I was bemused to read Ann Marie Mershon’s letter to the editor in last week’s paper demonizing the Koch brothers. I dare say that most of the working stiffs in Cook County have never heard of these villains (I hadn’t before the 2010 election) but since then, they have become the new favorite bogeymen for the Liberal- Left.
As far as I know, they are brothers who inherited a fantastically profitable energy and chemical company from their father and went on to make it a bigger success. In times past, they would have been considered American success stories, but in the process they became (pardon the cliché) “richer than God.”
They chose to give some of their vast wealth to groups and individuals who believe in conservative values similar to their own (smaller government, fewer taxes, less regulation, free markets, etc). Is that a crime?
Apparently, it makes them demons to the Left. Ann didn’t mention George Soros, a man of even greater wealth and even more nefarious tentacles reaching deeply and secretly into the American electoral process. Any reasonable examination of Soros would convince Hollywood that he is the perfect candidate for a greedy egomaniacal villain for a James Bond movie (hypocrisy much, Ann?).
By parroting popular left-wing talking points, Ann made several dubious statements: “founded and funded the Tea Party”— a lie.
Made Wisconsin’s Scott Walker a “puppet Governor”— slander.
Rank among the “top ten polluters in America” — only if you consider CO2 a pollutant.
That being said, Ann made an important point.
Much new conservative effort, money, organization, and voting are being directed towards breaking up the unholy alliance between the public service unions and the Democratic Party. You don’t have to be a billionaire to see how this arrangement is damaging our country. This alliance is very powerful and won’t go without a nasty, dirty fight (we all saw what happened in Madison —and yes, Carol Miller, “union-thuggery” is exactly the right term), but it must happen.
We are broke, n’est-ce pas? The beleaguered American taxpayer has had it with politics as usual.
Ann Mershon fancies herself a brave truth-teller when she “calls a spade a spade” (is that racist?) but in reality she’s just another liberal joker, easily discarded. Tea, anyone?
Daryl Popkes
Gunflint Trail
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