Will Byrnes's Reviews > Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right
Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right
by
![description](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1455871049i/18160435.jpg)
Jane Mayer - from WashingtonNote.com
There is a cancer on American democracy. It began with the accumulation of unimaginable amounts of capital in a few hands. It spread through targeted application of that money to the political process, under the fig leaf of philanthropy, and has metastasized into a life-threatening malignancy. It does this through the application of billions of dollars to stealth organizations, set up specifically to propagandize against government programs and policies that the uber-rich oppose. It does this through the application of billions of dollars to tar political candidates who are not with the program, regardless of party affiliation. It does this through application of billions of dollars to programs promoting the redrawing of voting districts to minimize and eliminate, where possible, the chances that candidates with any respect for democracy might be elected to public office. It does this by applying untold millions to target those who expose their secret doings, whether that means going after whistle blowers, within their own organizations, whose consciences have outgrown their need to earn a living, their fear for their personal safety, or following, investigating, smearing and attempting to intimidate journalists who dare to speak (and document) truth to power. The only question at this point is whether it is, even now, too late to prevent the oligarchs from amassing total power within the USA, and beyond. Is democracy already at Stage 4? If it is, it will be no problem identifying those guilty of democricide. Of course it will be impossible to prosecute them, as they have gained considerable control of the courts that were once upon a time a barrier to the dismissal of the national interest by the uber-wealthy. Consider, even now, how none of those responsible for the economic meltdown have seen the inside of a cell. The truth is becoming ever more stark, ever more frightening. There is no law, only power. And the big money group has the biggest army in town, having gained control of Congress, and the judiciary, and they are very much hoping to get their greedy paws on the presidency. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
![description](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1455871049i/18160436._SX540_.jpg)
Charles Koch - from USA Today
So how did this dire state of affairs come to be? Jane Mayer digs through history and shows us, stage by stage, how fanatical right wingers with vast sums, have moved from the political fringes to the mainstream, not by, themselves, shifting, but by using the gravity of their money to pull the mainstream closer to their far-right positions, positions erstwhile right-wing centerfold William F. Buckley once called ”Anarcho-Totalitarianism.”
![description](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1455870405i/18160325.jpg)
David Koch - from artnews.com
There are two parallel tracks in Dark Money. One looks at the mechanisms by which the oligarchs have converted their money into political power, and thus into even more money. And the other is the personalities behind this movement. Although calling it a movement may be offering more credit than is due. It is less a movement than a well planned putsch. Think of the dark-hearted spouse who feeds an ailing partner increasing doses of poison, evading suspicion, and then inheriting an entire estate.
There are plenty of billionaires on display in Dark Money, but the primary focus of the book is the brothers Koch, particularly David and the leader of the pack, Charles. We peek into the family history, which includes providing significant material support to Stalin and that other moustachioed European dictator as they ramped up for WW II. The brothers’ father, Fred, was so smitten with what he saw as the German work ethic that he hired a German nanny for his sons. Think Nurse Ratched, complete with white uniform and pointed cap. Freud would have had a heyday with this one. She made the boys defecate at the same time every day, and if they did not produce, it was cod-liver oil and enemas. And read them stories from sundry cruel German children’s books, including Der Struwwelpeter, which includes warnings about horrifying things that might happen to misbehaving children. These include being burned alive, starving to death for refusing to eat a particular kind of soup, and having ones thumbs cut off for the crime of sucking on them. It is the sole place in the book where one can actually feel sorry for these kids. Excited about the Nazi conquest of France, this anti-Poppins spit-spotted back to Germany to join in the celebrations. Papa Fred was not one to spare the rod, and physical abuse of his children was a significant feature of their less than joyful upbringing.
