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Marco Rubio Kochs Up

Marco Rubio has long touted all the policies that make the Koch brothers happy and profitable like all things pro-big oil, tax cuts for the rich, and just about anything that will hurt average Americans, so it was inevitable that he would join forces with the Koch donor network.

Today it became official:

Marc Short, the Koch brothers’ top political adviser in Washington and a trusted member of their inner circle for five years, is making a surprise move to the Marco Rubio campaign as a senior adviser as the Republican establishment ramps up efforts to stop Donald Trump.

Short — president of Freedom Partners, the Kochs’ umbrella political organization — will join the campaign in about a week and brings deep connections to the donor and grass-roots worlds.

“Marc has been running the most sophisticated political operation for the last few cycles, and really knows the mood of the electorate," said Scott Reed, senior political strategist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "This is a big sign of consolidation by the party.”

[...This is a big get for Rubio,” [Phil] Cox added. “Marc brings a unique perspective as one of the few people who have had one foot in traditional Republican Party politics and another in more movement-conservative efforts.”

Through Freedom Partners, Short has been the overseer of the "de facto bank" in the Koch network that "feeds money to groups downstream," so his expertise will come in handy should the Koch's decide to endorse Rubio as their official puppet in the Presidential race.

Since Rubio has demonstrated over his short political career that he prefers easy shortcuts to power and money rather than working for them, and will say or do anything that benefits him politically, becoming a well-funded empty suit who will say "how high?" when the powers that be pulling his strings say "jump" is really a perfect fit. 

Given that Marco Rubio has yet to win a primary, and the Kochs' are even more unpopular than he is, this probably won't help much with all those Americans he claims he wants to help "prosper." 

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Marco Rubio Votes "No" On Minimum Wage, Proves Again He Has No Idea How The Real World Operates

This Is Your Brain On Bull***t

While following the Koch line against minimum wage increases, Marco Rubio helped the Senate Republicans filibuster those increases today. Sen. Bill Nelson voted "yes," to raise them.

Rubio consistently votes against his constituents' best interests, and follows up with excuses that make no sense to anyone, except perhaps Rubio, who is hardly the brightest star in the universe despite the GOP attempts to portray him as theirs.

Here's Rubio, pretending he has an alternative plan:

"I’ve proposed a change to something which in English is called the 'wage enhancement', which instead of the earned income tax credit which exists today, additional money is given monthly to these low-income workers, instead of once a year through their taxes, monthly through what they’re charging at their jobs.

In Rubio's "English" this may translate to "wage enhancement" but to the rest of us it translates to "enhanced bull***t."

But wait, he was hardly finished. Here's his reasoning on why paying workers a wage they can actually live on is bad for them:

Koch Industries Reap the Benefits Of ACA While Campaigning Against it

There's no bigger force on the right campaigning against the Affordable Care Act than Koch Industries and their counterparts, Americans For Prosperity, who have spent millions in a barrage against its implementation.

So The Kochs and AFP would be the last people you would imagine taking advantage of the new law, right? Yet they're doing just that:

Several big corporations have reaped millions of dollars from "Obamacare" even as they support GOP candidates who vow to repeal the law. This condemn-while-benefiting strategy angers Democrats, who see some of their top congressional candidates struggling against waves of anti-Obamacare ads partly funded by these companies.

Among the corporations is a familiar Democratic nemesis, Koch Industries, the giant conglomerate headed by the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. They and some conservative allies are spending millions of dollars to hammer Democratic senators in North Carolina, Alaska, Colorado, Iowa and elsewhere, chiefly for backing President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

Will Weatherford (R-Koch) Tries Again To Kill Florida's Healthy Pension System

Koch Puppet Will Weatherford

Florida has a perfectly healthy pension system for its employees, so you would think our leaders would abide by the old saying "If it's not broke, don't fix it." But that would be logical, and this is Florida, where many of our Republican legislators work not for us, but rather for the right-wing extremists, like ALEC and the Koch brothers.

Group Tied To Koch, ALEC, and Rove Pouring Money Into "Jolly Lobbyist" Campaign Against Sink

ALEC vs Alex?

Conservative right-wing groups from outside Florida are desperately pouring money into the race for the late Bill Young's seat, and all that money is to boost Republican lobbyist David Jolly who is running against Democrat Alex Sink, according to an announcement today (Paywall restricted.):

The American Action Network said today that will spend $500,000 in the Florida Congressional District 13 race featuring Democrat Alex Sink and Republican David Jolly.

"The independent expenditures include over $350,000 in broadcast and targeted cable television from February 4 – February 20, 2014, as well as targeted mail and digital advertising," the group said.

Floridians should know where this money is coming from, and who is behind the American Action Network, an organization with ties to ALEC, and Karl Rove's American Crossroads PAC, among others.

KOCH, AFP SOTU Events: Come For The Freebies, Stay For The Consequences

As the Affordable Care Act was being rolled out last October, a Koch funded group tried (and failed) to derail it by targeting potential young enrollees. That group, called "Generation Opportunity," went to college campuses around the country and plied students with free food and beer at so-called "tailgate parties" in an effort to lure them into events with the sole purpose of scaring them away from signing up for Obamacare. This was on top of the now infamous creepy "Uncle Sam" ads, also designed to provoke fear of "government health care."

Repeated failures like those would stop most groups from doing the same things over and over again, but these groups have boatloads of money from the Koch's fueling them, who stand to profit from all that fear. Now they're back with their next scheme: Trying to tear down the upcoming State Of The Union address.

The Hostile Corporate Takeover Of Florida, And America

Today is a national day of action to Stand Up To ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, the corporate lobbyist driven organization which writes cookie cutter laws, and gives them to state legislators who do their bidding by passing them into legislation against the interests of their constituents.

As regular readers of this blog are probably well aware, ALEC and it's corporate pushers have a large hold over Florida, both with the legislature and the governor's office. 

Bilirakis Introduces Bill Citing Koch Affiliated Think Tank "Report" For Nonexistent ACA Security Breaches

Red Alert: Fact-Free Think Tank Legislation Ahead

Despite the fact that there have been no security breaches on the Affordable Care Act's website, that hasn't stopped Republicans from trying to scare the public away from enrolling by claiming there have been, or that there will be in the future. It's just another scheme they've come up with since they haven't been able to kill Obamacare outright as they planned.

Now a member of Congress from Florida is introducing a bill "to address Obamacare's security risks" that he claims "could" happen, citing FOX news and ALEC, Koch associated think tanks that are pushing that idea to right-wing websites and blogs. 

Koch's "Secret Bank" Has Ties To Rick Scott's Voter Purge

But Not If Rick Scott Can Purge It

Politico recently reported on revelations about what they called the "Koch's Secret Bank," a group called Freedom Partners which is the funding "sugar daddy" for the conservative causes pushed by the Koch brothers in the 2012 election. The group is behind funding for everything from efforts to kill Obamacare to adding fuel to the anti-choice movement, and then some.

SYG Protests Grow In Florida And Chicago, At ALEC Conference Upon Group's 40th Anniversary

 ALEC Shrugs At The Palmer House?

(The Palmer House Hotel, photo by Martha Jackovics)

The Florida Capitol isn't the only locale currently hosting Stand Your Ground protests. 

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is currently celebrating their 40th Anniversary at a conference being held at the historical and luxurious gold adorned Palmer House Hotel in Chicago.