Please Dios, let this be the start of something big. Fresh off of another political version of a bachelor party in Florida last night, His Lowness is obviously full of piss and vinegar. Now he’s picking a public fight with the Koch brothers, calling them a “total joke.”
Donald Trump’s feud with the Koch brothers is no big secret, it’s been simmering along since 2016, when the Koch’s went public with their decision not to support or contribute to Trumps campaign. But up until now the pissing contest has been handled with a bit more discretion, under the surface.
This is not a fight that Donald Trump should want to have, especially playing out in public, for two reasons. First, the Koch brothers net worth makes Trump look like a bum with a squeegee and bucket of dirty water standing on a street corner. And second, the reach of the Koch brothers extends far beyond Glorious Bleater himself, they are structurally woven into the fabric of the GOP.
What seems to have the Day Glo Howler Monkey hurling shit balls over the place is the fact that the Koch’s have changed tactics. Up until now, the Koch’s have limited themselves with public disapproval of Trump’s positions and policies, and a refusal to bankroll his personal and political nonsense. But now, they’ve gone all activist and shit. They’ve announced that they are going to be scoring GOP candidates on their positions on policies affecting the Koch brothers, and not just the letter after their name on the ballot. For instance, they have already announced that they will not be supporting Heidi Heitkamp’s opponent in North Dakota, a Senate seat Trump covets, because her positions align more closely with their principles.
If it was just Trump vs the Koch brothers, nobody would care, just three rich assholes having a slap fight. But, the way this is setting up, their personal spat could have a devastating impact on the GOP writ large.
The overriding feature of the Trump congress has been their slavish obedience to every word that comes out of Trump’s Tic-Tac scented gob. They will back him to the wall on anything he says, even if it conflicts directly with their best interests, due to their fear of his base.
But Trump aside, the Koch brothers are one of the largest contributors to the Republican party. Their political arm, Americans for Prosperity, has chapters in 80% of the states. And they don’t just donate to the RNC. In fact, when Trump was nominated in 2016, the Koch brothers cut off donations to the RNC, and funded candidates in local races directly, eliminating the middleman. Through Americans for Prosperity, the Koch brothers are critical donors for an incredibly large number of GOP incumbents, way more than the number needed to fli the House to the Democrats, and enough to endanger the Senate, by withholding critical support in states like North Dakota, Missouri, Indiana, and West Virginia.
If Trump accelerates his feud with the Koch brothers, and demands fealty from his incumbents, he puts them directly in the cross hairs. If Trump orders that his cadre of spineless toadies publicly support him in is war with the Koch’s, he places them in a totally untenable position. If they back Trump and slam the Koch brothers, they lose their donations and support. But if they refuse to publicly berate their donation gravy train, they risk Trump’s Twitter ire, and the wrath of his base in November. It’s a classic lose-lose situation.
And worse yet, the Koch brothers are not the only mega donors that Trump risks alienating. Julius Geezer is pushing hard for the availability of “junk” healthcare insurance policies, specifically to undermine the viability of the ACA. One of the drawbacks of these policies are that they don’t cover prescription drug costs. Which means that lower income and younger, traditionally healthy people, who would be likely to flock to these plans, would quite possibly be unable to afford medications if they become ill. This outcome would most certainly rain on Big Pharma’s parade. What if said Big Pharma comes out and criticizes Trump and his plan in a rather indelicate way, bruising his ever so delicate fee-fee’s? What if Trump slams Big Pharma as a bunch of greedy, money grubbing bastards, and pressures his sycophants in off the rack suits to comply? Any idea of how much money Big Pharma, and their aligned Super PAC’s donate to GOP coffers and individual campaigns every election cycle? Anybody?
It was bad enough when Trump was just forcing his incumbents to say stuff that would make them look like total morons to their base. But now, he’s threatening to force them to alienate the very people who pay to influence the way those constituents think and vote.
And if Trump keeps this up, this fairy tale is not going to have a Shrek ending come November. Don’t touch that dial.
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You are a brilliant writer and political analyst. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to have discovered your articles!
I’ve been paralyzed by rage since the separation of children from their families at the border and of course close to berserk since the election.
I’m trying to become informed again and your writing with just outstanding insight combined with a sturdy ability to maintain some wit , is allowing me to tolerate the intolerable truths again.
Deep gratitude, Gretchen