Frederick Koch the elder was certainly a dark force. Ever eager to bring the joys of fascism home, he was an ardent supporter of the fanatically and paranoiacly anti-Communist John Birch Society. (In 1978, he declared, “Our movement must destroy the prevalent statist paradigm.” - p3). Charles embraced the Birchers as an adult, but it may have been just to suck up to his old man and gain a favorable seat at the inheritance table. However, while his allegiance to the Birchers may have less than whole-hearted, he does appear to have incorporated much of what they stood for. Charles was much taken with a nutjob named Robert Lefevre, who established what he called The Freedom School. Notable among its teachings was a view that the robber barons were heroes. LeFevre was basically opposed to any form of government. Charles seems similarly inclined. The Brothers Koch have also had their own power plays within the family, dragging each other through lawsuits, and even threatening to out one brother suspected of being gay. Other members of the billionaire (mostly) boys club and their political fellow travelers come in for a look as well. Richard Devos, head of Amway, for example, and Richard Mellon Scaife. And there does seem a considerable proportion of these folks who suffer from significant mental illness and/or substance abuse issues. But the peregrinations of the Kochs is the primary focus on the personality side.
Of far greater interest is learning what these people want and how they have gone about building a massive machine to manufacture it.
In 1980 David Koch ran for vice president on the Libertarian Party line.
==========In the summer of 2019 GR reduced the allowable review size by 25%, from 20,000 to 15,000 characters. In order to accommodate the text beyond that I have moved it to the comments section directly below. You can find it in comment #41
by
![1526851](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1291462190p2/1526851.jpg)
Will Byrnes's review
bookshelves: american-history, biography, books-of-the-year-2016, economics, nonfiction, public-health
Feb 05, 2016
bookshelves: american-history, biography, books-of-the-year-2016, economics, nonfiction, public-health
We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both. - Louis D. BrandeisIt has been a consistent element of modern life in the USA that the public polls as more progressive than our elected officials. Given that in a democracy one would expect representatives to more or less reflect the views of the people who make up the population, and not speak in opposition to them, this seems surprising at first blush. Yes, we have our extremist elements, but by and large, the political position of the majority of the nation is a bit left of center. And yet, there has been a remarkable shift in the nation’s political direction. At least the political direction of the professional political class, elected officials, lawmakers, government executives, members of the judiciary, political operatives, lobbying organizations, interest groups. This pushing of the political gauge, this redefinition of what constitutes the center in American political thought, can only be understood by looking below the surface at actions that have been going on for decades, stealthily, effectively, dangerously.
![description](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1455871049i/18160435.jpg)
Jane Mayer - from WashingtonNote.com
There is a cancer on American democracy. It began with the accumulation of unimaginable amounts of capital in a few hands. It spread through targeted application of that money to the political process, under the fig leaf of philanthropy, and has metastasized into a life-threatening malignancy. It does this through the application of billions of dollars to stealth organizations, set up specifically to propagandize against government programs and policies that the uber-rich oppose. It does this through the application of billions of dollars to tar political candidates who are not with the program, regardless of party affiliation. It does this through application of billions of dollars to programs promoting the redrawing of voting districts to minimize and eliminate, where possible, the chances that candidates with any respect for democracy might be elected to public office. It does this by applying untold millions to target those who expose their secret doings, whether that means going after whistle blowers, within their own organizations, whose consciences have outgrown their need to earn a living, their fear for their personal safety, or following, investigating, smearing and attempting to intimidate journalists who dare to speak (and document) truth to power. The only question at this point is whether it is, even now, too late to prevent the oligarchs from amassing total power within the USA, and beyond. Is democracy already at Stage 4? If it is, it will be no problem identifying those guilty of democricide. Of course it will be impossible to prosecute them, as they have gained considerable control of the courts that were once upon a time a barrier to the dismissal of the national interest by the uber-wealthy. Consider, even now, how none of those responsible for the economic meltdown have seen the inside of a cell. The truth is becoming ever more stark, ever more frightening. There is no law, only power. And the big money group has the biggest army in town, having gained control of Congress, and the judiciary, and they are very much hoping to get their greedy paws on the presidency. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
![description](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1455871049i/18160436._SX540_.jpg)
Charles Koch - from USA Today
So how did this dire state of affairs come to be? Jane Mayer digs through history and shows us, stage by stage, how fanatical right wingers with vast sums, have moved from the political fringes to the mainstream, not by, themselves, shifting, but by using the gravity of their money to pull the mainstream closer to their far-right positions, positions erstwhile right-wing centerfold William F. Buckley once called ”Anarcho-Totalitarianism.”
