Tag: Koch

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Did Koch Industries Bribe Cornyn As Texas AG?

An interesting Texas Monthly piece from way back in 2000 suggests that then Texas Attorney General John Cornyn went easy on the powerful Koch industries after they polluted Texas waters in return for their support for him during his 1998 campaign.

John Cornyn was a judge at the Texas Supreme Court from 1991 to 1997 and was elected Texas Attorney General in 1998. Prior to his stint at the Texas Supreme Court, Cornyn was a judge at the Texas 37th District Court.

According to the Texas Monthly piece, pipelines belonging to Wichita-based Koch Industries leaked oil products into the waters of Texas and several other states. The federal government went after Koch Industries for violations of the Clean Water Act and several states including Texas joined the lawsuit. Texas attorney General at that time was Dan Morales (Cornyn’s predecessor). AG Morales is famous for the major win he scored against the Tobacco industry that netted the Lone Star state a staggering $17.3 billion in fines from Big Tobacco.

It is against the backdrop of AG Morales’ win against Big Tobacco that Koch Industries backed John Cornyn’s candidacy for Texas AG–in essence to shield themselves from having to pay astronomical fines to the Lone Star state as Big Tobacco did. So you say, “OK @Emolclause you’re really grasping at straws here. Cut to the chase and explain how Koch Industries recruited Cornyn to avoid paying astronomical fines to the Lone Star state after polluting its waters.” Here it is in a nutshell.

As the Texas Monthly piece correctly points out, going after Big Tobacco, Big Oil etc in court usually involves very complex litigation that requires a battery of “cream of the crop” attorneys. Needless to say, such attorneys charge astronomical fees for their services–fees that most state elected officials(AGs) feel uncomfortable paying using taxpayer funds. What most states end up doing therefore (at least before AG Cornyn came along) is that they enter into agreements with these smart attorneys whereby the attorneys take on the complex litigation without any payment from the state in return for a share(percentage) of the fines they recoup from the offending company. In the case of Big Tobacco for example where Texas netted an astronomical $17.3 billion in fines, the attorneys in the case ended up getting paid a whopping $3.3 billion.

AG Morales attempted to duplicate his success against Big Tobacco in his fight against Koch Industries by using the same technique of a battery of smart attorneys not paid by the state. Koch Industries backed Cornyn’s campaign for Texas AG in 1998, donating $5000 to his campaign. Cornyn went on to win the election in 1998 and when he became AG, immediately began fighting the practice of using “outside” lawyers for complex litigation like the one the state was pursuing against Koch Industries. Cornyn wanted only state attorneys(from the AG’s office) to handle the complex litigation against Koch Industries and others–an obvious legal advantage to the big companies. He used the straw argument that the staggering $3.3 billion paid to attorneys in the Big Tobacco case should have ended up in the state’s coffers instead.

What ended up happening is that the high-powered attorneys AG Morales had lined up to go to trial against Koch Industries left and the Lone Star state was forced to accept a paltry $35 million settlement from Koch, a settlement that deeply angered environmentalists. Most experts agree that had Cornyn allowed Morales’ attorneys to take Koch to trial, they were looking at a possible $225 million or more in fines. Obviously some of the $225 million would have gone to pay the attorneys’ fees but the Lone Star state would still have ended up with more than the paltry $35 million “slap on the wrist” settlement Cornyn got. Therefore Koch essentially backed Cornyn as AG in order to save themselves from paying astronomical fines to the state for polluting its waters. Sad indeed!!

Cornyn when confronted about this “slap on the wrist” settlement against Koch industries reportedly answered that it was “pretty darned good for a Republican.” In other words he did not aggressively pursue Koch Industries as much as he should because they traditionally supported Republicans.

Even more troubling is the fact that Cornyn assailed his GOP primary opponent in the Texas AG race for engaging in the exact similar conduct he was now excusing–taking money(contributions) from a company the Texas AG’s office was pursuing in court. This means Cornyn knew what he was doing was unethical but did it anyway.

