Charles Koch likens Trump's Muslim ban to Adolf Hitler's policies in Nazi Germany

Source: The Independent (UK)
Published: Jan 30, 2017
Author: Steve Peoples
Post Date: 2017-01-30 13:43:15 by Willie Green
Views: 8871

Influential industrialist says travel restrictions 'wrong approach' for 'free and open societies'

Charles Koch first likened candidate Donald Trump's plan to ban Muslim immigrants to something Adolf Hitler would have done in Nazi Germany.

The billionaire industrialist and his chief lieutenants offered a more delicate response this weekend when asked about President Trump's plan to block immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. They described Trump's plan as “the wrong approach” that violated its dedication to “free and open societies.”

The criticism comes as the Koch network, among the most powerful conservative groups in the nation, works to strike a delicate balance in the early days of the new administration. The Kochs refused to support Trump's candidacy last fall, but they now see a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to influence the White House and the Republican-controlled Congress.

Their optimism is fuelled by strong relationships inside the administration, despite their vow to oppose Trump's policies if they deviate from the Koch brothers' conservative priorities.

Trump critics were easy to find at the California desert resort this weekend, where attendance at a semi-annual conference was limited to the 550 people who donate at least $100,000 each year to the various conservative political and policy groups backed by Charles and David Koch.

The critics included Charles Koch himself, although the conservative patriarch did not mention Trump by name Sunday as he warned that the nation is facing a moment of “tremendous danger.” He said the nation could “go the authoritarian route ... or we can move toward a free and open society. So this is our opportunity.”

Still, the Koch network says it's confident about its ability to shape the direction of the Trump administration's policies from the inside.

“Many former network staffers that are in the White House now remain good friends of ours. So we're in constant contact with them,” said Koch spokesman James Davis. “Conversations have been open and continue to be.”

There is perhaps no bigger Koch ally than Vice President Mike Pence, whose staff and ideology has been in close alignment with the Kochs for years.

Charles Koch spoke directly with the vice president on the phone days before his inauguration as Pence considered hiring a Koch communications staffer, Stephen Ford, to serve as his chief speechwriter. Ford was soon hired, along with former Koch chief Marc Short, who now serves as the White House legislative director.

“The reason we're optimistic... is really Mike Pence,” said Doug Deason, a prominent Trump supporter and major Koch donor. “If you think Cheney had power in Bush White House, just watch and see what happens with Mike Pence.”

Several reporters, including one from The Associated Press, were invited to attend the weekend conference. As a condition of attending, photographers were not allowed and reporters were not permitted to identify any donors without their permission.

Koch and his powerful allies insist they will challenge Trump when his policies don't align with their conservative vision.

The network plans to spend between $300 million and $400 million over the next two years to shape policy and politics, much of it devoted to its nationwide grassroots network. While there has been much talk of Trump allies creating an outside group to help promote his agenda, the Koch network's capacity to communicate directly with voters on the ground in key states has no political rival.

The Koch's “secret sauce,” Holden says, is “the accountability play.”

“We're principled. And if we can't get comfortable with the policies that are in place, then we're not going to support them. But if we can we will support them, regardless of who's in office,” he said.

Like Trump, the Kochs favour efforts to cut government regulation and replace the federal health-care system. They do not share the president's plans for a massive infrastructure spending or his crackdown on immigrants from Muslim-majority countries.

“The travel ban is the wrong approach and will likely be counterproductive,” network co-chair Brian Hooks said Sunday.

“Our country has benefited tremendously from a history of welcoming people from all cultures and backgrounds,” he said. “This is a hallmark of free and open societies.”

Post Comment   Private Reply

#1: rlk    To: Willie Green (#0)

or we can move toward a free and open society. So this is our opportunity.”

