Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Talk about a conspiracy. The New York Times and Think Progress provide the details of an ongoing series of twice-yearly, four-day strategy sessions held by a Who’s Who of hard-line “free enterprise” champions, billionaire businessmen, front-group consultants, and Glenn Beck provocateurs – all hosted by the super-secretive Koch brothers. The end of the posting on Think Progress provides a list of the 200-plus participants in the June 2010 retreat, held in Aspen, Colorado; the list includes Art Pope and Bob Lundy of North Carolina. The meetings have been going on for several years, assembling multi-million-dollar commitments to take over Congress, stop unwanted regulation, and boost the wealth of these elites. The next meeting is in Palm Springs, California, in January, in time to set strategy for the new Congress and prepare for buying the 2012 presidency. As the invitation to the meeting says, this is not about fun in the sun; it’s about “combating the multitude of public policies that threaten to destroy America as we know it.” You’re not invited.