Scott Walker. (photo: AP)
The Libertarian Takeover of the GOP Is Almost Complete
06 March 15
et me start out by saying, pay close attention to all those who think a third party is the way to go. The Koch Brothers tried that route. David Koch even ran for vice president as a Libertarian. He spent two million dollars of his own money to get 1% of the vote. David and his brother Charles, also a Libertarian, were outraged at how conservatives like William F. Buckley Jr. bashed their movement, Buckley calling it “Anarcho-Totalitarianism.” They decided to move in another direction. The brothers themselves would no longer be the messengers – instead, they would fund organizations that would shape political theory and discourse. According to Brian Doherty’s book “Radicals for Capitalism,” the brothers believe politicians are nothing more than actors. They decided they would write the scripts, and 35 years and hundreds of millions of dollars later, they have built a political machine that rivals both political parties. It includes a donor network that, along with their own money, will allow them to spend an estimated 900 million dollars in the 2016 elections. That is their estimate – Bernie Sanders thinks it’s conservative and they will spend more. Their power is increasing. Six years ago it wasn’t enough to topple Bain Capital’s boy. That was a flawed field as well. Ron Paul, closest to their beliefs, was easily cast aside as outside the mainstream. Rick Santorum, the darling of the Christian right, was too religious. The result was that Mitt Romney was able to get the nomination the old fashioned way, by buying it.
Jeb Bush has all his family’s fundraising connections and will raise a ton of money. What he lacks is the right positions on the issues that the Koch brothers have used their think tanks and political organizations to shape. Last week’s CPAC conference was a good example. The straw poll was won by Rand Paul, with Scott Walker in a close second. Jeb Bush was booed twice before he even took the stage. Bush’s positions on Common Core and immigration reform were non-starters in today’s Republican Party. The Koch machine has succeeded in making Washington and immigrants the enemy. In the past, the trendy conservative alternative would do well, but the money would dry up, and the more mainstream Republican would prevail.
2016 won’t follow that pattern. Rand Paul and Scott Walker will appeal to the Libertarian wing of the party and they will have access to the Koch money machine. Rand Paul will have trouble with many factions within the party, so I don’t see him winning the nomination. Scott Walker, however, has to be considered the front runner. He is popular with the traditional conservative wing of the party, the new Libertarian wing, and moderates. While I hear some pundits calling Jeb Bush the front runner, early polling doesn’t show that.
Scott Walker has two times the support of any other potential candidate in Iowa with 25% in the latest Quinnipiac University Poll. Rand Paul was 2nd with 13%, and Mike Huckabee and Dr. Ben Carson tied for third with 11%, followed by Jeb Bush at 10%. Jeb does lead polls in Florida and South Carolina, but only by 1% over Walker. Walker also has a big lead in Nevada, leads California, and is only down one point in Texas compared to native son Ted Cruz. The overall result is that Scott Walker leads in national polling 25% to 17% over Bush.
In the past we would expect Bush to outspend Walker and for Walker to fade, but not anymore. Scott Walker will benefit from the Koch network of cash. The Koch dark money regime will likely go negative against any threats to their agenda’s becoming the agenda of the GOP. A Walker or Paul win would put the Koch machine at the helm of the party. The party nominee controls the convention, the platform, and the electing of party officials. If the nominee is Scott Walker or Rand Paul, the Koch Brothers will be the puppet masters. If it’s Jeb Bush, then Karl Rove, James Baker, and the old guard will maintain their control.
A Scott Walker presidency with a Republican Congress would be a disaster for the poor and for working people. The Koch Brothers don’t only want to take on unions, they want to abolish Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Pell Grants. There is no social program that would be safe if one of the Koch’s puppets wins the White House. According to Wikileaks, the Clark-Koch ticket in 1980 promised to abolish Social Security, the Federal Reserve Board, Welfare, minimum-wage laws, corporate taxes, all price supports and subsidies for agriculture and business, and U.S. Federal agencies including the SEC, EPA, ICC, FTC, OSHA, FBI, CIA, and DOE.
The Kochs couldn’t achieve those goals with the Libertarian Party as the vehicle, they needed the Republican Party. Their takeover is nearly complete, they are writing the script. Scott Walker is their lead actor, and Rand Paul is his understudy and the backup in case Scott Walker stumbles. Don’t be surprised if the ticket next year is Walker/Paul. That would put the Libertarians in charge.
I know that Progressives don’t have the Koch billions, but I still believe if we put the energy we have put into building third parties into taking back the Democratic Party, we might be in a position to nominate candidates who can support our agenda. As long as we leave the old guard in charge we will get the candidates they choose.
I guess it’s good news that we will not get another Bush, but it won’t be good news if the script is being written by David and Charles Koch.
Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott will be spending a year covering the presidential election from Iowa.
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