The Kochs' Anti-Civil Rights Roots: New Docs Expose Charles Koch's Ties to John Birch Society

www.democracyno... - The Progressive magazine and Center for Media and Democracy have released new documents that show billionaire oil industrialist Charles Koch was an active member of the controversial right-wing John Birch Society during its campaigns against the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Charles Koch was following in the footsteps of his father, Fred Koch, a leader of the John Birch Society from its founding. We speak with The Progressive's Lisa Graves about her new article, "The Koch Cartel: Their Reach, Their Reactionary Agenda and Their Record." Graves details how the reactionary ideas absorbed during Charles Koch's youth continue to animate many of his actions decades later. Charles and his brother, David Koch, have used their wealth to push a similar agenda into the mainstream through the tea party and "dark money" political coalitions that allow donors to shield their identity while funding attack ads against Democrats.
This video is an excerpt from the Democracy Now! interview with Lisa Graves. Watch the full segment here: www.democracyno...
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[@auntiquek2845]

This explains potus45 🤡 Money can’t buy happiness

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Pacifica used to (in pursuance of free and fair dialogue) carry John Birch Society programming in the 60's.

[@TheRjmayer]

The Tea Party IS the modern day John Birch Society.

[@requiemforamerica8432]

this is what i used to think - i thought they were all raving racists and didn't even bother to look up what they actually stood for, which is simply that government be accountable for the trillions of dollars they spend to buy votes. Those who want to continue to have gov. overspend and want to continue to be bribed by the government demonize the Tea Party

[@TheRjmayer]

NoName NoFame That's why the Tea Party want's to spend billions of dollars on keeping people out of the country? That's why the Tea Party supports spending billions on corporate welfare? That's why the Tea Party promotes evangelical extremist views? That's why the Tea Party opposes civil rights? That's why the Tea Party supports increased military spending? That's why a recent Tea Party candidate for president said he thinks only a select few citizens should be allowed to vote?You could write a book about all the big government expenses the Tea Party supports including the erosion of the constitution through imposing laws based on their religious views in direct violation of the constitution. You sir have been brainwashed. This is the reincarnation of The John Birch Society no doubt about it.

[@requiemforamerica8432]

TheRjmayer the problem with immigration is that we have become a welfare state, and for welfare states immigration simply speeds up the oncoming bankruptcy - as huge as defense costs are, if you study the US gov. budget, welfare/entitlement programs take up 2/3rds of the budget and even if we cut 100% of defense budget we still wouldn't be able to balance the budget. All the other charges that you are making here, seem to be charges against the republican party in general - and many republican politicians have jumped into the band wagon of tea partiers and brought a whole lot of baggage with them. But when you attack the tea partiers WHOLE SALE like you do, and like i used to when i considered myself a liberal and didn't study the actual numbers in the budget and did not study what the FED was doing, that was allowing the government to spend in such a rapacious manner, and when i was actually brainwashed by the media -- when this wholesale attack of the Tea Partiers are allowed to go on, instead of studying what actually makes sense with their main position, which is that the government spending is totally and utterly out of control and burying the future of this country in a mountain of debt - then this country no longer has any hope. Never simply demonize a whole movement based on your prejudices - the core of the movement has nothing to do with being anti-civil rights. Those who are running the government who get to spend trillions of OUR MONEY, WANTS us to be divided so we would never be able to effectively challenge their corrupt ways. Reflect upon that seriously.

[@TheRjmayer]

NoName NoFame No what I listed is the platform of the Tea Party caucus. The department of defense is 18.74% of the budget. Medicare, medicaid, social security, and unemployment/welfare benefits account for a total of 56.74% of the budget. However Social security pays for itself and the excess is used towards helping to balance the budget. Same with unemployment benefits. Medicare/medicaid payroll taxes pays 38% of the cost of medicare/medicaid. All of these combined account for 19.1096% of the general fund budget or pretty much the same amount as the department of defense budget does. When you consider all of the secret budgets of the pentagon, CIA, NSA, and DHS the defense spending budget outweighs the combined total of all federal social welfare programs. You have been seriously misled.

[@requiemforamerica8432]

TheRjmayer also i think you have listed something to do with religious rights? were you referring to hobby lobby affair? I'm 100% prochoice but i do not understand why a government should be able to force another person to pay for contraceptive needs of another. is that what you mean by civil rights? because that's NOT what civil rights means. Civil rights are rights we have to protect us AGAINST governments - a government can deny us civil rights by making abortion illegal, but another fellow citizen cannot deny us civil rights - if they refuse to pay for it, that's THEIR right. Civil rights does NOT mean that we can force other people to pay for us. Give this a long long reflection. We are absolutely free to give charity to others of our own free will, and we should encourage charity - but we cannot have the government forcing us to pay for other people - once government's violent power is used for that purpose, the rampant abuse and unintended consequences of such abuse becomes painfully plain, as this power becomes THE most powerful political tool for the government - this is why Bush was able to win the second term in office, by bribing enough senior citizens with free drugs that the country is too broke to actually pay for - so the country is now trillion dollars more in debt so that Bush could have his second term.

[@binder946]

I thought amy goodman looked kind of young then saw the date and realised its 9 years old upload.

[@ReliableInsider]

What was so crazy about the John Birch Society was that they saw Communists everywhere. They thought there were Communists under the bed. They were divorced from reality.

[@amadeusfrison7861]

Google the Venona Papers. McCarthy was right.

[@ReliableInsider]

Amadeus Frison McCarthy was a con artist. He claimed he knew who the communists were but he didn't. It was all hype.

[@adaum4534]

🎶 Oh we’re the John Birch Society, the John Birch society. 🎶 Fighting for the right to fight “the right fight” FOR THE RIGHT. 🎶

[@MrJoeybabe25]

TO PAAAARTY!

[@chaoskitten]

If anyone who works for you reads these comments: thank you for this reporting

[@sranney1]

JBS is. great group

[@peacheswilliams4539]

If your are a racist, Yeah.

[@andrewwoodruff3028]

propaganda

[@dickwillylou]

Does anyone remember when America was a democracy .

[@amadeusfrison7861]

Nope. It has always been a republic. The Founders hated democracy because it's a terrible form of government. Two wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner, as Ben Franklin used to say.

[@perfectfan2006]

why would they it has never been a democracy from the onset.

[@binder946]

It's a constitutional republic or something similar. It's not a democracy. Allegedly to avoid the tyranny of the masses

[@danielduquette7072]

JBS

[@geyerbrad1]

"Nothing is more violent, more retrograde and more illegal than fascism." ~ Fidel Castro

[@thorwilkinson2565]

Except for Marxism.

[@geyerbrad1]

@@thorwilkinson2565 You are uninformed and inexperienced.

[@geyerbrad1]

@@thorwilkinson2565 So, are you ok with fascism?

[@thorwilkinson2565]

@@geyerbrad1 I’m not ok with Marxism National Socialism or Fascism , I’m a Classic Liberal not the fake liberal that democrats call themselves.

[@geyerbrad1]

@@thorwilkinson2565 What is it about Marxism that you oppose?

[@psmith2714]

'What we THINK has happened' made me unlisten to the rest.'