"... it’s highly significant that the GOP Senate candidates themselves have confirmed the true dimensions of that influence" by the Koch brothers.

...................................................................................................................................................................
Morning Plum: GOP Senate candidates confirm extent of Koch brothers’ influence
By Greg Sargent, August 27, 2014

Ever since Democrats began linking GOP Senate candidates to the billionaire Koch brothers, Republicans — and plenty of neutral commentators — have sneered dismissively about the strategy. It could only be about pumping up Dem fundraising; or it was a desperate ploy to distract from Obamacare; or it was merely about driving up Republican candidates’ negatives.

The counter-argument is that this strategy is also about contrasting the two parties’ policy priorities. It’s about making the case that there really is substantial overlap between the GOP agenda and the Koch brothers’ push for an anti-tax, anti-regulatory, anti-government-interventionist agenda that, as the New York Times has detailed, benefits their bottom line. The Dem argument is that voters deserve to know why the Kochs are investing so much in a GOP Senate — which of course benefits Republican Senate candidates.

Today Sam Stein scoops that several GOP Senate candidates, in a private gathering, confirmed their reliance on the Koch brothers and the depth of their influence:

Three top Republican Senate candidates heaped praise on the political network built by the conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch during a secretive conference held by the brothers this past summer, according to audio of the event.

Iowa state Sen. Joni Ernst and Arkansas Rep. Tom Cotton directly credited donors present at the June 16 retreat in Dana Point, California, for propelling them forward. Colorado Rep. Cory Gardner told attendees that his race would likely be decided by the presence of “third party” money — an obvious pitch for generosity from the well-heeled crowd.

Ernst credited the Koch network with having “really started my trajectory.” Cotton heaped praise on the Koch-founded Americans for Prosperity for transforming Arkansas politically in ways that help Republicans. Gardner said the cash from the Koch network could prove decisive.

There is nothing necessarily wrong with any of this. But it undercuts GOP complaints about the Dem strategy of targeting the Koch brothers and linking GOP candidates to them. Republicans have fretted that this is all about a concerted strategy to “demonize” big GOP donors. But there is no reason why the actual agenda and motives of individuals who are wielding so much influence over who will control the Senate should be off limits, just as there is no reason why billionaire environmentalist and major Dem donor Tom Steyer’s agenda and motives should be off limits.

In that context, it’s highly significant that the GOP Senate candidates themselves have confirmed the true dimensions of that influence.
...................................................................................................................................................................