Charles Koch..in 1984...set out to launch a private political sales force...called...Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE). It was in fact a kind of weapon...a fake populist movement secretly manufactured by corporate sponsors -- not grass roots, but "Astroturf". Unlike corporate lobbying or campaign spending, contributions to CSE could be kept hidden because it classified itself as a nonprofit "educational" group...By far the largest of the new group's shadowy sponsors were the Kochs, who provided it with at least $7.9 million between 1986 and 1993.
The idea of employing a deceptive front group to mask corporate self-interest was not original, even within the Koch family. The same ruse had been used not just by the du Pont family and others during the New Deal years but also by a group to which Fred Koch belong in the 1950s. He was an active member of the Wichita-based DeMille Foundation...an "Astroturf" strategy [where] big-business industrialists...run the group. (195-196)
I am developing this blog to raise awareness of how dark money is damaging the US. It is based primarily on the books Dark Money by Jane Mayer and Kochland by Christopher Leonard. In summary: stealth fascism of the rich radical right is trying to take over our country, they have been making this effort long before Trump & will keep at it no matter what happens to him, they have made real progress towards their goal, and why they must be stopped...hope you keep reading!