It seems that Koch Bros are tired of MAGA and have made a decision to commit their resources to viable candidates away from the MAGA group. This will be worth watching to see how it plays out. I say good for them if they are trying to drag the party back from the MAGA crowd. Hoping they drag Romney back into the game. Seriously hoping they disqualify DeS from their list sooner rather than later. Koch Network Vow to Wage a 2024 Fight Against Trump | Time The Koch political machine, which fuels the most powerful donor network in conservative politics, is declaring itself as part of the NeverTrump effort for 2024, aiming to deny former President Donald Trump a third nomination for the White House. The declaration, released in a recent memo to staffers and activists, never explicitly mentions Trump, but it’s abundantly clear from the tone in Americans for Prosperity CEO Emily Seidel’s message that the grassroots behemoth she leads has no plans of being a passive player in Republican politics when it comes to the White House. “Our country must move past the current political situation—we’ve got to turn the page on the past several years,” she wrote. “If we want to elect better people, we need better candidates. And if we want better candidates, we’ve got to get involved in elections earlier and in more primaries.” Americans for Prosperity is perhaps the most forward-facing arm of the Koch political orbit, organized more than two decades ago by billionaires Charles and David Koch. They went all-in on Mitt Romney’s campaign in 2012, a move many of the network’s members to this day regret. The groups were no fans of Trump in 2016 but many of their donors were, so they officially stayed out of the primary after flirting with a flex. By the time Trump 2020 arrived, the groups had seen mixed records on their goals—tax cuts and criminal justice reform were good to their minds; the administration’s efforts on immigration and isolationism were not—and instead stayed largely out of the race. ..................... Last year, the groups engaged in 457 races, with the knocking of 7 million doors and the mailing of more than 100 million pieces of messaging bankrolled by their efforts, according to their post-election audit. Of those races, just 22 were federal, meaning their real impact was on the hyper-local races where the GOP is building its bench. Their win rate? Over 80%, according to the audit, suggesting that the Koch influence was less of a thumb on the scale and more of an elephant. In the weeks since, insiders have been pushing the groups to get involved in the presidential race, and the leadership is clearly now ready to engage. The quants did the math, and they are convinced a Koch network involvement in the primary can make a difference.
I would hope that DeS going after Disney, banning books, threatening teachers with felonious prosecution, private police force for election conspiracies, migrant flights, etc would be enough to disqualify him from Koch support.
I bet they’re efforts effective, but still no good for America. I have no use for aggrieved billionaires
This is going to be very entertaining. Everyone is expecting them to push Desantis but it's still early and things can change quickly
Even if they aren’t big fans of desantis, right now he seems the only one capable of beating trump on that side. So not sure what other option they have:
I agree that we don’t want any single individuals coming to wield extreme political power, and owning a billion dollars might afford such power. However, I have found Charles Koch’s political philosophy to be much more sophisticated and admirable than is often represented. His interview on Freakonomics is worth a listen, if you’re interested. Why Hate the Koch Brothers? (Part 1) - Freakonomics
Their concern is probably ”those MAGA idiots” unintentionally getting in the way of their unfettered ability to pollute, exploit, and generally corrupt everything. Even with gerrymandered control, MAGA Trump/MAGA has essentially hurt their cause in 3 straight election cycles now (18, 20, 22).
A few of us keep telling everyone that Trump os losing his grip on the party. In 2020 I refered to it here as cracks in the foundation. Are we still wrong or do some of you agree now? This is a big blow to Trump.
So in maga world that makes them rinos, perhaps even radical leftist America hating communists; how dare they cross the orange god!
This is true to a degree, but will it be enough to cause him to lose a plurality in the primary? He is still viewed favorably by many Republicans. He was certainly not the establishment favorite in 2016 but won anyway. At this point Desantis seems like the only one who has a chance, and he is positioning himself to the right of Trump and chasing vaccine conspiracies and culture war issues. If Republicans are tiring of Trump, it is only the losing they are tiring of, not MAGA.
and again, I will believe it when the polls start consistently reflecting it. To date they haven’t, he is still the presumptive favorite. I hope eventually he does fall off and it could certainly happen, but his political obituary has been written countless times.
they have the grass roots machine to try and get the real pubs to outnumber the maga pubs at the primary polls. they stayed out of the pub primaries before and now recognize that was a big mistake as the party morphed into something they do not support.
I don't agree with them on everything but in a world being dominated by extremists on both sides, they seem to be the moderates in the madness and I congratulate them on opposing MAGA mania. Koch = RINO now?
Unless the GOP changes the primary "winner take all" format of selecting delegates, DJT may win the nom again in a crowded field, like in 2016.
No, it really isn't. The Koch people did the exact same thing in 2016, 2018, and 2020. Heck, they wouldn't even mention him by name in this statement for fear of their own donors. It doesn't really matter, in the end. Trump doesn't need their money and can use them as a foil to attack Republicans in primaries with a voter base that is far more likely to back him than a set of billionaires trying to buy politicians. 2020: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/29/202...on-why-koch-network-wont-help-trumps-bid.html 2018: Kochs blow up their détente with Trump 2016: Charles Koch Explains To Donors Why He Won't Support Trump
Very possible maybe even likely and even if Trump fails to win the nomination in 2024 he will be a pain the rear end for the Republican Party. He will resort to his usual narrative that he really won and in this case the nomination was stolen from him through voter fraud. He is also a charismatic figure whose attraction is as much personal as it based on policy and if he loses it's very possible that he could run as a third-party/independent candidate and even if he doesn't do so it is likely that his hardcore supporters would stay home rather than vote for the Republican nominee who as far as they are concerned stole the nomination from Trump through fraud. A poll from around two weeks ago. Bulwark Poll: 28 Percent of 'Always Trumpers' Would Go 3rd Party And for those who may have forgotten, Trump in 2016 after the Iowa caucuses. Trump accuses Cruz of stealing Iowa caucuses through 'fraud'
Yeah, I think that's an important observation. Also from my recollection, many Democrats in 2015 and 2016 assumed Republicans wouldn't nominate Trump because he was more vulnerable in general election polling. He was also the only successful presidential candidate of whom I'm aware that never served in the military and had never held public office. A lot the conventional wisdom seemed to go out the window. Whether that was temporary or a sign of things to come, I don't know.
