Charles Koch has been so beset by the forces of collectivism and an out-of-control government that he was moved to defend himself in a “woe-is-me” letter of self-justification to the Wall Street Journal.
Charles Koch off to slay collectivists.
In it he portrays himself as a modern day St George, manfully donning his armor to slay the dragon of collectivism. He has gird his loins for the existential struggle against statists wielding the sword of big government.
It is all a little overwrought.
Consider his plaintive grumble –“Unfortunately, the fundamental concepts of dignity, respect, equality before the law and personal freedom are under attack by the nation’s own government”. Wow! He must be referring to attacks on gays, women, non-Christians, voters, workers……wait, that is state governments.
Maybe he means the contraception mandate and Obamacare. Except he doesn’t explain how a goal of universal, affordable, quality health care, is an attack on dignity, respect, equality etc. (A goal that would have been a lot closer with “Medicare-for-all” – which was fiercely resisted by Koch and his ilk.)
He goes on to write, “In a truly free society, any business that disrespects its customers will fail, and deserves to do so”. A noble goal indeed. But it is a myth in Koch’s plutocrat Eden. Or would he have us ignore the banks, Duke Energy, General Motors and the like – who, despite plundering their customers, violating the environment, and killing our children are going from financial strength to financial strength.
Is this an example of the “free and open debate”, without “character assassination” Charles Koch advocates?
He adds, “Instead of encouraging free and open debate, collectivists strive to discredit and intimidate opponents. They engage in character assassination. (I should know, as the almost daily target of their attacks.)” Poor boy. It is, of course, characteristic of a bully that he can dish it out, but he cannot take it. It is also a human flaw, that we attribute to our enemies the sins we, ourselves, are guilty of.
He drags Saul Alinksy into it – knowing full well that “Alinsky” is plutocrat code for “really, really bad”. He can also rely on the fact that the vast majority of his dittoheads know nothing of Saul Alinsky. For information, let me share one of Alinsky’s bon mots, “if you think you’ve got an inside track to absolute truth, you become doctrinaire, humorless and intellectually constipated”. Bit too close to home for Koch, I suspect.
He goes on to talk up how wonderful Koch Industries is. How it employs a lot of people, who make a lot of money and receive a lot of benefits – and of whom 30% are unionized. Koch adds that Koch Industries is a careful steward of the environment – and had, in fact, received commendation from the EPA as a “a model for other companies”.
Koch Industry’s stewardship of the environment.
Let’s examine those claims. It is indeed a large company and like all large companies it employs and pays many people. If 30% are indeed unionized, then that is above the rate for private business and Koch should take credit. But when it comes to the environment Koch is just lying.
The company has a rich history of spills and other chemical releases. It has paid millions in fines and restitution. And it has been forced to change its business practices. And what of that chest-puffing claim that Koch Industries is a “model”? It is an egregious misstatement. The EPA suggested that one process for reduction emissions in processing petroleum, in one Koch division, was a model for others to follow. But the company as a whole has kept the EPA very busy.
In summary, the letter says Koch and his company are great, his opponents are the lowest form of pond life – and nothing new is learned.
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