Jane Mayer on the hard right-wing Koch family

Joe in DC did an excellent piece yesterday on the hard right-wing Koch family, and their funding of ... I'm still stunned ... the DLC. (Money enables Repubs and neuters Dems.)

And right on time, here's Rachel Maddow interviewing Jane Mayer on her new Koch family article, which Joe referenced. The interview is long, fact-filled, and fascinating. Watch and learn; my notes at the end.



Rather than gloss the main points of the interview, I'd like to gloss the meta-point.

Right-wing billionaires have been drinking our milkshake for literally generations. If it's not the Koch crew, it's Scaife. If not Scaife, it's Ahmundson. Or any of a dozen others.

They're motivated; wealthy beyond your understanding (literally; most Americans can't begin to comprehend the wealth of the very wealthy); driven by the kind of fire that burns in angels, demons, and those with OCD; and they're in it for the very long term.

They think back to McKinley and forward to the adulthood of their grandchildren. (You may want to click that last link; ick.)

That's their billionaires. Where are our billionaires? Selling off Air America because it didn't turn a profit fast enough. You want a poster boy for our billionaires? George Soros is a "former member of the Carlyle Group."

We will not win unless we clean out the Democratic party. And we will not win until our billionaires stop sending patrol boats against their billionaires' battleships. If you consider yourself one of our billionaires (I know you're out there), consider this a call to action. Seriously.

GP