No lessons were learned in November of 2014.

Remember when Harry Reid and other Democrats thought they could retain control of the Senate by demonizing the Koch brothers? In November of 2014 that strategy proved to be a loser—but Democrats learned nothing.

Sean Sullivan and Anne Gearan of the Washington Post reported yesterday:

Democrats see new chance to attack Kochs after $1 billion spending announcement Forget Jeb, Rand and Ted. For Democrats, it’s all about Charles and David. The announcement this week that the vast political network backed by the wealthy industrialist Koch brothers aims to spend nearly $1 billion on the 2016 elections has reignited Democratic hopes of casting the brothers as electoral villains and linking them closely to Republican candidates. It’s a campaign strategy that yielded little success for the party in 2014, a banner year for the GOP. But Democratic officials and operatives say they are hopeful that their anti-Koch message will have more potency in a presidential election year.

Sally Kohn, who somehow has a job writing for CNN, jumped right on the bandwagon:

A better way for the Kochs to spend their millions Here comes spendageddon! To influence the 2016 elections, oil barons Charles and David Koch have pledged that their political network will spend $889 million, media reports say. Basically — wrap your head around this if you can — the ultra-conservative Koch brothers want to keep their business and personal taxes as low as possible and keep regulations on the energy industry as low as possible. And if they get their way, that $889 million in money donated by the Kochs and others to the groups they founded, will turn out to be just a drop in the bucket, a small investment for which they stand to gain much more in tax breaks and free pollution.

I fail to see how the libertarian Kochs, who favor gay marriage and the legalization of marijuana, qualify as “ultra-conservative”; but I’m clearly not as smart as Ms. Kohn.

Sally doesn’t seem concerned with the millions upon millions of dollars spent on elections by labor unions, teacher unions, or liberal billionaires like George Soros.

The reliably liberal New York Times also got in on the action. Nicholas Confessore wrote on Monday:

Koch Brothers’ Budget of $889 Million for 2016 Is on Par With Both Parties’ Spending The political network overseen by the conservative billionaires Charles G. and David H. Koch plans to spend close to $900 million on the 2016 campaign, an unparalleled effort by coordinated outside groups to shape a presidential election that is already on track to be the most expensive in history. The spending goal, revealed Monday at the Kochs’ annual winter donor retreat near Palm Springs, Calif., would allow their political organization to operate at the same financial scale as the Democratic and Republican Parties.

Once again, the Kochs are mislabeled as conservatives. Are you sensing a pattern? It’s almost like liberals refuse to acknowledge the word “libertarian,” or the Koch’s financial commitments to education, healthcare, and the arts.

Finally, I’ll just remind you that if you think big money in politics is a bad thing, you’re probably just supporting the wrong candidate. Sometimes big money in politics is evidence of a politician’s competence and ability.

Amie Parnes of The Hill:

Clinton plans to astound, intimidate with fundraising ‘like nothing you’ve seen’ Major donors are ready to announce huge financial commitments to Hillary Clinton as soon as she announces a second run for the White House, according to Clinton allies and Democratic fundraisers. The Clinton team wants to build excitement about her campaign launch, which is expected in March or April. The money blitz would be a show of Clinton’s strength meant to scare away potential primary rivals. “The floodgates are going to open immediately, and there’s going to be a rush to get on the team,” said Don Peebles, the real estate mogul who served on President Obama’s national finance committee. “There’s nobody in the Democratic Party who can match her. Not even close.” “It’s going to be like nothing you’ve seen,” added one top Democratic donor, who supported both of Obama’s presidential campaigns and plans to throw big support behind Clinton. “The numbers will be astounding.”

Democrats – It’s not evil when we do it.