It also cannot be left unsaid that the Texas Monthly piece accused John Cornyn of “playing politics with the law at the expense of the public interest.”  This is especially instructive now that he is running for reelection in 2020. Hopefully his Dem challengers will dig into this excellent Texas Monthly piece to dig up other troubling aspects of John Cornyn’s political career

Bottom line, Texas has always been assumed to be a reliably “red state” by much of the national mainstream media and indeed by some establishment Democrats. Yours Truly challenged this notion back when nobody thought Beto O’Rourke had any chance against Ted Cruz and we saw what happened. The same needs to happen with John Cornyn, whose long record both in Texas politics and as U.S. Senator provides ample oppo-research fodder for his prospective Dem challenger. Yours Truly will certainly do his part to expose John Cornyn for the corrupt politician he has always been, beginning with this shady deal he did for Koch Industries against the best interests of the Lone Star state.

For those of you very happy with @Emolclause’s activism don’t shy away from the “tip jar” below on your way out.

You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com

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The Dangerous Koch Brothers Out To Buy Supreme Court Seat


Moments after Yours Truly urged Democrats to confront the unjust Roberts Supreme Court over its pattern of horrendous decisions that favor the GOP but wreck havoc on the rest of the nation, we got the bombshell news that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring on July 1.


Moments later we got word that the dangerous Koch Brothers plan to spend “seven figures” to get Trump to nominate who they(Kochs) think should be on the Supreme Court.


Bottomline Dems must not only start speaking out against the unjust Roberts Supreme Court, they must also point to instances like these where the Koch Brothers are trying to buy a Supreme Court seat as reasons why the horrendous Citizens United decision needs to be reversed

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Dangerous Koch Brothers Killing Public Transit Projects For Their Own Profit

Yours Truly recently warned you about how the dangerous Koch Brothers’ real intentions behind their Constitutional Convention push is the elimination of Medicare and Medicaid. As if that is not bad enough, we now find out through an excellent New York Times piece that they are also actively derailing public transit projects by cities nationwide because such projects negatively affect their pocketbook(if that’s even possible ). This is greed beyond belief

Cities across the nation grappling with massive traffic jams, high carbon emissions etc have resorted to public transit as a solution. The simple reasoning behind this is that public transit, whether that be public buses or trains reduce the number of vehicles on the roads thereby reducing traffic jams, carbon emissions etc.

The Koch Brothers primary source of income is their refineries which produce among other things gasoline. The more vehicles there are on the streets, the more money Koch Brothers make (gasoline sales). Simply put, public transit is bad for Koch Brothers business and as such they are waging all out warfare against public transit projects nationwide, most of which benefit poor people.


In their war against public transit the Koch Brothers have enlisted the services of activists Americans for Prosperity, whose “grassroots” efforts according to the New York Times article, led to a No-vote on a Nashville, Tennessee public transit system that was previously considered a guaranteed Yes-vote. Needless to say the Koch Brothers pumped a lot of money into Americans for Prosperity for their “grassroots” efforts towards a No-vote.

A spokesman for Koch Industries, David Dziok, when questioned about this apparent conflict of interest not only denied that the Kochs have a financial interest in shooting down public transit projects, but also added the ridiculous statement that the Koch Brothers don’t control the activities of Americans for Prosperity, which they heavily fund–a totally bogus assertion.

The New York Times article also raises a very interesting point that caught Yours Truly’s attention and that is that Koch Brothers apparently have a data service called i360 which gives their activists(Americans for Prosperity) very accurate leads on the kind of voters to target to secure a No-Vote on public transit systems. Given the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal, Yours Truly is very curious as to how the dangerous Koch Brothers compiles this i360 list. Specifically, is i360 also a product of Facebook? Folks, rest assured that Yours Truly will dig into this i360 data service

Bottom line the dangerous Koch Brothers are a menace to Dems and poor people generally. They are not only planning on knocking poor people out of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security with their Constitutional Convention push, they also want to take away public transit.

For those of you very happy with @Emolclause’s activism don’t shy away from the “tip jar” below on your way out




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Dems Must Expose GOP’s Super Secret Group CNP-A Haven For Extremists

In previous posts Yours Truly has talked about Koch Brothers, ALEC, The Mercers and other dangerous power players who through their extreme wealth control/influence the modern Republican Party. Naturally these wealthy power players prefer to operate in secret because the appearance of politicians acting at their behest instead of the voters who elected them will never sit well with Americans. It is therefore vitally important that the public(Democrats) keep a close eye on these shadowy power players. As a wise man once said, “sunlight is the best disinfectant.”


