"We Don't Need You, Go To Hell" Revisited

"To the government union thugs who amassed in Madison last week, which included teachers, policeman, firefighters, and array of non-productive paper pushers, I simply say we don't need you; go to hell!"

Dr. Lil Bil aka spiritofpublicus
author of the "Price of Spin"

Americans for Prosperity, the group that organized the rally opposing the enactment of the compromise state budget proposed by Gov. Jim Doyle, is not from Wisconsin. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. And its roots and values are about as antithetical to those of the great state of Wisconsin as can be imagined.

Americans for Prosperity was founded in 2003 with money from one of the Koch Family Foundations, which have for many years been a prime source of funding for right-wing front groups and campaigns. The Koch Family Foundations rely on revenues from the vast oil and gas fortunes accumulated by family patriarch Fred Koch and passed on to his billionaire sons, Charles and David Koch.

The Koch family has a rich history of funding campaigns to pull the U.S. out of the United Nations, eliminate Social Security and abolish progressive taxation. And no one will accuse Americans for Prosperity of straying far from right-wing dogma when it comes to opposing tax fairness, government funding for programs to aid poor kids, and the dreaded "equality."

Read more at The Capitol Times.

#49 on the 2007 Forbes Billionaire List: Charles and David Koch

Charles Koch, With brother David, two sons of Koch Industries founder Fred C. Koch (d. 1967), MIT grad who invented method of refining gasoline from heavy oil. Dad took technology to Soviet Union, became disillusioned with Stalin; eventually returned to U.S. Sons Frederick, Charles, David and William inherited Koch Industries after father's death. Charles became chairman, expanded into chemicals, pipelines, asphalt, ranching, commodities trading. Added lumber, paper with $21 billion purchase of Georgia-Pacific 2005; now nation's largest privately held company. Duo bought out brothers William and Frederick for $1.1 billion in 1983; long-running fraternal feud over deal settled 2001. Charles a founder of conservative think tank Cato Institute.

More about Charles and David.