The Koch brothers are trying to manipulate the dumbest of us by issuing statements of fake support for Hillary. I wish I could just laugh at their belief that they will find enough simpletons who’ll exclaim, “Let’s allow Ted Cruz to be elected to spite the Koch brothers!” But I’ve seen enough, unfortunately, to know that there are more than enough eager fools who’ll be happy to let themselves be manipulated this way.
Easy Manipulation
Clarissa's Blog 
Oh goodness. My father was credulously taking them at face value so I had to start going on about how they supported Scott Walker (anti-union as hell) and how saying something vaguely pro HRC was an acknowledgement that the Republican candidates left are turds. I also pointed out they’re much more interested in their tax bill than anyone else and Ted Cruz is the candidate for that, because they literally don’t care about government services for plebians and it was not a vote of confidence for Sanders.
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The Koch brothers are very rich people who support a smattering of libertarian causes or used to.
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Exactly. The difference between Walker and Cruz is cosmetic. They obviously don’t mind him getting elected.
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Some are claiming that the Koch’s statements about Hillary prove that Hillary is really a Republican.
…Of course, if one believes that (like too many on the Left do nowadays), one has to deliberately ignore the 11-hour Benghazi hearing, the multiple investigations into Benghazi (which have turned up zero), and the nearly 30 years of attacks and conspiracies that Hillary (and for that matter, the US) has had to endure.
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A Republican friend of mine told me fifteen or so years or so ago that Bill Clinton was the best Republican President since Lincoln. I suspect that he would say something similar about Hillary.
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…And I hate to say it, but I believe that your friend is wrong.
Here’s the thing–if Clinton really is the best Republican President since Lincoln…then why were the GOP after him and so determined to take him down?
Plus this: http://pleasecutthecrap.com/differences-are-stark/
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Good point, Marc. They still seethe with hatred whenever he is mentioned.
Clinton wasn’t perfect but compare them with the fellow who succeeded him and it becomes clear what the difference between Democrats and Republicans is.
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…And I hate to say it, but I believe that your friend is wrong.
No. My friend believes that Eisenhower was the last real Republican President who was a Republican in name. The ultra right wingers are not Republicans in the traditional sense at all.
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The ultra right wingers are not Republicans in the traditional sense at all.
I do agree with you on this, David–you’ll get no argument from me.
And I’m not sure if your friend knows this, but Barry Goldwater, in his last years, supported Bill Clinton but excoriated the Republican party at that time (the mid to late 1990s, when the party was under Newt Gingrich).
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I rather think that Mr Koch’s lukewarm support of Hillary Clinton is in hopes of getting Sanders the nomination, since he believes that the Republican candidate is more likely to win against Sanders than against Clinton. I think his analysis is wrong, and that Sanders would be more likely to prevail in the General Election than Clinton would be.
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Have you met American people lately? 🙂 Outside of a few thousand excitable rich kids on campuses, nobody knows who Bernie is. I have a Bernie sticker on my car and people ask me what the sticker means. Sanders is not a nationally known figure. He’s a senator from a small, insignificant state. And you expect people to choose this unknown fellow over a reality TV star? The same people who rejected Al Gore and John Kerry for being too much to the left?
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No. My friend believes that Eisenhower was the last real Republican President who was a Republican in name.
#NoTrueRepublican ™
I think his analysis is wrong, and that Sanders would be more likely to prevail in the General Election than Clinton would be.
He’s not quoting the polls wrongly, but I’m tired of candidates saying “I’m more likely to win against OtherPartyBoogeyMonsterCandidate” as an argument to vote for them in a primary. I voted in the primary based on the platform, not “what does this cherry picked poll say.” I’m sorry, but even in competitive primaries everyone is holding off on substantive attacks on their primary opponents.
This election is all about voter turnout. I haven’t heard anything about how he’s going to deal with of these restrictive state voting laws combined with id requirements, especially in Real ID compliant states. I barely managed to change my registration in time for the primary and I’ve voted many times before. Under these laws, if I were a college kid I would have not been able to vote. And we don’t even have sections of the VRA anymore. It’s going to be a shitshow and unless the nominee figures out how to do deal with those hurdles, they will lose.
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I assume the Kochs’ goal is to keep voters to the left of Hillary away from the polls in November by reinforcing the idea that she’s a pro-choice Kasich. Even if it doesn’t block her victory, any lost votes for down-ballot Democrats generally help the Koch’s interests.
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Exactly. I really hope people are too smart to fall for that. For now, even the greatest dunces in my blogroll are not buying into this manipulation. Let’s hope it stays this way.
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