generation Opportunity<ref name=Confessore-130430>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/01/us/politics/koch-brothers-plan-more-political-involvement-for-their-conservative-network.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 | title=Koch Brothers Plan More Political Involvement for Their Conservative Network | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=April 30, 2013 | access-date=September 21, 2013 | author=Confessore, Nicholas}}</ref> ran more than $3 million worth of advertisements opposing the Affordable Care Act, including a series of ads in which [[Uncle Sam]] was depicted as a "creepy" doctor. The ads are directed at women and young adults and are designed to "undermine confidence"<ref name=Condon>{{cite news | url=~~http~~https://www.cbsnews.com/~~8301-250_162-57592645~~news/koch-brothers-group-launches-ad-raising-questions-about-obamacare/ | title=Koch brothers' group launches ad raising questions about Obamacare | publisher=[[CBS News]] | date=July 8, 2012 | access-date=September 21, 2013 | author=Condon, Stephanie}}</ref> and to dissuade younger people from enrolling in health care coverage through exchanges which opened October 1, 2013.<ref name=Franke-Ruta>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/09/creepy-anti-obamacare-ads-suggest-where-uncle-sam-wants-to-stick-it/279825/ |title=Creepy Anti-Obamacare Ads Suggest Where Uncle Sam Wants to Stick It |last1=Franke-Ruta |first1=Garance |date=September 19, 2013 | magazine=[[The Atlantic]] |access-date=September 21, 2013}}</ref><ref name=Schouten>{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/09/19/affordable-care-act-advertising-exchanges-health-care-president-obama-americans-for-prosperity-koch-brothers/2833979/ | title=Koch-backed group launches new attack on health care law | newspaper=[[USA Today]] | date=September 19, 2013 | access-date=September 21, 2013 | author=Schouten, Fredreka}}</ref><ref name=Pickert>{{cite magazine | url=http://nation.time.com/2013/09/19/spread-your-legs-for-uncle-sam/ | title=Spread Your Legs for Uncle Sam | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=September 19, 2013 | access-date=September 21, 2013 | author=Pickert, Kate}}</ref> In October 2013, the Americans for Prosperity group began a campaign to oppose "[[Obamacare]]" in the state of [[Virginia]].<ref name="NYT-20131018">{{cite news |last=Stolberg |first=Sheryl Gay |title=States Are Focus of Effort to Foil Health Care Law |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/19/us/politics/states-are-focus-of-effort-to-foil-health-care-law.html |date=October 18, 2013 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=October 19, 2013 }}</ref>

===Criminal justice reform===

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The Charles Koch Institute is a "major benefactor" of the [[Independent Women's Forum]], an American [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] non-profit organization focused on economic policy issues of concern to women, which opposed efforts to combat the coronavirus through [[mask mandate]]s in schools.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stanley-Becker |first=Isaac |date=October 1, 2021 |title=Koch-backed group fuels opposition to school mask mandates, leaked letter shows |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/10/01/masks-schools-koch-money/ |access-date=July 4, 2022}}</ref> The group circulated a template letter to its members encouraging them to personalize and mail it to "your own school superintendents and administrators, principals, and teachers!" Among other things the proposed letter asserted that "young kids do not significantly spread COVID either" and claimed that "common sense" teaches that requiring masks in school may lead to anxiety, depression, decreases in socialization skills, and increases in tooth decay in children.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 1, 2021 |title=Independent Women's Forum Template Letter Opposing School Mask Mandates |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/independent-women-s-forum-template-letter-opposing-school-mask-mandates/4a991d69-67f2-42b2-8fa7-f9abc0a2fb08/ |access-date=July 4, 2021}}</ref>

