Joan McCarter — Koch brothers freak out in response to Rolling Stone expose

Tim Dickinson's fantastic expose of the Koch brothers in the latest issue of Rolling Stone has gotten plenty of attention. For very good reason: it's a well-sourced, deep dive into the very toxic—literally toxic—business that earned the Kochs enough money to buy up an entire political party. That and the wrongful death judgement, six felony and numerous misdemeanor convictions, the tens of millions of dollars in fines, and the trading with Iran are all included in the story, well worth your time. 

No one has given it more attention, it seems, than the notoriously thin-skinned Kochs. In typical Koch fashion, they don't argue the facts of Dickinson's story. They attack Dickinson, who responds here. Here's the nut of his detailed response. 

Daily Kos
Koch brothers freak out in response to Rolling Stone expose
Joan McCarter | Daily Kos staff

The Koch stealth candidate for retiring Tom Harkin's seat senate seat has pulled ahead in the race.

[Joni] Ernst, a state senator running against Democrat Bruce Braley for the open U.S. Senate seat, was recorded in June speaking on a panel at a conference sponsored by the political activists Charles and David Koch. 

In her remarks, Ernst said "the exposure to this group and to this network and the opportunity to meet so many of you – that really started my trajectory. And it started a very strong victory that we've progressive, progressively built upon throughout the campaign cycle. 

The MoveOn ad plays an edited clip of Ernst saying, "This group … really started my trajectory" twice in the space of 20 seconds and accuses Ernst and the donors she was speaking to of wanting to "privatize Social Security, cut Medicare and eliminate the minimum wage." 

Democrats and liberal activists have seized on the surreptitious recording as evidence that Ernst is beholden to billionaires who have spent millions backing conservative candidates in recent election cycles and contributed to Ernst herself this year. 

"A secret recording made at a posh Koch brothers retreat in California confirms that the real Joni Ernst was groomed by the oil billionaire Koch brothers from day one to represent their interests over Iowa's," Iowa Democratic Party spokeswoman Christina Freundlich said in a statement released Wednesday, shortly after the Huffington Post broke the news of the tape.