Tag: Kochs

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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.

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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.”

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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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

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How Koch Brothers Paid Gov Abbott To Pollute Texas

Few people know this fact but in 2001 Koch Petroleum Group pled guilty to covering up environmental violations at one of their refineries in Corpus Christi Texas–essentially admitting that they knowingly polluted the Texas atmosphere and then lied about it.

Since then the Koch Brothers have embarked on a rigorous campaign not to bring their industries into compliance, but to do away with environmental protections altogether. To that effect they have enlisted the services of Texas Republicans to peel away environmental protections that were put in place for the public’s safety. You would think any sane Texan would advocate for a cleaner environment and urge Koch industries to strive for better emission standards. Well, not the Texas GOP. In the same way the Texas GOP has backed the Koch Brothers/ALEC mission to do away with Medicare/Medicaid under the guise of “Balanced Budget”, they are also helping them pollute the Texas environment under the guise of “deregulation”.



What the Texas Republicans fail to tell their supporters is why the regulations were enacted in the first place, the obvious answer being for public safety. Take for instance the deadly explosion that happened at Texas’ West Fertilizer Company in 2013 that killed 15 people and wounded 226 others. After a federal investigation, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board concluded that the explosion was caused by the Ammonium Nitrate the company had on storage. The Chemical Safety Board added that the incident at West Fertilizer was a result of violations by the company, chief among them its failure to disclose to local authorities and the public that the chemicals they had on storage created a massive fire hazard. The Chemical Safety Board suggested that Texas do better on chemical disclosure to avert another chemical disaster.

However, a few months after the West disaster the Koch family sent then Texas AG Greg Abbott “donations” for his Texas Gubernatorial bid and just like that all the chemical disclosure reforms that were suggested by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board went out the window. Instead Greg Abbott started touting the ridiculous idea that requiring chemical companies to disclose what they had on storage would make it easier for terrorists to strike. Think about that folks, after the Koch family gave money to Greg Abbott he totally abandoned the public’s safety concerns, even after 15 people had been killed and 226 others wounded. In essence Koch Brothers paid Abbott to allow chemical companies to hide dangerous chemicals from the public, even though they knew 15 people had just died as a result of such failure to disclose.

Fast forward to 2017 and a similar chemical disaster happens, this time at the Archema Chemical Plant in Crosby, Texas after Hurricane Harvey. Turns out Archema much like West Fertilizer, failed to disclose that it was storing large amounts of Sulphur Dioxide, contrary to what U.S. Chemical Safety Board had suggested after the 2013 West disaster but in keeping with Gov Greg Abbotts directive that they didn’t have to disclose because of fear of terrorism. I mean this was a classic case of Gov Abbott’s policies putting people’s lives in danger.

Strangely, nobody has ever held Governor Abbott to account over his deadly and inexplicable policy towards chemical disclosure and whether donations from  the Koch family influenced his strange policy. The hapless Mainstream Media, with the exception of the wonderful Kiah Collier, lets Gov Abbott get away with this dangerous policy that will undoubtedly lead to further Texas deaths.

Think about that folks, because of the Koch Brothers, Gov Abbott will not allow Texans to know what dangerous chemicals are stored near their neighborhoods, their children’s schools, etc. A Texan for example would like to know whether there are toxic materials stored in an area before say purchasing a home in that area. Texans are denied all this because Koch Brothers tells Gov Abbott not to allow it. But not to worry folks, Yours Truly will make sure Gov Abbott’s DEADLY CHEMICAL POLICY GOES AWAY, whether the Koch Brothers like it or not

Bottom line Dems must expose how Governor Abbott and other Texas Republicans have sacrificed the public’s safety for the enrichment of their Super Donor Koch Brothers. 

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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ALEC Sought To Be Exempted From Texas’ Open Records Laws

We now know about how GOP Super Donors Koch Brothers have enlisted the services of American Legislative Exchange Council(ALEC) in their efforts to change the U.S. Constitution. ALEC essentially comprises wealthy corporate lobbyists who influence State GOP lawmakers into passing their(ALEC’s) preferred pieces of legislation. As Yours Truly pointed out in an earlier post, often times ALEC just hands down bills written by their lobbyists to State GOP legislators for passage “as-is”–a flagrant subversion of our democratic process.


Most of the voting public is unaware of this travesty surrounding ALEC and State GOP lawmakers thanks in large part to the hapless Mainstream Media. It is clear however that if the public were to find out that they elect state representatives only for them to be taken over by ALEC when they reach State Capitols, there would be bipartisan outrage(both Democrats and Republicans). Well it turns out that ALEC is fully aware that its activities would enrage a lot of Texas voters in particular so much so that in 2013 they asked then Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to make them immune from Texas’ Open Records Laws.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott

Think about that folks, ALEC has so much conscience of guilt about its activities, that it wanted AG Abbott to keep its communications with Texas legislators secret. Even more troubling is that a Texas House Rep Stephanie Klick (Rep-Fort Worth) actually fought to keep her communications with ALEC secret. She argued that her communications with ALEC should be kept secret citing the “deliberative process” exemption to Texas’ Open Records Laws.

