They apparently plan to spend almost a billion bucks in 2016: “A network of conservative advocacy groups backed by Charles and David Koch aims to spend a staggering $889 million in advance of the next White House election, part of an expansive strategy to build on its 2014 victories that may involve jumping into the Republican primaries[*].” What makes this fascinating, of course, is that the ‘insidious Koch conspiracy’ is pretty much the same as the ‘insidious libertarian conspiracy:’ to wit, they plan to take over, and then leave you the Hell alone.
This deeply confuses a certain segment of the American political spectrum, by the way. They have a sincere and deep inability to understand why on earth anybody would want take power, solely for the purpose of making sure that nobody actually gets to use any of it**. Particularly the people like themselves, who are simply full of good intentions…
Moe Lane
*I suspect that ‘may’ will turn to ‘will not.’ Mind you; the group is taking a good, hard look at Scott Walker and Rand Paul, so at least there’s a spectrum of possible recipients of favor.
**This has pretty much been our foreign policy since WWII. We don’t want to rule the planet, and we damned well don’t want any of you people to rule it, either. Except maybe the Brits, but they say they’re done with that sh*t and we can’t blame them much for feeling that way.
Very much including the Brits. Note that unlike the never-to-be-sufficiently-damned Wilson in 1919, we didn’t let their line of credit ride in 1945 — FDR and HST very clearly made them choose between economic ruin with Empire and economic survival without. Ike hammered John Paul Jones’ stake into the Empire’s corpse at Suez, and he did it on purpose.
We still carried the Brits’ water where it suited our own oil companies (like in Iran) or where it overlapped with our own security commitments (like in Malaya) but the Empire died at Singapore and three successive administrations hit it with the shovel to make sure. One can argue about whether that was wise, but I don’t think you can argue whether it was American policy.
Well, don’t *I* stand abashed. 🙂 Although I take refuge in that suddenly-overly-strained ‘maybe.’
Dude! Ken Hite reads your blog!
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And even better, he’s one of us! 😀
the Brits don’t even want to run their own island anymore. i think the NHS must neuter all the males at birth or something. i just hope that when reality gives them a good hard slap in the face they can recover.
Yes, the “stiff upper lip” has turned into a simpering lisp.
“What makes this fascinating, of course, is that the ‘insidious Koch conspiracy’ is pretty much the same as the ‘insidious libertarian conspiracy:’ to wit, they plan to take over, and then leave you the Hell alone.”
Like Gandalf’s plans for Sauron – “We seek to cast him down and have no one take his place.”
The Dark Lord had no idea that anyone would seek to do that until the fight at the Cracks of Doom. And then it was “You have no guards here, you have no one keeping intruders from here; your only guard is Gollum.” Pause. “You really were in denial, weren’t you? You were hoping that all of those elf lords and ladies forgot everything that you did to their kin. That was your plan?”
Makes the unprotected thermal port on the Death Star like a good piece of engineering.
Its not quite that dumb of a plan. Sauron prepared his defenses against what he* would do. Evil is incapable of fully comprehending good. The idea that someone would seek to Destroy the most powerful weapon ever created rather then using it never entered Sauron’s mind. And honestly Gandalf was perhaps the only person who endorsed from the very beginning the plan to destroy the Ring. Most like Galdor of the Havens, and Denethor wanted to lock the Ring away.**
*considering the fact that Sauron is a stand-in for Satan, being a semi-angelic being who is considered above average intelligence even for his already fairly intelligent race, this wasn’t a bad plan.
** this discussion is probably implying that the Left are evil, and that’s not my intention nor do I consider all my political opponents to be evil, but there are certainly some out way on left field who’s actions and intentions can be described as evil, and have shown gross incapability of comprehending me and mine.