Follow the Koch money funding the Freedom Caucus that’s taken America hostage

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Follow the Koch money funding the Freedom Caucus that’s taken America hostage

A few extremist Republicans in the Freedom Caucus block the government and hold America hostage.

Who is in the caucus? Where do they get their funding? What is their funder’s agenda? What does this have to do with packing the Supreme Court with extreme partisans? How does Republican gerrymandering lead to political extremism? Follow the money!

The Real Reason the Freedom Caucus Hates Kevin McCarthy Is Larger Than You Think. While the battle for House Speaker appears to be about personality, it’s really about ideology. It’s about the future of “big government” and the American middle class. – The Hartmann Report

True or False? (Answers below)

  • DeSantis, Jim Jordan, Mick Mulvaney and Mark Meadows were co-founders of the Freedom Caucus?
  • David Koch’s campaign for VP advocated for an end to Medicare and Social Security?
  • DeSantis gerrymandering yielded four more Republican house seats?
  • Leonard Leo has spent over $250 million to influence over the last few years?
  • David Koch advocated for an end to the Federal Election Commission and EPA?

Follow the Koch money

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Freedom Caucus

Pew Research Center has confirmed the identities of 36 Freedom Caucus members through representatives’ public statements), their comments to the media or their offices’ direct responses. (Pew Research). The Freedom Caucus has nine founding members (Daily Signal)

  • Jim Jordan of Ohio (Interim chairman)
  • Labrador, Justin Amash of Michigan
  • Ron DeSantis of Florida
  • John Fleming of Louisiana
  • Scott Garrett of New Jersey
  • Mark Meadows of North Carolina
  • Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina
  • Matt Salmon of Arizona

Freedom Caucus’s hardball tactics

During its first two years, the Freedom Caucus developed a reputation for using threats and other hardball tactics with both Republican leaders and the Obama White House to get what it wanted. That included, in 2015, threatening to sink appropriations bills — thereby shutting down the federal government — if they contained funding for Planned Parenthood. The group moderated its approach to some degree after Trump was elected, but not entirely; for instance, in November 2017 it threatened to kill a floor rule when GOP leaders tried to alter the funding mechanism for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Employ threats and aggressive tactics

The Freedom Caucus tends to employ threats and other aggressive legislative tactics on issues over which its members have strong preferences. Illegal immigration is one of them — in fact, the group’s first successful use of hardball legislating occurred over a border security bill. It is thus unsurprising that the Freedom Caucus has been among the biggest advocates of following a shutdown strategy to secure money for a border wall. And when the president was expected to sign a GOP spending bill without money for a wall, Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) and other caucus members mounted an aggressive campaign to oppose the bill with floor speechessocial media, and appearances on Fox News. – VOX

David Koch’s National Party Agenda

David Koch ran for vice president with the Libertarian Party in 1980. He was Charles’ Koch brother and is now deceased. David’s platform included a whole series of positions that were specifically designed to roll back and gut federal that had created and then sustained America’s 20th century middle class. These are only summarized highlights. Read Koch’s full platform here.

No taxes on the rich

  • Oppose all personal and corporate income taxation, including capital gains taxes
  • Stop criminal and civil sanctions against tax evasion should be terminated immediately
  • Privatize American railroads and highways

No welfare, healthcare or abortion services

  • Abolish Medicare and Medicaid programs
  • Oppose any compulsory insurance or tax-supported plan to provide health services, including those which finance abortion services
  • Repeal Social Security system
  • Abolish subsidies for child-bearing built including all welfare plans and tax-supported services for children
  • Stop all government welfare, relief projects, and ‘aid to the poor’ programs
  • No safety belts, air bags, or crash helmets

Abolish federal agencies that regulate corporations and elections

  • Abolish the Environmental Protection Agency
  • Abolish the Federal Election Commission
  • Abolish the Department of Energy
  • Abolish the Federal Aviation Administration
  • Abolish the Food and Drug Administration
  • Repeal the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)
  • Abolish Consumer Product Safety Commission
  • Abolish the governmental Postal Service

No public education

  • Stop minimum wage laws
  • No public schools or colleges
  • No taxes on private schools

TakeAway: Stop billionaires corrupting fair elections and destroying democracy to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

Deepak
DemLabs

Answers: All true

DISCLAIMER: ALTHOUGH THE DATA FOUND IN THIS BLOG AND INFOGRAPHIC HAS BEEN PRODUCED AND PROCESSED FROM SOURCES BELIEVED TO BE RELIABLE, NO WARRANTY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED CAN BE MADE REGARDING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, LEGALITY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY SUCH INFORMATION. THIS DISCLAIMER APPLIES TO ANY USES OF THE INFORMATION WHETHER ISOLATED OR AGGREGATE USES THEREOF.

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