Turns out there is also a dangerous and super secretive organization of Conservatives called the Council for National Policy(CNP) which Democrats must keep a close eye on. Apparently CNP is a grouping of the most powerful Conservatives in the country–leading politicians, talk radio hosts, Evangelical leaders etc. CNP is so powerful that the last 5 Republican Presidential candidates have felt compelled to address the group.

So whats the big deal with the CNP that the public/Dems should be on the lookout for? Well, turns out this highly secretive organization which boasts membership from leading Republican leaders is also home to some of the most controversial radicals including one Michael Peroutka, a known racist and segregationist

Why are leading Republicans including Evangelical leaders paling around with these radicals? Is this why CNP is a super secret organization? Hang in there folks, Yours Truly will dig deeper into CNP and keep you posted.

For those of you very happy with @Emolclause’s activism don’t shy away from the “tip jar” below on your way out




You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com

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Medicaid Expansion Key To Dems Winning State Houses

Folks Yours Truly readily admits that this week the Mainstream Media has done very well highlighting two issues that are very important to grassroots democrats across the country–voting machine security and the fight to save Medicare/Medicaid in the states


After bashing the Mainstream Media for weeks on end about their inexplicable silence regarding voting machine security in an election year, it was a pleasant surprise to see a report on Reuters addressing similar concerns. Hopefully MSM will continue reporting on this issue of great concern especially in Texas, where Dems are finally poised to make Historic electoral gains but are confronted with the sad reality of unverifiable voting machines in the Trump-Putin era. In years past fears about unverifiable voting machines would be shunned as conspiracy theorist talk. Grassroots Dems however are aware of just how real these fears are in the age of Trump and are desperate for more media coverage on this issue, not less.

Another big grassroots Dem story by the MSM this week was the Medicare expandion vote by the Virginia legislature that was largely pushed by the newly elected state Democrats. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow hosted one of the Virginia state Democrats, Danica Roem, who was instrumental in the Medicare expansion push


The Virginia case is a classic example of why Dems need to wage the Medicare/Medicaid war in the states. As Maddow pointed out in the segment, the Dem electoral sweep in Virginia was largely because they campaigned on restoring healthcare to a public that is increasingly witnessing GOP efforts to take away their healthcare. In other words Medicare/Medicaid is a winning issue for Dems in the states

As Yours Truly has repeatedly stated, the fight for Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security are very important to grassroots Dems and could reap huge harvests in state legislatures. Democrats could literally recapture a huge chunk of the state legislatures they have lost to the GOP in recent years if they campaign hard on the theme that Republicans are out to take away people’s Medicare/Medicaid.

To be clear, Yours Truly’s argument has been that the Koch Brothers/ALEC funded clamor for a Constitutional Convention(ConCon) by state GOP politicians is aimed ultimately at the elimination of Medicare/Medicaid because they are the biggest driver of the national debt.


There is a lot of proof out there supporting this argument but you’ll never hear that from the Mainstream Media probably because it is still considered a “radical” argument because its main pusher, Yours Truly is regarded by the MSM as a “radical leftist”. But the proof is staring the Mainstream Media in their faces if they cared to look. Consider for instance, Virginia GOP’s pushback argument to the Medicare expansion move by the Democrats. Virginia’s GOP Senate Majority Leader opposed the Medicare expansion move because it “abandons Virginia’s long-standing reputation for fiscal responsibility.”–the quintessential balanced budget amendment argument behind GOP’s Constitutional Convention effort.

Bottom line folks we still have a lot of pushing to do to get the Mainstream Media to talk about issues near and dear to grassroots Dems. However where, as here, they show a slight improvement we have to give them partial credit. The ideal situation(worthy of full credit) would be for Mainstream Media to “go there” and say boldly like Yours Truly that the ultimate goal of the Constitutional Convention push by state Republicans is the elimination of Medicare/Medicaid because they believe these programs are huge drivers of both the national and state government debt. Let us hope from now until midterms 2018 the Mainstream Media sticks with issues important to grassroots Dems like voting machine security and the NoConCon war as opposed to say, “c*unt” talk

For those of you very happy with@Emolclause’s activism don’t shy away from the “tip jar” below on your way out




You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com

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Dems Must Kill Washington State’s ConCon Proposal Before A Vote

Democrats have traditionally done very well in Washington state. The current Governor of WA Jay Inslee is a Democrat. Obama won WA both in 2008 & 2012. Hillary Clinton won WA in 2016. There’s clearly a lot ot Dem support in WA state and as we approach Midterms 2018, it is important that Dems point out GOP’s efforts to change the U.S. Constitution



According to the Washington state Legislature's website, the state's Constitutional Convention proposal HJM4006, was introduced on January 19 2017 and has 16 sponsors. Like Pennsylvania, Washington remains a targeted state(marked red on ConCon map above) meaning the ConCon measure has been introduced in the state legislature but is yet to be voted on by the full House and Senate (ConCon proposal still pending).

