Dana Point, California (CNN) As top GOP presidential candidates arrived at a hotel here to court the influential donors of the Koch network, Charles Koch called on retreat attendees to unite with him in a campaign against "corporate welfare" and "irresponsible spending" by both political parties.

Speaking on the hotel's grassy lawn with the Pacific Ocean shimmering behind him, Koch opened the gathering hosted by Freedom Partners by noting that the theme of the weekend would be "Unleashing Our Free Society." Koch network donors and politicians alike must work toward "eliminating welfare for the wealthy," he said.

"We're headed toward a two-tiered society -- a society that's destroying opportunities for the disadvantaged and creating welfare for the rich," Koch said. "Misguided policies are creating a permanent underclass, crippling our economy and corrupting the business community," he said, "present company excepted of course."

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Koch said clearing those obstacles would require getting business leaders to recognize that accepting "corporate welfare" -- which he defined as subsidies and special preferences for business -- is "suicide long term."

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