![description](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1455870405i/18160325.jpg)
David Koch - from artnews.com
There are two parallel tracks in Dark Money. One looks at the mechanisms by which the oligarchs have converted their money into political power, and thus into even more money. And the other is the personalities behind this movement. Although calling it a movement may be offering more credit than is due. It is less a movement than a well planned putsch. Think of the dark-hearted spouse who feeds an ailing partner increasing doses of poison, evading suspicion, and then inheriting an entire estate.
There are plenty of billionaires on display in Dark Money, but the primary focus of the book is the brothers Koch, particularly David and the leader of the pack, Charles. We peek into the family history, which includes providing significant material support to Stalin and that other moustachioed European dictator as they ramped up for WW II. The brothers’ father, Fred, was so smitten with what he saw as the German work ethic that he hired a German nanny for his sons. Think Nurse Ratched, complete with white uniform and pointed cap. Freud would have had a heyday with this one. She made the boys defecate at the same time every day, and if they did not produce, it was cod-liver oil and enemas. And read them stories from sundry cruel German children’s books, including Der Struwwelpeter, which includes warnings about horrifying things that might happen to misbehaving children. These include being burned alive, starving to death for refusing to eat a particular kind of soup, and having ones thumbs cut off for the crime of sucking on them. It is the sole place in the book where one can actually feel sorry for these kids. Excited about the Nazi conquest of France, this anti-Poppins spit-spotted back to Germany to join in the celebrations. Papa Fred was not one to spare the rod, and physical abuse of his children was a significant feature of their less than joyful upbringing.
Frederick Koch the elder was certainly a dark force. Ever eager to bring the joys of fascism home, he was an ardent supporter of the fanatically and paranoiacly anti-Communist John Birch Society. (In 1978, he declared, “Our movement must destroy the prevalent statist paradigm.” - p3). Charles embraced the Birchers as an adult, but it may have been just to suck up to his old man and gain a favorable seat at the inheritance table. However, while his allegiance to the Birchers may have less than whole-hearted, he does appear to have incorporated much of what they stood for. Charles was much taken with a nutjob named Robert Lefevre, who established what he called The Freedom School. Notable among its teachings was a view that the robber barons were heroes. LeFevre was basically opposed to any form of government. Charles seems similarly inclined. The Brothers Koch have also had their own power plays within the family, dragging each other through lawsuits, and even threatening to out one brother suspected of being gay. Other members of the billionaire (mostly) boys club and their political fellow travelers come in for a look as well. Richard Devos, head of Amway, for example, and Richard Mellon Scaife. And there does seem a considerable proportion of these folks who suffer from significant mental illness and/or substance abuse issues. But the peregrinations of the Kochs is the primary focus on the personality side.
Of far greater interest is learning what these people want and how they have gone about building a massive machine to manufacture it.
In 1980 David Koch ran for vice president on the Libertarian Party line.
The party’s platform was an almost exact replica of the Freedom School’s radical curriculum. It called for the repeal of all campaign-finance laws and the abolition of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). It also favored the abolition of all government health-care programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. It attacked Social Security as “virtually bankrupt” and called for its abolition too. The Libertarians also opposed all income and corporate taxes, including capital gains taxes, and called for an end to the prosecution of tax evaders. The platform called for the abolition too of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the FBI, and the CIA, among other government agencies. It demanded the abolition of “any laws” impeding employment—by which it meant minimum wage and child labor laws. And it targeted public schools for abolition too, along with what it termed the “compulsory” education of children. The Libertarians wanted to get rid of the Food and Drug Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, seat belt laws, and all forms of welfare for the poorThis is what they want. And this is how they have gone about getting it.
