"Jane Mayer’s remarkable new book makes it abundantly clear that the
Kochs, and the closely connected group of billionaires they’ve helped
assemble, have spent thousands of times that much over the past few
decades, and that in the process they’ve distorted American politics in
devastating ways, impairing the chances that we’ll effectively respond
to climate change, reducing voting rights in many states, paralyzing
Congress, and radically ratcheting up inequality.
In this election
cycle, for instance, the Kochs have publicly stated that they and their
compatriots will spend $889 million, more than either the Republican or
Democratic parties spent last time around. According to a recent
analysis in Politico, their privatized political network is
backed by a group of several hundred extremely rich fellow donors who
often meet at off-the-record conclaves organized by the Kochs at desert
resorts. It has at least 1,200 full-time staffers in 107 offices
nationwide, or three and a half times as many as the Republican National
Committee. They may be the most important unelected political figures
in American history.
As a result, Jane Mayer’s Dark Money—a
detailed accounting of their rise and rise—is absolutely necessary
reading for anyone who wants to make sense of our politics. Lay aside
the endless punditry about Donald’s belligerence or Hillary’s ambition;
Mayer is telling the epic story of America in our time. It is a triumph
of investigative reporting, perhaps not surprising for a journalist who
has won most of the awards her profession has to offer. But she had to
cut through the secrecy that these men have carefully cultivated,
unraveling an endless list of front groups. And she had to do it despite
real intimidation; apparently an arm of what some have called “the
Kochtopus” hired private investigators to try to dig up dirt on her
personal and professional life, a tactic that failed because there
wasn’t any. She’s a pro, and she’s given the world a full accounting of
what had been a shadowy and largely unseen force."
The Koch Brothers’ New Brand
