Just finished reading the Charles Koch op-ed piece in WSJ, and am trying to keep my blood calm. I put together a line-by-line, paragraph-by-paragraph commentary, and that helped. To avoid fair use issues, I will not reproduce the entire op-ed piece. I will, however, excerpt freely.
Charles Koch: I'm Fighting to Restore a Free Society
HaHaHaHa – oh, wait
Instead of welcoming free debate, collectivists engage in character assassination.
Personally, I welcome free debate, any stage, any time, just say when – guess I’m not a “collectivist” (?)
It is those principles—the principles of a free society—that have shaped my life, my family, our company and America itself.
Do those principles include: (a) inheriting a sh*tload of money from Daddy, then (b) spending a lot of it buying politicians to make sure your inheritance grows? I always thought the principles of a free society involved a level playing field, where everyone’s votes are equal.
It was only in the past decade that I realized the need to also engage in the political process.
Hey, that kind of corresponds to the time when money became obscenely important in the American political process – that wouldn’t be a coincidence, would it?
In a truly free society, any business that disrespects its customers will fail, and deserves to do so. The same should be true of any government that disrespects its citizens.
Man, where to start. How about a government that tries to keep its poorest citizens from voting? How about a government that redistricts to make sure that a minority party stays in power? How about a government that tries to decide how women should behave in their bedrooms and their doctors’ offices? How about a government that lies about WMDs in order to start 2 wars? How about a government that denies marriage equality to a large fraction of its citizens? How about a government that starts wars with impunity, then refuses to raise taxes to pay for them? How about a government that tries to block the teaching of science in a science classroom? How about a government that can't begin to address the most important climate crisis in the history of human life on the planet? How about a government that endorses the financing of lies and innuendos as a legitimate campaign tool? That’s my idea of a “government that disrespects its citizens” – is it yours?
The more government tries to control, the greater the disaster, as shown by the current health-care debacle.
I am so glad you mentioned the “health-care debacle.” Because of that “debacle”, millions more Americans are now insured than before the Obamacare era. In spite of your and your friends’ efforts to derail Obamacare and deny coverage to millions of Americans, it didn’t work. Yeah, you managed to keep millions of poor people in a lot of red states from gaining access to care, and as a result, you have condemned many of them to poor health and even death, but those of us who have brains and Democratic legislatures are far better off, and I sincerely hope that your anointed Republican candidates continue to run on a platform of taking health care benefits away from millions of Americans. We’ll see just how great a debacle that turns out to be – for you.
Instead of encouraging free and open debate, collectivists strive to discredit and intimidate opponents. They engage in character assassination. (I should know, as the almost daily target of their attacks.)
Charles – the only character attacks on you that I am familiar with involve factual statements about billions of dollars funneled to right-wing politicians and initiatives, which you have then tried to hide. The cover-ups invariably led to reveals where your name and face kept showing up. You seem to be confusing investigative journalism with character assassination. If you want to distance yourself from right-wing nutjobs, then stop giving them money. If you don’t, don’t complain when you are called out.
Koch companies employ 60,000 Americans. . . About one-third of our U.S.-based employees are union members.
I am truly glad to hear that you are in favor of union membership – so tell your Republican buddies to back off and lighten up. And speaking of Koch Industries,
here is a list. I know I won’t be buying their products again any time soon.
EPA officials have commended us for our "commitment to a cleaner environment" and called us "a model for other companies."
The EPA, isn’t that the agency that your buddy Rick Perry wants to shut down? Tell that to the good citizens of West Virginia.
I believe that cronyism is nothing more than welfare for the rich and powerful, and should be abolished.
Charles, all progressives oppose welfare for the rich and powerful, every Democrat I know, and I applaud you for opposing it as well. Now how about funneling some of that cash to politicians who also oppose it?
This is what happens when elected officials believe that people's lives are better run by politicians and regulators than by the people themselves. Those in power fail to see that more government means less liberty, and liberty is the essence of what it means to be American.
I have just 3 words: Roe v Wade. OK, 2 more words: Plan B. Kind of hypocritical of you, eh, Charles?
If more businesses (and elected officials) were to embrace a vision of creating real value for people in a principled way, our nation would be far better off—not just today, but for generations to come. I'm dedicated to fighting for that vision. I'm convinced most Americans believe it's worth fighting for, too.
I think that vision is worth fighting for too, but my version is a little different, ok, very different, from yours, and I am not hypocritical about it. I support fair elections, majority rule, one-man-one-vote. I support marriage equality, gun control, universal health care, and Social Security. I support a fair, progressive tax system and strong banking regulations, protecting the environment and a woman's right to choose. But I don’t have billions, so I only get one vote. All I can do is keep trying to make my voice heard above the screaming.
Thanks, I feel better now.