The accompanying chart (which you can make larger by clicking) says it all. The tall red line at left represents the hundreds of millions of dollars that the Koch brothers and their various entities spent in the 2012 national elections. To the right of that tall line are a row of short red lines showing all the spending in that same election that the nation's ten biggest labor unions spent. The Kochs alone outspent that collective group of the most politically active unions by MORE THAN TWO TO ONE.
And that was in 2012. Since then, the Kochs have upped the ante, and have even begun delving into local races, down to the level of county supervisors in rural Wisconsin. And while the Kochs are the biggest players in the room, there are many other wealthy right-wing businessmen like billionaire Sheldon Adelson, not to mention the well-heeled right-wing think tanks and action committees.
The Kochs and their elitest fellows in corporate America are running an exceedingly cash-rich, "long con" to take over the country, corrupting the national dialog and spreading disinformation. You know, like fossil fuels are great and global warming is a hoax. So far the long con is suceeding. Not without opposition, but it's taking everything the rest of us have just to keep pace with all the lies and distortions.
So when your conservative acquaintances complain about union influence in elections, show them this chart and tell them politely to get real. Remember: The Koch brothers are two Americans. Those far less powerful and well-heeled unions represent millions of Americans. And yet the Republican Party and its enablers perpetuate the sordid meme that it's UNIONS who are the problem with democracy. That's just nonsense. Dangerous nonsense, not just for most Americans, but for the country and the planet itself.
Below is the link to the advocacy page at RepublicReport.org, where this chart earlier appeared.