[In the late 1980s, Richard Fink], after studying the Kochs’ political problems for six months, drew up a practical blueprint, ostensibly inspired by [right-wing icon, economist Friederich] Hayek’s model of production, that impressed Charles by going beyond where his own 1976 paper on the subject had left off. Called “The Structure of Social Change,” it approached the manufacture of political change like any other product. As Fink later described it in a talk, it laid out a three-phase takeover of American politics. The first phase required an “investment” in intellectuals whose ideas would serve as the “raw products.” The second required an investment in think tanks that would turn the ideas into marketable policies. And the third phase required the subsidization of “citizens” groups that would, along with “special interests” pressure elected officials to implement the policies. It was in essence a libertarian production line, waiting only to be bought, assembled and switched on.In the same way that those seeking to promote war use mercenaries, so that voters need not be concerned about Johnny becoming cannon fodder in some pointless foreign adventure, the warfare that is politics has likewise been outsourced. Prevented by law from contributing mass quantities to your favorite tax cutter? Not to worry. Just set up a non-profit foundation and have the foundation redirect your contributions to Astroturf political creations where foundation money is magically transformed into a paid-in-full army of attack ads. And this is legal? Democracy? We doan need no steenking democracy.
==========In the summer of 2019 GR reduced the allowable review size by 25%, from 20,000 to 15,000 characters. In order to accommodate the text beyond that I have moved it to the comments section directly below. You can find it in comment #41
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Reading Progress
February 5, 2016
–
Started Reading
February 5, 2016
– Shelved
February 10, 2016
–
Finished Reading
February 19, 2016
– Shelved as:
american-history
February 19, 2016
– Shelved as:
biography
February 19, 2016
– Shelved as:
books-of-the-year-2016
February 19, 2016
– Shelved as:
economics
February 19, 2016
– Shelved as:
nonfiction
February 19, 2016
– Shelved as:
public-health
Comments Showing 1-50 of 122 (122 new)
![[Name Redacted]](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1347082397p1/287915.jpg)
![Will Byrnes](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1291462190p1/1526851.jpg)
![Will Byrnes](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1291462190p1/1526851.jpg)
Thanks, Max. Yes, she does. Of course, she is in a position of some influence herself, so is more firmly armored to take them on that a less well-connected writer might be. But yeah, guts.
![Lilo](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1366528768p1/19470614.jpg)
Remains to be seen.
![♣ Irish Smurfétté ♣](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1487984877p1/21998440.jpg)
This.
![[Name Redacted]](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1347082397p1/287915.jpg)
The choice of America isn't between Democracy and Plutocracy, though. That's all I meant. Democracy isn't really an option here without some sort of violent revolution and establishment of a completely new form of government. The USA is a Republic through and through, but (as in Rome) the threat of Plutocracy is always present in that system.
![Will Byrnes](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1291462190p1/1526851.jpg)
And being made more and more manifest as the financial megafauna have taken to stomping around more and more in the political china shop.
![Lilo](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1366528768p1/19470614.jpg)
Since when can a republic not be a democracy?
The alternative to a republic is a monarchy, not a democracy.
The opposite of a democracy is an absolute monarchy, a dictatorship, or an oligarchy.
Unfortunately, there are elements of oligarchy, quite often, mixed into democracies. America is a typical example for this.
If a Republican (other than Donald Trump) should win the 2016 presidential election, we'll probably have an oligarchy with elements of democracy mixed into it.
And if Donald Trump should win, we'll probably soon have a clear dictatorship, and you might need magnifying glasses to find remnants of a mixed-in democracy left; that is, if we'll have anything left at all. I prophesy that when Donald Trump will become President, he'll soon start WWIII, and then, the few survivors will be back in stone age, provided that there are any survivors left at all other than insects, which I hear are quite resistent to radiation.
![Lilo](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1366528768p1/19470614.jpg)
![Lilo](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1366528768p1/19470614.jpg)
Why? What's wrong with talking about current affairs following a review of a book dealing with current affairs?
![Will Byrnes](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1291462190p1/1526851.jpg)
Kasich might be content to continue waging war on women, something he has pursued enthusiastically in Ohio.
![Carol](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1438649960p1/3845138.jpg)
![Lilo](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1366528768p1/19470614.jpg)
Thanks for your interest in my memoir. It has been finished since 2012. Unfortunately, I made no efforts to get it traditionally published because my husband talked me into self-publishing, promising to do all the involved work.
