Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Koch brothers exposed

 
MoveOn members just kicked off our "America has a Koch Problem" campaign with 700 house parties from coast to coast. Can you chip in to counter the corrupting influence of right-wing billionaires like the Koch Brothers?

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Save the Date

Next Wednesday, July 9, Senator Bernie Sanders will join MoveOn members by video for a special conversation. Keep an eye out for more details. 

Dear MoveOn member,

Last month, the Koch brothers held a top-secret, invitation-only "billionaires summit" at the swanky St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in California to lay the groundwork for their scheme to buy the Senate this fall, and the White House in 2016.1

This past weekend, MoveOn members officially kicked off our bold campaign to fight back. Instead of shuttling to an exclusive resort for a closed-door meeting, nearly ten thousand MoveOn members gathered in living rooms, libraries, and community centers to watch the film Koch Brothers Exposed. These screenings were powerful. As they should be, they were one part education and one part action planning.

Here's what one MoveOn member who hosted two screenings on Saturday wrote:

I expected that some just would not show up (after all, it was Saturday) but I was shocked that both sessions were packed. Almost everyone showed up and some brought friends who had not registered ... There was standing room only. People were hungry for this information... Everyone was enthusiastic and ready to do something about it. 

Exposing the Koch brothers' hijacking of our democracy is the first step. MoveOn members are organizing in hundreds of communities around the country to raise a sustained outcry against the corrupting influence of right-wing billionaires. Our next step is to make Koch candidates pay a political price in November.

MoveOn members are off and running coast to coast. Can you chip in to counter the corrupting influence of right-wing billionaires like the Koch Brothers?


Here's what's in store: 
  • MoveOn members are drawing the attention of local media and the public to the pernicious impact of the Koch brothers. In Phoenix, MoveOn member Lesley Littlewhite organized over 3,000 other MoveOn members to call on Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to stop a Koch-driven proposed tax that would add $152 annually to the bill of families who use solar power. Lesley's work has been all over the local news.2 And, four of the candidates for the local commission that deals with taxes, including two Republicans(!), have already come out against the Koch-influenced solar tax.3 

  • We're calling out the Koch brothers' schemes in communities around the country—with a national day of action later this month where we'll hold events at the site of the Kochs' crimes, investing in creative, media-worthy tactics and the kind of out of the box campaigning that can break through the crowded media landscape. And we're going to draw a bright, straight line between the profound local impact of the Koch brothers and Americans for Prosperity, and the candidates they're backing for office—demanding to know whose side these candidates are on, the Kochs' or their constituents'.
      
     
  • MoveOn members just endorsed Senate candidates in nine states—forming a progressive firewall to stop the Senate from falling into the hands of the GOP and the Koch brothers. They are progressive champions who need to be re-elected, challengers who are putting red state seats in play, and candidates already being pummeled by Charles and David Koch's billions. 

  • This fall, we're going to run an ambitious and tested strategy to turn out progressive voters who could be the difference in these states—and prove that once again people power can beat Koch money. There's nothing the Koch brothers would love more than getting Al Franken, Jeff Merkley, and others out of the U.S. Senate—and we can help make sure that never happens. 
We've got a lot of work to do in the remaining 18 weeks before the election—but with the power of 8 million members, we can definitely out-organize the Koch brothers and their billionaire buddies. 

Thanks for all you do. 

Garlin, Jo, Kate, Alejandro, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Exclusive: Inside the Koch Brothers' Secret Billionaire Summit," The Nation, June 17, 2014 http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=299744&id=97992-10220574-FmBTPRx&t=4

2. "Group calls on governor to oppose solar tax," KTAR, June 20, 2014 
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=299863&id=97992-10220574-FmBTPRx&t=5

3. "Political advocacy group jumps into debate on taxing leased solar panels," The Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, June 23, 2014 
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=299864&id=97992-10220574-FmBTPRx&t=6


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