The Koch Brothers’ Favorite Politician
The
Koch brothers hate Donald Trump, but they love Mike Pence. The
Koch brothers had supported Scott Walker in the Republican primaries. When he sank like a stone, they made clear their distaste for Trump. But now Trump has chosen a politician they admire: a religious and economic conservative.
The
billionaire brothers, who run a network of donors to their vast infrastructure
of Republican-allied political operations, so loathe Trump that Charles Koch
described the choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as voting for
either “cancer or a heart attack.”
David
H. Koch, meanwhile, is reported by Politico to have withdrawn his $1 million
donation to the Republican National Convention because of the party’s new
standard-bearer.
Having
built no ground operation of his own, Trump desperately needs the ready-made,
plug-and-play infrastructure built by the Kochs, the mightiest entity of which
is Americans for Prosperity, whose president just loves, loves him some Mike
Pence.
And
why wouldn’t he? Phillips’ boss, David Koch, has given some $300,000 to Pence’s
campaigns, according to the website Follow the Money.
Pence
is the hard-line Evangelical conservative who signed legislation legalizing
discrimination against gay people in Indiana, making it okay to refuse service
if your religion opposes homosexuality.
Pence
built his reputation opposing LGBT rights and
abortion rights.
Pence fought to defend the state’s right-to-work laws (initiated by his predecessor Mitch Daniels) and opposes raising the minimum wage.
Pence,
of course, is a vocal supporter of charter schools and vouchers, anything but
public schools. Trump too loves charter schools, so at least we know they agree
on that issue. They both want to privatize American education and abolish
teachers unions.
Trump
is indeed a card. Maybe the joker.
He
has been married three times and has had countless girlfriends. He owned
casinos. He has gay friends and enjoys the friendship of Elton John and Caitlyn
Jenner. His daughter is married to an Orthodox Jew.
And
his running mate is a hard-right social conservative who opposes all the things
that Trump practices in his own life.
Go
figure.