Now, 3 1/2 years later, I am still waiting. Every time my husband gets started, some real-life calamity (or even disaster) happens, my husband interrupts, and by the time he finds time to continue, he has to start from ground zero again because he has forgotten everything he had studied before. This just happened again. It is frustrating! Hope I'll see my books published before I'll watch the radishes from below.
![Lilo](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1366528768p1/19470614.jpg)
Better than starting WWIII. Let him wage war on women. If the majority of women is anywhere near a "fighting hen" as I am, it may not do him any good.
![Lilo](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1366528768p1/19470614.jpg)
I feel the same as you do. I have never suffered anxiety in my life, but watching the primary results has me shiver and is giving me nightmares.
![Caroline](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1329765864p1/6257531.jpg)
As you well know I am the most ignorant of the most ignorant. But I recently read something about super PACS, and they seem a gateway for the sort of shenanigans you describe. If you see the list at the bottom of the page here, it looks like republicans are having a field day.
https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/supe...
![Will Byrnes](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1291462190p1/1526851.jpg)
![Will Byrnes](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1291462190p1/1526851.jpg)
![Will Byrnes](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1291462190p1/1526851.jpg)
![Lilo](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1366528768p1/19470614.jpg)
During the George W. Bush administration, I thought that we had "the best president money could buy". Yet the way it looks in 2016, it looks like we might get "the worst president anyone could think of" unless the Democrats win.
They don't have all this shit in Germany. There, elections are funded by the government, in a democratic way. The American election system and the way it gets paid for seems to me the most stupid and corrupt anyone could think of.
![Caroline](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1329765864p1/6257531.jpg)
That was extremely interesting Will, thank you, and that compilation of videos with Stephen Colbert was marvellous clear. I'm still gawping! Unbelievable.
![Will Byrnes](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1291462190p1/1526851.jpg)
![Will Byrnes](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1291462190p1/1526851.jpg)
![Melinda](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1333477081p1/8537091.jpg)
So chilling to read the article I missed last week on Koch starting a school for the the hard Right, Will! Talked hours to a teacher last summer from Kansas about how Koch have set out to just destroy public K-16 education there, and are well on their way. Just last month there was a front page article about Koch money here in Maine. Scary! Koch and others that use the "dark money" influence are what C.W. Mills' and Domhoff called the Power Elite in the 50s. The personal motivations are still a bit of a mystery to me.
![Will Byrnes](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1291462190p1/1526851.jpg)
As for the Kochs, their central motivation has always been greed. Government spends money that it gets from taxation. These guys see this as inherently unfair and want to trim back government (at least the parts they cannot control) wherever possible As education is one of the largest national public costs it is a prime target for budget cutters. That teachers tend to be unionized, and that those unions tend to support Democrats is a bonus.
![Lata](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1525485137p1/13126933.jpg)
Good review, and is giving me much to think about.
![Christine Zibas](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1423938481p1/40037604.jpg)
![Lilo](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1366528768p1/19470614.jpg)
Since the outcome of the last election, I am afraid we ARE doomed.
![Will Byrnes](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1291462190p1/1526851.jpg)
![description](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1573881793i/28456600._SX540_.png)
The Kochs broke new ground in political gamesmanship, showing impressive creativity. In 1996, for example, they used tax-exempt non-profits as cutouts to evade limitations on company campaign donations. This was a new thing. As part of the implementation of Fink’s plan, they began funding stand-alone departments at universities. They gave them innocuous names, but the intention was to provide the intellectual underpinning (or fig-leaf construction) of their anti-government efforts. George Mason University was the first of these, housing The Mercatus Center. Once they had seeded enough such centers, particularly at Ivy League universities, the next phase was to build up a ground force. Thus the Tea Party.
In his 1894 novel, The Red Lily Anatole France wrote, “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.” Were he writing today he might have added “and permits the poor as well as the rich to contribute unlimited amounts in support of political causes.” The biggest tumor of all on the body politic is the Citizens United decision. By removing limits to campaign giving, the highly partisan Supreme Court put American democracy up for sale.