Government corruption watchdog Center for Media and Democracy wrote a letter to then Texas Attorney General  Greg Abbott challenging ALEC’s and Rep Klick’s stances that their communications should be exempt from Texas Open Records laws. Now Yours Truly is not an attorney and so is not in a position to assess the merits or demerits of Texas Rep Klick’s “deliberative process” argument. However just from a public optics standpoint, it looks very bad that here you have an elected State Rep who appears intent on going around Texas’ open records laws to keep secret her interaction with lobbyists. It reeks of corruption whichever way one slices it and goes against the spirit of Texas’ sunshine-in-government laws.

Texas State Rep Klick is running for re-election this November. Her Dem challenger for Texas House District 91, Jeromey Sims must confront her on her ALEC stance. Specifically he should call on her to release her communications with ALEC that she sought to keep secret, if she hasn’t done so already. Regardless of whether she ended up releasing the documents or not, the Dem challenger should confront her for her demonstrated hostility towards Texas’ Open Records Laws. Simply put, any Texas politician who does not favor Texas’ Open Records Laws has no business being in the State Capitol. 

Texas State Rep Stephanie Klick

Bottomline, as we approach Midterms 2018, Texas Dems must expose this corrupt affair between Koch outfit ALEC and the Texas GOP. 

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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Koch Brothers And ALEC’s Real Plan Is To Abolish Medicare and Medicaid

In a previous post Yours Truly talked about a radical plan by Koch Brothers and its outfit American Legislative Exchange Council(ALEC) to change the U.S. Constitution. Here is a little explanation as to how they plan to do that and why you should be worried about it.

Article V of the U.S. Constitution provides two paths for amending the U.S. Constitution. The first one is by a two-third(2/3) vote by both chambers of the U.S. Congress(House & Senate). The other path, which Koch Brother/ALEC are gunning for is by getting two-thirds(2/3) of state legislatures to support such an amendment--the method commonly referred to as Convention of States. Two-thirds of state legislatures in the U.S. comes up to 34. In essence Koch Brothers/ALEC are trying to get 34 GOP-controlled state legislatures to support their effort by calling a Convention of States to amend the U.S. Constitution. Their argument is that because of crippling national deficits, the U.S. Constitution needs to be amended to include a provision that mandates the federal government to pass a balanced budget--the so called "Balanced Budget Amendment".

On its face this sounds like a very noble idea. However as is always the case with the GOP, the devil is in the details. What Koch Brothers/ALEC conveniently leave out of the debate as they push for this Balanced Budget Amendment is the fact that their "noble" efforts to balance the budget targets the social safety nets like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and even Public Education.

Critics(likely GOP) will certainly counter this argument by saying its a giant leap of faith--that simply wanting to balance the budget doesn't necessarily mean they want to eliminate/drastically cut Medicare and other social safety nets.

First of all as you can see from the featured image, abolishing Medicare and Medicaid was the Koch Brothers declared position in the 1980s. It is not too far-fetched to conclude that they are still pursuing that goal

Secondly but more importantly we have a very recent event yhat proves GOP's intentions as regards "entitlement" programs. We saw this a few months ago after the GOP passed the Tax Reform Bill. The major bone of contention prior to passage of the bill was the effect it was going to have on the national deficit. The GOP-controlled Congress ended up passing the bill eventhough the Congressional Budget Office(CBO) had projected it would cause massive deficits. A few weeks after President Trump had signed the bill into law House Speaker Paul Ryan spilled the dirty GOP secret, that inorder to address deficits that would result from the Tax bill, the GOP would start to tackle "entitlement" reform. He singled out Medicare and Medicaid as the biggest drivers of national debt and that they needed to be reformed.

House Speaker Ryan's rare moment of candor is to date the clearest evidence as to GOP's real intentions with Medicare and Medicaid.Eventhough this has always been the insider GOP position, they are terrified to say that in front of their base, most of who are seniors who rely on Medicare and Medicaid.

It was therefore very telling how quickly the GOP establishment silenced Speaker Ryan's entitlement talk, given the fact that 2018 is an election year.It appears even the GOP establishment knows that the way they want to go about balancing the budget is so radical that their own base would not suport it. Which is why as we approach Midterms 2018 Dems must expose the GOP/Koch Brothers/ALEC's radical mission to eliminate Medicare, Medicaid, & Social Security all under the guise of a "Balanced Budget Amendment."

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 also reach the author directly via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com