The chief Republican kingmakers, the Koch brothers, Charles and David, are again in the conservative political limelight.
In the past, the Koch family has made donations to conservative and libertarian policy and advocacy groups in the United States. Those groups include think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation, the Cato Institute, and Americans for Prosperity.
A few days ago, it appeared they endorsed Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, but by Thursday a multiple choice situation seemed to be in play. Now five Republican candidates appear to have their backing.
The five chosen candidates are:
- Governor Walker
- Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
- Senator Ted Cruz of Texas
- Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky
- Senator Marco Rubio of Florida
One of the brothers told USA Today, “What we’ve told them all is that right now, we’re not supporting anyone. We’re telling them that if they want our support, one way to get it is articulating a good message to help Americans get a better understanding and a better appreciation of how certain policies will benefit them and will benefit all America.”
The brothers say they will remain neutral unless one candidate stands out with his or her message. In fact, they may actually fund more than one candidate if they like the messages they exhibit. They said, “We may give several of them some money to get this positive message out.”
Charles Koch, five years senior to his brother David, and the more interviewed of the two, added “What we expect them to do is to compete on who has a more positive message for America, rather than what’s wrong with some other candidate and did he smoke pot when he was 15 or whatever.”
