Right now there is a lot of theorizing and analyzing about what happened in this presidential election.
And God knows there is plenty of blame to go around, think: emails, inadequate ground game, the lack of cohesive message.
As Donald Trump says: “the system is rigged folks.”
Yes it is, he knows too well — think: Russians/Wikileaks, gerrymandering and voter suppression.
But there is another big force taking place-underneath it all, just where they like to be, that is “the Koch” — pronounced “coke” brothers.
Do not underestimate the impact these billionaires have, and had, in our Republican elections and therefore government.
They quietly donate hundreds of millions of dollars to the Republican down ballot races.
This year, for example,the Koch brothers funded several down ballot Republican party state congressional races, and won — including Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Florida.
The money used to fund these Republican candidate’s campaign, for ads and impressive ground game, comes from one of their bogus “charitable organizations” such as Volunteers for Americans for Prosperity — setup simply to avoid paying government taxes.
Kelly Ayotte, a Republican from the state of New Hampshire, did not get funded and didn’t win.
Why? Because she believes in cutting carbon emissions from the atmosphere.
This hurts the Koch brothers bottom line — think “money.”
The Koch brothers,Charles and David are the sixth and seventh richest men in the world.
And they have an agenda, that is to advance their own personal and corporate interests.
They do this by placing Republican senators and others in congress who will promote their ideas — limited to no government intervention — think: no Social Security, no health care, decrease corporate/bank oversight, regulations, and taxes.
They are proponents of Citizens United — one of the tools they use to fund the down ballot Republican elections — ah duh!
In addition, the Koch brothers reject the concept of climate change and global warming.
These concepts are not consistent with their bottom line — think “money.”
Downsizing their oil and coal businesses for alternative energy sources will hurt their bottom line — yes, money.
Koch Industries brazenly, purposefully, and knowingly pollute our air, water, and soil.
Those of you who have seen their television commercials full of blue sky, green grass, and healthy crops don’t be fooled into thinking they care about the earth.
They have been found to be the number one producer of toxic waste in the United States.
They are considered to be the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Be aware of the Koch brothers — they will not be going away too soon.
In fact, thus far Trump’s pick Mike Pompeo as head of Central Intelligence Agency — he’s a known Koch operative.
He’s thought of as the “congressman from Koch”.
They funded his campaign in Wichita, Kan., their home state.
Within his first two weeks, he opposed two Environmental Protection Agency legislations.
Betsy DeVos is Trump’s pick for U.S. Secretary of Education.
The DeVos family are part of the Koch brothers donor network — and early supporters of Citizens United — keeping big money.
Think — their money in our elections.
Stephanie Michaels
Roslyn Heights
Readers Write: Election, gov rigged by the wealthy
