If you get your news from the mainstream media, you have probably heard of the Koch Brother. You know the Koch brothers? Those rich white businessmen who control the Republican Party and who determines who gets elected to Congress? The Koch brother are used by Democrats as the example of how the big boys trample the little guy and why the little guy should send more money to Democrat advocacy groups. The Koch brothers are used as an example of why we need to have finance reform to further restrict freedom of speech. Charles and David Koch are the two most evil people in American politics, right? Well, it turns out that the Koch brothers come in at 59th on the top political contributor list between 1989 and 2014.
Who is ahead of the Koch brothers? Unions, mostly, and they almost exclusively supported Democrats. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is the second largest contributor to candidates and they contribute $60.6 million compared to the Koch brothers mere $18 million. After unions, there are a few big corporate contributors who supported both Democrats and Republicans fairly equally. If you look at the list of who supported which party, you are down to contributor number 17 before you find an organization that contributed to Republicans more than Democrats. Of the 159 big contributors, only 52 primarily contributed to Republicans.
Don't accept the common wisdom that monied interest control the political process unless you include unions and rich liberals who advocate liberal policies in those who control the process. The Koch brothers are minor players in the big scheme of things.
To see who the Heavy Hitters are, follow this link.
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