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Koch network funded several research projects that expressed support for lockdowns and similar [[Non-pharmaceutical intervention (epidemiology)]] policies. In March 2020 the Koch-funded [[Mercatus Center]] at [[George Mason University]] awarded an Emergent Ventures grant to [[Neil M. Ferguson]] of [[Imperial College London]] for "good policy thinking" in support of his COVID-19 epidemiological model.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mason's Tyler Cowen leads efforts to incentivize coronavirus response |url=https://www.gmu.edu/news/2020-03/masons-tyler-cowen-leads-efforts-incentivize-coronavirus-response |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=George Mason University |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Affairs |first1=Current |last2=Medicine |date=2020-03-21 |title=Emergent Ventures prize winners for coronavirus work |url=https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2020/03/emergent-ventures-prize-winners-for-coronavirus-work.html |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=Marginal REVOLUTION |language=en-US}}</ref> Ferguson's model proved highly influential in inducing public health officials to adopt lockdown policies worldwide.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Landler |first1=Mark |last2=Castle |first2=Stephen |date=2020-03-17 |title=Behind the Virus Report That Jarred the U.S. and the U.K. to Action |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/world/europe/coronavirus-imperial-college-johnson.html |access-date=2022-03-30 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> A grant from the Charles Koch Foundation funded a [[National Bureau of Economic Research]] study finding that [[California]]'s shelter-in-place style lockdown policy "led to as many as 1,661 fewer COVID-19 deaths" in the spring of 2020.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Friedson |first1=Andrew I. |last2=McNichols |first2=Drew |last3=Sabia |first3=Joseph J. |last4=Dave |first4=Dhaval |date=April 2020 |title=Did California's Shelter-in-Place Order Work? Early Coronavirus-Related Public Health Effects |series=Working Paper Series |doi=10.3386/w26992 |s2cid=216034142 |url=https://www.nber.org/papers/w26992|hdl=10419/216472 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> A Koch Foundation grant supported a study by the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, attributing a [[Superspreader]] event to the lack of social distancing at the August 2020 [[Sturgis Motorcycle Rally]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Contagion Externality of a Superspreading Event: The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and COVID-19 |url=https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/13670/the-contagion-externality-of-a-superspreading-event-the-sturgis-motorcycle-rally-and-covid-19 |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=www.iza.org |language=en}}</ref> The Koch Foundation similarly funded a set of studies by faculty at [[Bowling Green State University]], arguing that political opposition to lockdowns and non-compliance with lockdown measures were explained by "libertarian and neoliberal elements within Christian nationalism" and "xenophobic" beliefs within these groups.<ref>{{Cite journal |journal=Sociology of Religion |title= Save the Economy, Liberty, and Yourself: Christian Nationalism and ~~Americans’~~Americans' Views on Government COVID-19 Restrictions |date= 2021 |doi=10.1093/socrel/sraa047 |doi-access=free |url=https://academic.oup.com/socrel/article/82/4/426/6054784 |access-date=2022-03-30 |last1= Perry |first1= Samuel L. |last2= Whitehead |first2= Andrew L. |last3= Grubbs |first3= Joshua B. |volume= 82 |issue= 4 |pages= 426–446 |pmc= 7798614 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Perry |first1=Samuel L. |last2=Whitehead |first2=Andrew L. |last3=Grubbs |first3=Joshua B. |date=2021-04-09 |title=Prejudice and pandemic in the promised land: how white Christian nationalism shapes Americans' racist and xenophobic views of COVID-19 |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2020.1839114 |journal=Ethnic and Racial Studies |volume=44 |issue=5 |pages=759–772 |doi=10.1080/01419870.2020.1839114 |s2cid=229403180 |issn=0141-9870}}</ref>

=== Gay rights ===

David Koch voiced support for gay marriage; in 2015 signed an [[amicus curiae]] in the ''[[DeBoer v. Snyder]]'' case which supported [[Same-sex marriage|same-sex couples constitutional right to marry]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lerner |first=Adam |date=3 April 2015 |title=David Koch to sign amicus brief supporting gay marriage |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/david-koch-gay-marriage-amicus-brief-115752?_amp=true |access-date= |website=[[Politico]]}}</ref> Some gay rights advocates have complained that despite the brothers' vocal ideological libertarian stand against "government ‘intrusions,’ including ... laws that criminalized homosexuality", their devotion to conservative causes sometimes led them to support anti-gay rights politicians, (such as former Vice President Mike Pence, whose two campaigns for governor of Indiana the network "contributed heavily to"), and organizations (such as the [[American Legislative Exchange Council]], which "at least in its early years, strongly opposed LGBTQ equality").<ref name="RING-2019">{{cite news |last1=RING |first1=TRUDY |title=David Koch, Whose Money Harmed LGBTQ People, Dead at 79 |url=https://www.advocate.com/politics/2019/8/23/david-koch-whose-money-harmed-lgbtq-people-dead-79 |access-date=17 December 2022 |agency=Advocate |date=23 August 2019}}</ref>

=== Abortion ===

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==Response to liberal critics==

=== Response to Harry Reid ===

In 2014, ~~Democrat~~Democratic Senate Majority Leader [[Harry Reid]] accused the Koch brothers of trying to "buy the country" in a statement made on the floor of the Senate. Koch Companies Public Sector CEO Philip Ellender responded: "Sen. Reid's divisive remarks were not only disrespectful and beneath the office he holds, they were indicative of what lengths he and his Democratic allies will go to eliminate and silence their political opposition."<ref>{{cite web |url=~~http~~https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/197056-koch-industries-fire-back-at-reid/ |title=Koch brothers fire back at Reid's remark |last1=Wilson |first1=Megan R. |date=January 30, 2014 |website=The Hill.com |publisher=News Communications, Inc. |access-date=January 31, 2014}}</ref>

===Jane Mayer article in ''The New Yorker''===

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* [[Campaign finance in the United States]]

* ''[[Citizen Koch]]'', 2013 documentary film

* ''[[Koch Brothers Exposed]]'' (2012), a documentary film about the political activities of the Koch brothers

* [[KochPAC]], the Koch Industries Inc Political Action Committee

* [[Political finance]]

* [[Climate change]]

==References==