A "free and open society society" is a leftist modern euphemistic neologism for a society that is fractured and infiltrated by irrational countercultural guerilla movements. That's no opportunity. It's a path to suicide.

rlk posted on 2017-01-30 14:06:45   Reply   Private Reply

#2: calcon    To: Willie Green (#0)

hilarious, now you libs are quoting the koch bothers, just too damn funny

calcon posted on 2017-01-30 14:40:49   Reply   Private Reply

#3: nativist nationalist    To: calcon (#2)

hilarious, now you libs are quoting the koch bothers, just too damn funny

Willie was against those Kuck brothers before he was for them.

nativist nationalist posted on 2017-01-30 14:48:57   Reply   Private Reply

#4: Hondo68    To: Willie Green, Morning Joe connection (#0)

Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski

Morning Joe puppets, Charles and David Koch

Trump absorbs Koch Brothers agenda from MSNBC Morning Joe "Trump Whispers"

Hondo68 posted on 2017-01-30 16:20:03   Reply   Private Reply

#5: nolu chan    To: Willie Green (#0)

Charles Koch first likened candidate Donald Trump's plan to ban Muslim immigrants....

What plan to ban Muslim immigrants?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Independent

The Independent is a British online newspaper.[2] Established in 1986 as an independent national morning newspaper published in London, it was controlled by Tony O'Reilly's Independent News & Media from 1997 until it was sold to Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev in 2010.[3] Since March 2016, it is no longer printed, but is available for readers online.[4]

Nicknamed the Indy, it began as a broadsheet newspaper, but changed to tabloid (compact) format in 2003.[5] Regarded as coming from the centre-left on culture and politics,[6] it tends to take a pro-market stance on economic issues.[7] Until September 2011, the paper described itself on the banner at the top of every newspaper as "free from party political bias, free from proprietorial influence."[8]

The daily edition was named National Newspaper of the Year at the 2004 British Press Awards. The current editor, Amol Rajan, was appointed in June 2013.

In June 2015, it had an average daily circulation of just below 58,000, 85 per cent down from its 1990 peak, with the Sunday edition having a circulation of just over 97,000.[9] On 12 February 2016, it was announced that The Independent and its sister Sunday title would become digital-only.[2] The last print edition of The Independent on Sunday was published on 20 March 2016, with the main paper ceasing print publication the following Saturday.

[...]

In an editorial on 27 January 2013, the Independent on Sunday referred to itself as a "proudly liberal newspaper"

[...]

In 2007, Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian, said of The Independent: "The emphasis on views, not news, means that the reporting is rather thin, and it loses impact on the front page the more you do that."[45] In a 12 June 2007 speech, British Prime Minister Tony Blair called The Independent a "viewspaper", saying it "was started as an antidote to the idea of journalism as views not news. That was why it was called the Independent. Today it is avowedly a viewspaper not merely a newspaper".[46] The Independent criticised Blair's comments the following day[47][48] but later changed format to include a "Viewspaper" insert in the centre of the regular newspaper, designed to feature most of the opinion columns and arts reviews.

A leader published on the day of the 2008 London Mayoral election compared the candidates and said that, if the newspaper had a vote, it would vote first for the Green Party candidate, Sian Berry, noting the similarity between her priorities and those of The Independent, and secondly, with "rather heavy heart", for the incumbent, Ken Livingstone.[49]

An Ipsos MORI poll estimated that in the 2010 general election, 44% of regular readers voted Liberal Democrat, 32% voted Labour,[50] and 14% voted Conservative, compared to 23%, 29%, and 36%, respectively, of the overall electorate.[51] On the eve of the 2010 general election, The Independent supported the Liberal Democrats, arguing that "they are longstanding and convincing champions of civil liberties, sound economics, international co-operation on the great global challenges and, of course, fundamental electoral reform. These are all principles that this newspaper has long held dear. That is why we argue that there is a strong case for progressively minded voters to lend their support to the Liberal Democrats wherever there is a clear opportunity for that party to win."[41]

The Independent, blazing a trail for the New York Times and Washington Post to follow.

nolu chan posted on 2017-01-30 18:54:34   Reply   Private Reply

#6: A K A Stone    To: Willie Green (#0)

Keep crying willie. When you cry I laugh and smile.

A K A Stone posted on 2017-01-30 19:06:46   Reply   Private Reply

#7: GrandIsland    To: A K A Stone (#6)

Keep crying willie. When you cry I laugh and smile.

I oil my guns with the tears of libtards.

