Time for a little Koch jiujitsu on Democrats
Harry Reid’s jihad against the Koch Brothers has already yielded a hilarious video compilation (by the Free Beacon) of his 134 mentions of their name. But now with new information, his Koch addiction can become a potent tool in the hands of Republicans. Call it karma, if you like, but the former boxer now leading the Senate majority has left himself wide open.
It turns out that Koch Industries employees and PACs have donated to quite a large number of Congressional Democrats. The data was right there on Open Secrets when Jeff Dunetz of Truth Revolt picked it up and posted in table form the honor roll of Koch money recipients among Harry Reid’s tribe:
In typical blogosphere manner, the table spread to Weasel Zippers, PJ Media, and then Instapundit, where Glenn Reynolds realized the electoral gold. He suggested (in his trademark all-caps):
“I SUGGEST RUNNING THIRD-PARTY ATTACK ADS TO ENCOURAGE DEM VOTERS TO STAY HOME.”
Brilliant! The ads practically write themselves:
Mary Landrieu’s Majority Leader says the Koch Brothers are un-American. [video clip]. So why did Mary accept $11,000 from Koch employees? Louisiana voters deserve better.
Rick Moran points out that Democrats used this tactic to great effect in 2012, driving down GOP turnout by 3 million.
Best of all, this sort of ad can be funded by 510 c 4 organizations, as voter education. No need to advocate a specific candidate. So, potentially, the Koch Brothers could write the checks to blanket states and districts with vulnerable Dems.