However there is a strange twist in Washington state's NoConCon battle. Turns out unlike in the previous states Yours Truly has highlighted, in WA, one of the ConCon proposal sponsors is a Democrat--a self-described "Berniecrat"--an obvious reference to 2016 Presidential aspirant Sen Bernie Sanders. Yours Truly only hopes that one of Rep Brian Blake's House colleagues will whisper in his ear that grassroots Democrats are totally opposed to Koch Brothers/ALEC's radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution--for any reason.

Here’s a HANDY LIST of the 15 WA GOP state politicians pushing Koch Brothers/ALEC’s radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution and thereby eliminate Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security

Bottomline, because Washington state is a Dem-friendly state the DNC must wage the NoConCon war there–especially in this midterm election year. Surely Dems can flip these 15 Red WA state House seats blue.

For those of you very happy with@Emolclause’s activism don’t shy away from the “tip jar” below on your way out




You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com

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Dems Must Kill PA’s ConCon Measure Before A Vote

Pennsylvania is a crucial swing state in Presidential elections. Democrats have traditionally done very well in PA. Obama for example won PA both in 2008 & 2012. Hillary Clinton was favored by pollsters to win PA in 2016 but surprisingly lost to Donald Trump. The fact of the matter is there is a lot of Dem support in PA and as we approach Midterms 2018, it is important that Dems point out GOP’s efforts to change the constitution


Pennsylvania’s Constitutional Convention proposal HR100 was introduced in the PA Legislature on March 20, 2017 and has 7 sponsors–all Republicans. According to the PA Legislature website, the proposal is still lying in the PA Legislature with no vote taken on it yet.

That leaves us with only 7 PA GOP ConCons to go after(proposal sponsors). They are up for reelection so its important that we kick them and their ConCon proposal out of the PA Legislature in Midterms 2018

Here’s a HANDY LIST of the 7 PA GOP State politicians pushing Koch Brothers/ALEC’s radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution and thereby eliminate Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security

Bottomline, because Pennsylvania is a crucial swing state where Dems have traditionally done well, the DNC must wage the NoConCon war there–especially in this midterm election year. Surely Dems can flip these 7 PA State House seats blue.

For those of you very happy with @Emolclause’s activism don’t shy away from the “tip jar” below on your way out




You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com

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Dems Must Wage NoConCon War In Wisconsin

In a recent post Yours Truly suggested that Democrats needed to wage the NoConCon war in Michigan because it was a Dem-friendly state. Well the same applies for neighboring Wisconsin

On Nov 7 2017 the Wisconsin Senate passed AJR20 the state’s constitutional convention proposal. 19 Wisconsin GOP State Senators supported the ConCon measure. Sadly not all of them are up for reelection this year.


Here’s a Handy List of Wisconsin GOP State Senators up for reelection this year, who backed Koch Brothers/ALEC’s radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution opening up the door for elimination of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security under the guise of “Balanced Budget Amendment.”

The interesting thing about Wisconsin is that the Dems really fought back the Senate GOP ConCons. The same day the WI Senate GOP passed the ConCon measure, Dem State Senator Chris Larson (seen in the picture below) addressed demonstators who chanted “hands off my constitution”.

State Senator Chris Larson addressing NoConCon Demonstrators

Another Dem State Senator Kathleen Vinehout also slammed the GOP’s ConCon measure warning that it could degenerate into a “runaway” convention, basically a free-for-all where everybody’s constitutional rights would be at the mercy of GOP politicians–VERY SCARY. Yours Truly will reach out to these Wisconsin State Dems to see if they can mobilize a nationwide NoConCon movement.

The proposal passed the Wisconsin House on a 60-37 vote. There are 21 Wisconsin GOP House Reps who sponsored the ConCon bill. However three of them, Chris Kapenga, Dave Craig and Frank Lasee have since become State Senators.  Of the three, only Sen Kapenga is up for reelection in 2018 and Yours Truly has included him in the HANDY LIST of State Senators(see gallery above). The Handy List of WI House Reps is therefore down to 18 and here are their “mugshots”

Bottomline, because Wisconsin is similar to Michigan and Minnesota in that they are all Dem-friendly states, the DNC must wage the NoConCon war in Wisconsin–especially in this midterm election year.