I'm hoping libtards revolt... it will be OPEN SEASON.

GrandIsland posted on 2017-01-30 19:22:38   Reply   Private Reply

#8: buckeroo    To: GrandIsland, sneakypete, hondo68, deckard, fred mertz (#7)

I oil my guns with the tears of libtards.

Do you think that your silly actions are being "proactive" about your capability & capacity to use your firearms in the future? I don't.

buckeroo posted on 2017-01-30 20:29:26   Reply   Private Reply

#9: Willie Green    To: A K A Stone (#6)

Keep crying willie. When you cry I laugh and smile.

Why would Koch dumping on Trump make me unhappy?

Willie Green posted on 2017-01-30 20:35:17   Reply   Private Reply

#10: Hondo68    To: buckeroo, Fred Mertz (#8)

your silly actions are being "proactive"

He's got 50,000 rusty, soggy, and moldy primers from his libtard tears.

Fred's pink pussyhats could take him out!

Oiled with GI's libtard tears

Hondo68 posted on 2017-01-30 21:03:31   Reply   Private Reply

#11: A K A Stone    To: Willie Green (#9)

Keep crying willie. When you cry I laugh and smile. Why would Koch dumping on Trump make me unhappy?

It wouldn't.

But Trump banning people from muslim countries make you mad. Just like the cocks.

A K A Stone posted on 2017-01-30 21:05:53   Reply   Private Reply

#12: GrandIsland    To: buckeroo (#8)

Do you think that your silly actions are being "proactive" about your capability & capacity to use your firearms in the future?

I always look forward to "blinded by agenda" douchebags loose all common sense, act like an anarchist shitbird... giving me authorization, legally, to use physical force... and with the hopes of a lawless financial COLLAPSE... a target rich environment of weak, soft, Schumer TEARS ... thin skinned... gun hating LIBTARDS.

I truly did amass reloading supplies... for the possibility of a chance, to hunt libtards, criminals, urban filth... and cop haters, legally someday. If we never collapse in my lifetime (and I doubt we will)... my 50 plus firearms and brass, powders, projectiles, dies, presses, powder throwers, scales and PRIMERS will be given to my son.

GrandIsland posted on 2017-01-30 21:33:51   Reply   Private Reply

#13: buckeroo    To: GrandIsland (#12)

hopes of a lawless financial COLLAPSE

You are one fuckedupped mental case. Get back downstairs in the basement and use your rustoleum on your 50,000 rusted primers; you might be able to save a couple based on your "libtard tear program."

buckeroo posted on 2017-01-30 21:42:11   Reply   Private Reply

#14: Fred Mertz    To: hondo68 (#10)

Oiled with GI's libtard tears

That's what he said. Funny stuff. Not funny, ha ha.

Fred Mertz posted on 2017-01-30 21:57:05   Reply   Private Reply

#15: misterwhite    To: Willie Green (#0)

"Charles Koch first likened candidate Donald Trump's plan to ban Muslim immigrants ..."

What?? Trump did no such thing. Trump suspended the program allowing refugees from 7 select countries to enter the U.S. These countries harbor terrorists and the "refugees" lack identification.

Now, how is that similar to what Adolf Hitler did?

misterwhite posted on 2017-01-31 09:28:18   Reply   Private Reply

#16: Stoner    To: GrandIsland (#7)

" I oil my guns with the tears of libtards.

I'm hoping libtards revolt... it will be OPEN SEASON. "

When the balloon goes up, will grease the treads with their guts.

Then, they will wish they had STFU !! LOL

Stoner posted on 2017-02-02 06:44:15   Reply   Private Reply

#17: GrandIsland    To: Stoner (#16)

When the balloon goes up, will grease the treads with their guts.

Then, they will wish they had STFU !! LOL

Yes... I agree.

GrandIsland posted on 2017-02-02 08:29:11   Reply   Private Reply

#18: Deckard    To: Fred Mertz (#14)

hopes of a lawless financial COLLAPSE

You are one fuckedupped mental case.

No argument here.

The former cop is totally whack!

Deckard posted on 2017-02-02 09:56:41   Reply   Private Reply