Yesterday, we enjoyed the thank you note that Chuck Schumer sent to KOCHPAC thank them for their “generous” donation . Since Democrats like to portray the Koch Brothers as the enemies of American decency, this must have come as quite a let down to the left-wing brass. Or maybe it didn’t. It wasn’t all that long ago that the Kochs gave to a whole host of congressional Dems.

Hall worked for Koch Industries from 1998 to 2004, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. He was previously a lobbyist for INVISTA, the Koch Industries subsidiary that Democrats are targeting in their latest campaign to “other” the Koch brothers.

According to campaign finance records, former Koch Industries lobbyist Robert P. Hall III donated $500 to Reid’s campaign in 2003.

Among those who benefited are ...none other than Senators Harry Reid and Mary Landrieu.

Now, I’ll admit, 2003 is a long time ago, and $500 isn’t all that much. However, you’d better be squeaky clean if you’re going to fill your idiotic Twitter feed with tripe like this:

Oooooh. Stylish. How very “Mad Men!” I’ll bet the intelligentsia that staff Harry Reid’s team of thinkers spent all afternoon coming up with that.

So, “why” you ask, were the Koch’s donating to people like Reid and Schumer in the first place? Well, to be blunt, it’s because they’re businessmen and they’re trying to curry favor. If you run a large corporation in a country where the feds have involved themselves in every level of industry, this is what happens. I’m not saying it’s necessarily right, but this is the goal, and end result, of over-regulation.

Democrats want to limit free speech to deal with this, but the real answer is to unshackle the business world.

Anyone who’s spent any time in the corporate realm knows that the vast majority of this money is intended to “grease the wheels” and make business dealings easier. More laws mean more power for politicians. More political power means more donations from people who could use influence in Washington. It’s not like companies exist to give away their profits. If there were fewer laws, and less regulation, there would be less reason for corporations to throw cash at candidates.

But I digress. Let’s get back to the Kochs. What other big-name Koch-hating Democrats were funded by the Kochs? In addition to Schumer and Reid, the Politico has compiled the following:

Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas took $10,000 from KochPAC in 2012. Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana has taken $55,000 in Koch money since the 2000 cycle. Former Senate Democrats Max Baucus, Blanche Lincoln and Ben Nelson took Koch cash in 2010. And Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York got $1,000 in the same year. Since 2000, KochPAC has given more than $1.4 million to Democratic candidates, leadership PACs and party committees, according to numbers compiled by Congressional Quarterly’s Moneyline.

Senator Mary Landrieu!? Why she’s in a tight re-election battle down in Louisiana! ...and she’s tainted by Koch money. I’m sure Harry Reid will stick to his principles and denounced her candidacy.

If you know someone who’s inclined to buy into the Democrats’ anti-Koch hysteria, remind them: if they’re claiming that taking Koch money is a sin, it’s one that the left has been committing for years.