“Most Valuable Book of 2017”
Frank Kashner Apprentice Motion Picture Film Editor - IASTE ● General Electric Machinist / IUE Local 201 ● Software Engineering Organizations ● Social Worker – schools & office – SEIU 509 ● Un-Chain Democracy UnChainDemocracy.org ●
Take me back to old Virginia For some of wealth & power, the problem is that we are no longer like 19th-century Virginia when – Wealthy white men controlled government – Taxes were minimal – The Federal government did not interfere
John C. Calhoun ~1860 Majority based government ... “ was sure to filch other men’s property and violate their liberty .”
1956 Brown v. Board of Education A great step forward or a violation?
1964 War on Poverty Progress or a vast overreach?
David Koch for Vice President ● 1980 Libertarian party vote = ~1%
David Koch for VP - Abolish ● Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid ● Environmental Protection Agency ● Depts of Transportation, Energy ● Food & Drug Administration ● Consumer Product Safety ● Federal Election Commission ● U.S. Postal Service
Repeal ● Occupational Safety & Health aka OSHA ● Minimum Wage ● Compulsory Education ● All Taxation
Privatize & End Oversight of All ● Railroads ● Public Roads ● National Highway System ● Inland Waterways ● Water Distribution Systems
End All Welfare ● Only voluntary efforts are proper ● Hunger, poverty, homelessness, illness, and illiteracy? Too bad!
Drown Government in the bathtub “I just want to shrink it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub” Grover Norquist They see capitalism and democracy • as incompatible !!
Transform ideas into action & law ∙ Koch ~ $100 billion ∙ Strongly held beliefs ∙ Superb organizational skills ∙ Exploit Citizens’ United via Dark Money ∙ A huge patronage organization ∙ A legal revolution against US
What the Koch network does ● Operate secretly, hide true goals ● Use universities & media to propagate ideas ● Turn the GOP into a disciplined delivery vehicle ● Use primary challenges to enforce compliance ● Change the law, the judiciary, push for Article V ● Get control of a majority of states, use X Feds
What the Koch Network Does ● Constrict the electorate, gerrymander, suppress ● Cultivate allies – Council for National Policy evangelical right, gun, racist, misogynist, xenophobic ● Misinform , use I360 data targeting on social media, fake news, coordinated messaging ( Fox ) and legislation ( ALEC )
Koch Network: A Secret Oligarchy >500 donors pay at least $100K / year
Kochs = $$ CNP = Voters
Council for National Poicy - CNP ● Authoritarian “Christian” principles ● Strict constructionist view of US Constitution ● Minority rule is necessary to win ● “Not Voting is a Sin Against God” ● 38,000 Pastors - Watchmen on the Wall - Get out the fundamentalist vote
16 Cabinet Secretaries
70% of WH Senior Officials
After 40 years of effort they control Legislatures, Judiciary, Executive-Federal & State
23 Senate seats
INDIVISIBLE Payback Project
Questions ● What is the best use of our time? ● Koch / CNP coordination – us? ● A mass movement – how? ● DNC vs Bernie?
What can we do? ● Elections, elections, elections ● Swing Left, Indivisible, Action Together NS ● UnChainDemocracy.org ● Is our house on fire? ● Nancy speaks @ Salem State on 3/5
UnChainDemocracy.org
Many Groups are doing Excellent Work - Countering the Koch Network Here are screen shots of their websites
Christians against Dark Money
A Research Repository
Voting Rights
Is there “Democratic Party Loyalty”? - Truthdig 1/22/2020 Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said recently, “We don’t have a left party in the United States. The Democratic Party is a center, or center-conservative, party.” Question: How can we be most effective as Democrats while having a conservative Democratic Party Leadership that also trades access for campaign contributions?
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