Billionaire Koch: President Obama Is "Saddam Hussein"

Over the weekend, a recently-retired Republican staffer of 28 years wrote an article about why he was leaving his party and his job, citing, among many other things, his belief that "the GOP cares solely and exclusively about its rich contributors." An exclusive look at the biannual fundraising and strategy conference held by billionaire GOP benefactors Charles and David Koch, shows why. Mother Jones reports that before Charles Koch names the 32 donors of $1 million or more in the last year who supported their right-wing causes, he promises that the 2012 election will be the "mother of all wars" against "Saddam Hussein." Specifically, Koch said:

This is the Mother of All Wars we've got in the next 18 months. For the life or death of this country. So, I'm not going to do this to put any pressure on anyone here, mind you. This is not pressure. But if this makes your heart feel glad and you want to be more forthcoming, then so be it.

It's the Gulf War for this country's very survival, but hey, no pressure! Audio of the secretive gathering at a Vail, Colorado Ritz-Carlton in June was obtained surreptitiously because "audio technicians even set up outward-pointing speakers around the perimeter of the outdoor dining pavilion…emitting static to frustrate would-be eavesdroppers."

Charles and David Koch, the co-owners of the second-largest privately owned company in the United States, are worth $22 billion apiece, and "have spent more than $100 million supporting hard-right political campaigns and institutions" to date. The New Yorker profiled how they almost singlehandedly funded the "grassroots" Tea Party movement, and their names cropped up in the news earlier this year thanks to their fervent support of union-busting Wisconsin governor Scott Walker.

Previous attendees to the mini-Bilderberg include Supreme Court Justices Scalia and Thomas, as well as Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and scores of GOP senators and congressmen. Texas Governor Rick Perry attended in June, but didn't bother to tell his constituents like Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell did. After noting, "The media is 90-plus percent against us," Charles Koch goes on to urge the attendees that, "it isn't just your money we need. We need your energy. We need you bringing in new partners, new people. We can't do it alone. This group can't do it alone. We have to multiply ourselves."

With the help of President Bachmann (who the Koch brothers donated $10K to in May), we just might see this dream of a corporate-owned USA come true. Looks like the GOP has its priorities straight after all.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Christopher Robbins in News on September 6, 2011 3:36 PM

Comments [rss]

Califtodd

Washington , Has Spent , More money that there are people on this Planet ! Right/Left, and all that are there.Just look at the traffic on TV in the mornings, All of what you see are now the New Slaves to the New Society ! Refuse to be Hoodwinked,

Miles Bader

Good old "I'm in yer political system, Financin' th' nutters" Koch...

"Tim Osman"

Yes, the 2 political parties in this country care about 99.9% of the voting public. Sure they do...

SFNY

$22 Billion each? That's about $2 billion to spend per year for the rest of their lives if they live ten years beyond the average US white male lifespan. Or the eldest, if he lives only an average life span, has until December to blow it all.

How much is enough for these greedy bastards?

Guest

the kicker is that they didn't even earn their money -- it was inherited from their oil tycoon daddy. and there are actually 4 Koch brothers but Charles and David bilked the other 2 out of their share.

two spoiled rich kids funding the "grassroots" "god & country" tea party. i'd laugh if it wasn't so freakin' sad...

FU Boy

Nothing short of the world is enough for megalomaniacs.

snickerdoodlegoth

So a Koch brother called Obama "Saddam Hussein"? Big deal. Those right-winger types still have a long way to go before they reach moonbatty libtard levels, such as openly calling for Bush's assassination, comparing him to Hitler, calling him a Nazi, et al.

zombiebob

Well he IS sadam Hussein in the sense he's a way for them to hodwink us suckers into supporting their dastardly elitist bs.

Soundstatues

The Kock brothers would enslave you and sell your children if they could profit from it. But go on, keep defending them. They LOOOOOVVVE you, right?

SPsGhost

O RLY? "comparing him to Hitler, calling him a Nazi"

Bush was being compared to Hitler for unilaterally invading a country on the basis of lies, and then violating the Geneva Convention and just about every other international treaty regarding human rights by torturing and sexually abusing captives, many of which were civilian children. Do you really need to be reminded about what the right wing lunatics were calling Obama when he was pushing forward HEALTHCARE REFORM?

snickerdoodlegoth

"Do you really need to be reminded about what the right wing lunatics were calling Obama when he was pushing forward HEALTHCARE REFORM?"

The healthcare reform that will eventually bankrupt this country? The healthcare reform that nobody asked for and nobody wanted (except for Democrats, who get a nice payout from the health insurance and pharmaceutical companies?)

So tell me, what were the right-wing lunatics calling Obama as he force-fed this nation another disastrous policy to fix something that's not broken? Did they call him Hitler? Nope. Did they call him a Nazi? Nope. Did they call for his assassination? Hmm, looks like you lose.

SPsGhost

"So tell me, what were the right-wing lunatics calling Obama as he force-fed this nation another disastrous policy to fix something that's not broken? Did they call him Hitler? Nope. Did they call him a Nazi? Nope. Did they call for his assassination? "

Where were you, under a rock? They did and continue to do all those things.

Lisanne!

There are a lot of people who have crawled out from under their rocks recently who haven't got a clue. They're thinking "I got mine, screw you Jack". They pick the wrong people to follow because they haven't realized they are among the ones to be crushed when Corporate America becomes a reality. But don't feel sorry for them, they shall reap what they deserve. It's my only solace when I consider the number of rock slime people that will be voting next year.

Sulayman

even if it DID bankrupt the country (which it won't, go check the Congressional Budget report to show how its saving money), should we still use the Hitler and Nazi words?

SFNY

Go stuff it in your snickerdoodle.

Healthcare is broken.

Just last week a six year old was orphaned because her uninsured, unemployed father died of an easily treatable tooth infection. An insurance copay for $5 worth of antibiotics would have saved his life.

You think Democrats are the only ones going to bat for the drug companies? The RNC almost elected a Pfizer lobbyist as their chairman. Big Pharma must be dosing you with brain-altering drugs.