Total liberty for wolves is death to the lambs – Isaiah BerlinAnd the highest bidders have created a diverse political network that rivals and in many ways exceeds that of our major parties.
There is clearly a pathological hunger afflicting the super-rich. No matter how much money, property, or power they accumulate there remains a compelling need for more, ever more. And in seeking ever more, the affects their actions have on the rest of us is of no concern. We are all what notorious real-estate dragon lady Leona Helmsley once called the “little people.” We do not matter to them. They do not care if they destroy the environment. (The Kochs in particular are notorious scofflaw polluters) They do not care if they destroy the economy. (Banksters, anyone?) They feel no obligation to contribute to the common welfare (the above-noted Queen of Mean, Leona Helmsley, convicted tax-evader, and poster girl for nastiness, was best known for saying,"We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes") They do not care if people starve while they feast. (Cake, anyone?) They do not care if they have many mansions while millions go homeless. They are murderers, not just of people, but of our natural environment. They are destroyers. They do not care if children go uneducated, so long as they do as they are told. They do not care if the sick cannot afford to get medical care. They do not care if the life expectancy of the “little people” declines. They would probably see the conditions Dickens portrayed as too good for the poor, who, to their damaged minds, clearly have brought their poverty on themselves. This may be a form of mental illness, but at some point, the concerted actions this group of people take, primarily in the interest of increasing their already obscene wealth, crosses the line from madness to monstrosity. Charles Koch, and people of his ilk, are not unwell, they are evil, and such large-scale evil cannot be tolerated, no matter how much they might also contribute to sundry benign non-profits.
Wars have been fought to destroy, or at least to fend off, different forms of darkness. The Civil War was fought to cleanse the nation of the dark stain of slavery. World War II was fought to put down the mad dog of fascism. Another war will need to be fought to treat the cancer of oligarchy. The question is whether that war will be one of ballots or something more kinetic. The rule of the oligarchs is ushering in nothing less than a new form of slavery, a new form of fascism. Is it possible to slow the progress of this disease by exposing it to the light? Jane Mayer has been doing her part to shine her beacon on the history and activities of this group. Maybe if we know this devil and show the world what he has been up to, we can find a way to oppose him. Hopefully, by shining enough light, the dark forces that are at work will scurry back into the shadows. Of course it is possible that photodynamics will not do the trick. There are people who are immune to truth, people who will cling to their illusions and misconceptions despite the existence of scientific proof, birthers, climate change deniers, racists, and plenty more. But the patient is in the ER, suffering from the effects of the disease. Whatever resistance exists and whatever resistance grows, it had better get moving and show some success before democracy flatlines completely. At that point it will be mourning in America for real.
As of this re-posting, (January 31, 2020) it may be that democracy has gone brain dead, as Republicans in the Senate have chosen party over country and delivered to our nation it's first king, answerable to no one, prosecutable for no crime. It is clear that we have not been able to keep our republic.
Published – January 19, 2016 (hc)
January 24, 2017 - paperback
Review first posted – February 19, 2016
=============================EXTRA STUFF
Links to the author’s personal, Twitter and FB pages
In the normal course of preparing reviews I look for author on-line presence. Usually this includes Facebook, Twitter and a personal page. Mayer’s web site, Janemayer.com, is noted on the inside flap of her book. But when I tried to access it directly, it was not found. I then tried her Facebook page, and there was a place where one could request access to Mayer’s personal web page. Certainly this suggests that the free flow of information we all need is under threat. I expect that Mayer has been besieged by the sort of on-line jack-booted trolls that are employed by the monsters she portrays in her book, necessitating this sort of screening. I included Jane-Mayer.com here as her personal page, but it really is not. It is a Random House page. Just so’s ya know.
More from Mayer - New Koch - The billionaire brothers are championing criminal-justice reform. Has their formula changed? - from The New Yorker Magazine – January 25, 2016
A Mother Jones piece (1/21/16) by David Korn on the perils of telling the truth – How the Kochtopus Went After a Reporter - In Jane Mayer's new book, she reports how the conservative machine sicced private detectives on her. - Hail Hydra!
