http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...achel-maddow-hunkers-down-on-koch-bros-claim/ The allegedly Koch brothers-affiliated group is the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA), a Naples, Fla.-based organization that promotes “public policies that achieve limited, constitutional government and a robust economy that will be an engine for job creation across the states.” The FGA helped to defend the 2011 Florida law that required welfare applicants to submit to drug testing. On several instances, Maddow claimed tight links between FGA and the Koch brothers. For example: “That’s the Koch brothers group that has been promoting this idea, right, the same Koch brothers group that has been telling people not to get health insurance. They’re the ones that came up with the idea that it’s a great use of state funds.” Of all the players in American politics to take on, the Koch brothers are among the most exacting. They’ve turned media pushback into a virtual subsidiary of their conglomerate, via KochFacts.com, which calls itself a “repository for media responses and factual information presented by Koch Industries, Inc.” The headline of its response to Maddow’s show was this: “Rachel Maddow Deliberately Misrepresents the Facts then Refuses to Admit It.” ... On the substance of the matter, Maddow found comfort in the massive and complicated funding relationships among political groups on the American right, of which the Koch brothers are a central part: “Now, we are not the first news outlet to report on the Koch brothers funding distribution networks and groups small and large all over the country who have received funding through mechanisms that the Koch brothers have set up to support conservative candidates and conservative activism and conservative research and conservative advocacy. And the Koch brothers lawyers are not denying that they fund these networks or that the Florida Foundation for Government Accountability is one of the groups that has been funded through these networks. But they really do not want anyone reporting any connection between what those groups do and who gives them the money that they do it with.” So Maddow’s alleging that the Koch brothers run a sprawling and opaque funding apparatus that wields influence across the country? Yes, and a story by The Post’s Matea Gold earlier this week supplies ample corroboration for the point. “The political network spearheaded by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch has expanded into a far-reaching operation of unrivaled complexity, built around a maze of groups that cloaks its donors,” writes Gold. And if you don’t believe it, sample this graphic. The Kochs’ extensive reach notwithstanding, they cannot be connected to everything. Tarren Bragdon, the chief executive officer of the FGA, tells the Erik Wemple Blog that his organization “did not work with the Kochs on the Florida drug-testing issue. To the best of my knowledge, they were not involved at all.” The Kochs’ general counsel, Holden, is a bit more definitive: “Right hand to God, we were not involved.” ... In May 2012, Holden appeared on MSNBC with then-host Martin Bashir to rebut a report involving the Koch brothers and controversial stand-your-ground laws, which were then a critical part of the debate over the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida. On his visit to MSNBC HQ, Holden met with MSNBC President Phil Griffin, who admitted that the network had erred in the stand-your-ground report, says Holden. “He agreed with me,” says Holden. That said, Holden came away with the sense that the network’s leadership defers to its talent and “doesn’t have that much control over things.” “What he wants his network to be is represented by Rachel Maddow,” recalls Holden. Attempts to get comment from MSNBC were unsuccessful. (Disclosure: Maddow is a monthly Post columnist). UPDATE: Daniel Schulman, a journalist with Mother Jones who’s at work on a book about the Kochs, e-mails this assessment of the alleged link between the Kochs and the welfare drug-testing law: The Kochs have certainly supported the State Policy Network and some of its think-tank affiliates. But I haven’t seen evidence that they have directly funded the Foundation for Government Accountability or proactively pushed for the drug-testing law. Do they want to rein in entitlements? Absolutely. But in the case of Florida, I think the connection is tenuous.
OK, it's a long read, but it's basically about Rachel Maddow getting called out for drawing a link between the Koch brothers and a Florida law requiring drug testing of welfare recipients (that was rightly struck down). Not only is the link imaginary, she insists she is correct even though nobody on the left who think the Koch brothers are the bogeymen can substantiate her claim.
This Maddow chick (heh, heh) has a PHd from the Woodrow Wilson school at Princeton. Several good people have worked at Princeton, including Albert Einstein , Kurt Gödel and Pete Carril, the man to bring us the Princeton Offense. However, the Wilson school has brought us little but trouble including the first President to diss the Constitution publicly, the same Constitution he took the oath to defend and Protect. Now what do you expect from a PHd from this progressive mill? https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=318
I caught a diatribe on NPR recently about how she had "discovered" this evil connection. I am glad she is getting called out on her bull shit by someone. The crazies have become so used to saying anything they want with zero responsibility for fact.
The Koches donate to an organization, which donates to another, which donates to another, etc. Koch money is probably at least a small part of 99% of conservative organizations.
