Koch Network Re-evaluating Midterm Strategy Amid Frustrations with GOP, But Should Let Cooler Heads Prevail

According to this article:

The network of groups affiliated with billionaire conservative donors Charles and David Koch are taking a new look at which Republican candidates to support this year. The groups still plan to spend up to $400 million on politics and policies this election cycle, but they’re deeply frustrated by what they view as the GOP’s refusal to take up major legislation ahead of the midterm election.

Americans for Prosperity president Tim Phillips, a senior Koch network political strategist, tells us they’ve made their misgivings known to the White House and GOP leaders in Congress, including Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.):  “We’ve been disappointed so far this year and it’s going to cause us to closely evaluate the involvement we may or may not have in individual races,” Phillips says.

Boys: I understand your frustration, but I urge you not to overreact.  Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.

The GOP may have underperformed according to your expectations, but keep these three major things in mind:

• MASSIVE TAX CUTS WENT ALMOST ENTIRELY TO YOU.

The tax “reform” the GOP passed looted the national treasury of $1.4 trillion, but they gave 82% of the booty to the top 1%.  Did you really expect the other 18% too?

• THE EPA HAS MADE YOU RICH BEYOND MEASURE BY UNDERMINING ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS.

The EPA has been working its tail off to enrich you by removing dozens of regulations on air and water pollution, made major cuts to agency staff, and curtailed enforcement of environmental rules. From Mother Jones:

Greenhouse Gas Limits: Declaring “the war against coal is over,” Pruitt announced the EPA would repeal President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan, which would have placed limits on carbon pollution from power plants—a major cause of global warming.

Clean Water Protections: Pruitt has rescinded the Waters of the United States rule, which gave the agency wider latitude to regulate pollution.

Hazardous Air: The EPA withdrew a 1995 policy that imposed limits on nearly 200 pollutants, including arsenic, lead, and mercury, from major industrial polluters.

Hazardous Chemicals: Pruitt has delayed an Obama-era rule requiring plants to release inventories of chemicals on hand—key information for first responders in the event of an accident.

Fuel Efficiency Standards: The EPA is reviewing tougher fuel standards established under Obama—standards that Pruitt calls “costly for automakers and the American people.”

Smog: The Obama administration strengthened limits on ozone pollution, which causes smog. Pruitt has yet to enforce the rule.

Climate Denial: Pruitt says he doesn’t think humans are a “primary contributor” to global warming, and he has proposed a series of “debates” designed to challenge mainstream climate science.

Dangerous Pesticides: The EPA plans to revise an Obama-era rule that prevents farm workers younger than 18 from applying pesticides. Pruitt has also refused to ban chlorpyrifos, a pesticide that can damage the nervous system—despite agency scientists saying a ban was warranted.

Coal Ash: Under Obama, the EPA set national standards for the disposal of toxic coal residue. Pruitt has granted an industry request to reconsider the rule.

Global Climate Accords: After a bitter debate among top advisers, President Donald Trump sided with Pruitt and Steve Bannon, announcing he would withdraw from the Paris climate accord.

Politicizing the Grant Process: Pruitt assigned a former Trump campaign aide to review all EPA grants, according to the Post. The aide, John Konkus, directed staffers to remove references to climate change from grant solicitations.

Stacking the Agency With Industry Allies: In a move critics called “scientific censorship,” Pruitt announced that scientists who receive EPA grants can no longer serve on the agency’s advisory boards. Seven board members immediately resigned and were replaced with industry-friendly scientists.

Slashing Staff and Hiring Cronies: Under Pruitt, the number of EPA staffers has fallen by more than 800. According to ProPublica and the Times, that loss includes 200 scientists, most of whom haven’t been replaced. Meanwhile, Pruitt has hired longtime friends and acquaintances.

• THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY HAS COVERTLY TAKEN OVER THE EXECUTIVE AND THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCHES OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.

With your money, the libertarian right has succeeded in its stealth takeover of the Republican Party as a delivery mechanism to create harsher laws to undermine unions, privatizing everything from schools to health care and Social Security, and keeping as many of us as possible from voting.  (Please read the work of a Duke University history professor who spent ten years of unique research to create her book Democracy in Chains, a chilling story of right-wing academics and big money run amok.)

Look, boys, I sympathize.  I know you want it all.  But you can’t have it.  Yet.

The last 18 months has been a victory for you heartless bastards the likes of which no one, not even you greedy pigs, ever considered possible.  Be patient.