A Gawker article on a smear campaign against Mayer
5/10/16 - An interesting Op-Ed in the NY Times, by Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher and Steven L. Groopman - Why Dark Money Is Bad Business - a recommendation for shining some sunlight on corporate political spending, for the benefit of investors
9/6/16 - A very scary piece in the NY Times on how the Kochs are planning a school for right-wing activists. I guess the only house in this school would be Slytherin - With Koch Brothers Academy, Conservatives Settle In for Long War - by Ashley Parker and Maggie Haberman
11/23/16 - Dark Money is named to the NY Times list of 100 Notable Books of 2016
5/5/18 - NY Times - I'm shocked, shocked to learn that the Kochs actually told George Mason University who to hire for posts in the libertarian think-tank they fund there - What Charles Koch and Other Donors to George Mason University Got for Their Money - By Erica L. Green and Stephanie Saul
6/19/18 - NY Times - How the Koch Brothers Are Killing Public Transit Projects Around the Country - by Hiroko Tabuchi - Very interesting granularity on how the Kochs use big data to preserve their own profits at public expense
Haven't the recent rumors about Trump suggested that Reagan's "trickle down" economic theory has some possible relevance?
![Will Byrnes](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1291462190p1/1526851.jpg)
Thanks, Christine. I agree that campaign finance reform is key, and it will never happen as long as those in power feel that they benefit from the absence of reform. Commence holding breath now.
![Will Byrnes](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1291462190p1/1526851.jpg)
If it doesn't, you're making too much money
![Will Byrnes](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1291462190p1/1526851.jpg)
If so, it would be in keeping with Republican orthodoxy, which amounts to the rich stealing everything and persuading the gullible that the benefits will reach them...eventually. Tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations are the last things the economy needs. Business is already sitting on vast amounts of capital instead of investing it. Giving them even more will only make them richer and everyone else poorer, and produce zero economic gain for the country.
![Lilo](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1366528768p1/19470614.jpg)
If so, it would be in keeping with Republican orthodoxy, which..."
I absolutely agree.
![Leo Walsh](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1442889406p1/2118933.jpg)
The funny thing is that when I look at the Tea Party and many of Trump's poor, uneducated, rural white supporters, I scratch my head. These people are loudly agitating for policies that'll hurt them and enrich the already wealthy.
For instance, I read that if you earn under $70K/ yr, a repeal of the ACA will cost you an average of about $5500/ year in tax subsidies and increased premiums. While if you earn $1M/ year, you'll get a tax break of $150K/ year.
I'm completely confused. If just goes to show what a lot of super-rich cranks can do. Which is why we need money out of politics and a change to the tax laws. I mean, a rich guy should be able to write off programs to house the homeless, feed the hungry or subsidize a symphony orchestra. Those are good for all.
But to disguise a lobbying group as an educational organization? Pure propaganda.
![Lilo](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1366528768p1/19470614.jpg)
The funny thing is that when I look at the Tea Party and many of Trump's poor, uneducated, rural white supporters, I scratch..."
I agree with what you are saying. Yet I caution you to scratch your head every time you see the stupid masses supporting politicians who act against their (i.e. the stupid masses') interests. If you do, you are bound to get bald.
And I am not surprised that a selfish, lobbying group can disguise itself as an educational organization. Advertising can sell any junk, and propaganda can brainwash very well.
Up until now, I had known next to nothing about the Koch brothers. (I had only known that they were not well liked by the Democrats. And I didn't even know that they are still alive.)
What can I say? First I would like to say that I am shocked, shocked to my bones. I knew that corporate America was rather "unholy" (regardless of its alliance with Christianity and especially evangelicals), yet what I read in your review and some of the articles to which you gave links has convinced me that the American Right is not only fascism in the making but fascism accomplished.
I agree with everything you say in your review.
Will American democracy survive this cancer? I don't know. We can only hope and pray. (I think this is a time for even atheists to start praying.)