GOP: “The billionaire Koch brothers’ political organization spent more than $200 million in the past decade on what official Tim Phillips calls ‘without question our biggest policy defeat,’ the quest to kill the Affordable Care Act.
Now, the network of donors is turning its attention to the more urgent matter of protecting Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress this fall… Like Republicans on Capitol Hill, the Koch groups have set aside their priority of overturning the 2010 health law in favor of passing, and now selling to the public, the new tax law.
Charles and David Koch, executives of Koch Industries, first gathered 12 like-minded conservative and libertarian donors in 2003. This weekend, more than 550 people attended the annual retreat near Palm Springs. Giving at least $100,000 each annually, they fund a variety of scholarships, company investments, institutions, and policy and political groups.
Most of the policy and political operations are conducted through AFP and Freedom Partners. James Davis, spokesman for Freedom Partners, said such groups plan to spend as much as $400 million in 2017 and 2018—more than they spent in the 2016 elections, when they refused to back President Donald Trump, viewing him as divisive and insufficiently conservative.
Mr. Trump factors into what Mr. Phillips calls a ‘challenging environment’ for Republicans in the coming elections. The party that takes the White House typically loses legislative seats in the next election, and Republicans note that Democratic voters have turned out in droves in special elections since Mr. Trump took office, creating a potential enthusiasm gap.”
-Julie Bykowicz, “Koch Groups Move On From Health-Care Fight,” The Wall Street Journal online, Jan. 28, 2018 04:05pm