Walker would seem to be a premature choice. On several levels, he’s doomed, and surely the Kochs, or the people they pay to help them think, can see that. Immigration is the most troubling area for him. Remember, in the brief moment of introspection after Mitt Romney lost the Latino vote by a whopping 44-point margin in 2012, how Republicans vowed to change their image as a party of aging white xenophobes?

That lasted about as long as oatmeal on a grill. After flirting with joining the majority of Americans who feel that illegal immigrants should have a path to citizenship — similar to the long-stalled Dream Act — the Republican presidential field is back to pandering to its old white-guy base. The exception is Jeb Bush, and to a lesser degree, Senator Rubio. Walker’s positions would open an even wider gulf between Hispanics, who make up 10 percent of the electorate, and Republicans.

At home in Wisconsin, Walker’s ratings continue to plummet, with a majority disapproving of his job as governor and not wanting him to run for president. (He has yet to declare.) He barely survived a recall campaign, and his name is toxic among working Americans who dare to seek better wages through collective bargaining. And as a topper, a former consultant, Liz Mair, has been dogging him on Twitter about his latest “Olympic-quality flip-flop.”

The other four Koch favorites are now back in play, auditioning in the months leading up to a summer summit by the brothers. This opens the door to a shunned outsider, someone like Mike Huckabee, who can play the victimized rube card that he has used to enrich himself. The Kochs would crush him, but it would be instructive to watch it happen.

There is another Republican plutocrat still to please — Sheldon Adelson, the carrot-haired octogenarian casino magnate. He spent $100 million in 2012, and may match that in 2016, purchasing a sycophant. Three words will get you close to Adelson: Israel, Israel, Israel.

At some point, you would think that average Americans would be appalled by a few rich guys trying to buy the next presidential election. And — hope alert! — you did see a great pushback against the Koches in red-state Montana this month. There, Koch-funded surrogates tried to keep poor people from getting health care, through the Medicaid expansion option of Obamacare. Koch agents were booed at one hearing. And they were shamed at another, for the stark cruelty of two people worth a combined $80 billion dollars trying to deny a basic human decency to people who earn $11,000 a year. Health care is on the way in Montana.

As a political party of two, the Kochs may end up spending as much money to get their way next year as either of the actual political parties. But as the prickly, independent-minded folks of Montana showed, purchased politicians come with a weak warranty.