For those of you very happy with @Emolclause’s activism don’t shy away from the “tip jar” below on your way out




You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com

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Dems Must Wage The NoConCon War In Battleground States Like Minnesota

Constitutional Convention Map

In a recent post Yours Truly listed the 20 Texas GOP State Senators pushing the Koch Brothers /ALEC’s radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution. While Texas is a major Republican state that deserves the attention of the #NoConCon movement (those opposed to a Constitutional Convention), the battle also needs to be waged in Battleground States that are currently mulling the Koch Brothers’ radical idea.



One such battleground state is Minnesota where Democrats have traditionally done very well. Minnesota for example went for Obama in 2008 and 2012  and for Hillary Clinton in 2016. To have Minnesota State GOP flirting with Koch Brothers/ALEC’s radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution can reap huge benefits for Dems in Midterms 2018.

Records show that SF 2490 was introduced in the Minnesota Senate on 03/15/2018. The “authors”(really ALEC) of SF 2490  are Republican State Senators Roger C. Chamberlain, Mark W. Koran, Andrew Mathews, Torrey N. Westrom, and Bill Ingebrigtsen.

In the Minnesota House of Representatives HF2690 was introduced on 5/18/2017. The bill is “authored”(really ALEC) by these 17 Minnesota GOP House Representatives

Bottomline, Dems must make a run for the Minnesota Legislature using the radical GOP/Koch Brothers /ALEC’s radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution whose end run is the elimination of Medicare /Medicaid under the guise of “Balanced Budget Amendment.”

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You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com

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A Handy list of Texas GOP Politicians Pushing Koch Brothers/ALEC Radical Plan To Change The U.S. Constitution

In a previous post, Yours Truly highlighted a radical plan by the Koch Brothers and their outfit American Legislative Exchange Council(ALEC)  to get  Republican-controlled State legislatures to support their effort to Amend the U.S. Constitution and thereby ELIMINATE programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security that have greatly benefited the poor.



This rare constitutional maneuver referred to as Constitutional Convention (aka #ConCon in Twitter circles) or Convention of States would require the approval of 34 State Legislatures for it to initiate (begin debate). However for any proposed amendment to be ratified, it would require the approval of 38 State Legislatures. Because this is such a radical maneuver by the Koch Brothers and their State GOP enablers, our target should be to prevent them from getting to the 34 states required to begin the constitutional amendment process.

Texas has traditionally been a hotbed of Republican politics. It follows therefore that the Koch Brothers/ALEC would push their radical Constitutional Convention campaign heavily in the state---and they have. All elected Republican politicians in Texas have bought into the ConCon idea, from The Governor, Lt Governor, the two U.S. Senators and virtually all GOP State elected officials. The Texas Senate for example approved the ConCon idea on February 28, 2017 on a 20-11 straight party line vote. The same thing happened on May 4, 2017 when the Texas House of Representatives, adopted the Senate's proposal on a 94-51 straight party line vote. You would think that on an issue as consequential as changing the U.S. Constitution, the Texas GOP would at least strive for some support from Democrats, but no, they are controlled by what Koch Brothers/ALEC want, not what is in the best interests of the State. 

Given the heavy investment Koch Brothers/ALEC have made in Texas as a ConCon state, it naturally follows that Texas also has to be ground zero for the #NoConCon movement--people like Yours Truly, opposed to Koch Brothers/ALEC radical idea to amend the U.S. Constitution. That of course begins by knowing who our enemies are--The Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Lt Governor Dan Patrick and the Texas GOP State Senators, without whose support the radical Koch Brothers/ALEC agenda would be dead on arrival

Below are the 20 Texas State Senators who supported Koch Brothers/ALEC radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution. Governor Abbott, Lt Governor Patrick and most of the GOP State Senators below are seeking re-election this November. Because the said Texas Senators are supporting Koch Brothers/ALEC's radical plan to kick Grandma and Grandpa out of their Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, let's return the favor and kick these shameful Republicans out of Austin this November. We owe that much to poor Grandma and Grandpa. 

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You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com