4 Aug 2023 10:30 am
Aegis Strategic, is run by a former top executive at Charles and David Koch’s flagship advocacy group, Americans for Prosperity, and it was founded with the blessing of the brothers’ political advisers, three Republican operatives tell Mother Jones.
The consulting firm plans to handpick local, state, and federal candidates who share the Kochs’ free-market, limited-government agenda, and groom them to win elections.
“We seek out electable advocates of the freedom and opportunity agenda who will be forceful at both the policy and political levels,” the company notes on its website. Aegis says it can manage every aspect of a campaign, including advertising, direct mail, social media, and fundraising. As the Washington Post recently reported, the Kochs’ political network raised more than $400 million in 2011 and 2012 to defeat President Barack Obama, influence House and Senate races, and shape policy debates at the state and federal levels.
The constellation of nonprofit groups used by the Kochs and their allies is mind-bendingly complex, seemingly designed to keep donors’ identities shielded from public scrutiny.
Aegis Strategic comes across as an effort by the Koch brothers’ allies to bring in-house the business of campaigns.
On its website, Aegis bills itself as a one-stop shop for candidates who are “committed to freedom and economic opportunity,” offering candidates such services as opposition research, fundraising, direct mail, TV/radio/cable advertisements, phone banking, data management, and social media.
The company’s office is located just blocks from Americans for Prosperity’s national headquarters, the offices of various Koch-funded foundations, and Freedom Partners, the primary vehicle for anonymous money raised by the Koch donor network.
Pledging to identify and train budding conservative and libertarian candidates, Aegis potentially fills a gap that the Kochs have previously identified in their political operation.
Donors and activists who are active in the Koch network say there was widespread frustration following the 2012 elections, during which the GOP had fielded so many lackluster candidates.
“You can spend all the money on a candidate you want, but if they’re talking about self-deportation, or betting $10,000, or 47 percent, you’re gonna lose,” says Stan Hubbard, a Minnesota-based radio and TV magnate who attends the Koch seminars. “You have a bad candidate, you’re gonna lose.”
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/201 ... -strategic
The consulting firm plans to handpick local, state, and federal candidates who share the Kochs’ free-market, limited-government agenda, and groom them to win elections.
“We seek out electable advocates of the freedom and opportunity agenda who will be forceful at both the policy and political levels,” the company notes on its website. Aegis says it can manage every aspect of a campaign, including advertising, direct mail, social media, and fundraising. As the Washington Post recently reported, the Kochs’ political network raised more than $400 million in 2011 and 2012 to defeat President Barack Obama, influence House and Senate races, and shape policy debates at the state and federal levels.
The constellation of nonprofit groups used by the Kochs and their allies is mind-bendingly complex, seemingly designed to keep donors’ identities shielded from public scrutiny.
Aegis Strategic comes across as an effort by the Koch brothers’ allies to bring in-house the business of campaigns.
On its website, Aegis bills itself as a one-stop shop for candidates who are “committed to freedom and economic opportunity,” offering candidates such services as opposition research, fundraising, direct mail, TV/radio/cable advertisements, phone banking, data management, and social media.
The company’s office is located just blocks from Americans for Prosperity’s national headquarters, the offices of various Koch-funded foundations, and Freedom Partners, the primary vehicle for anonymous money raised by the Koch donor network.
Pledging to identify and train budding conservative and libertarian candidates, Aegis potentially fills a gap that the Kochs have previously identified in their political operation.
Donors and activists who are active in the Koch network say there was widespread frustration following the 2012 elections, during which the GOP had fielded so many lackluster candidates.
“You can spend all the money on a candidate you want, but if they’re talking about self-deportation, or betting $10,000, or 47 percent, you’re gonna lose,” says Stan Hubbard, a Minnesota-based radio and TV magnate who attends the Koch seminars. “You have a bad candidate, you’re gonna lose.”
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/201 ... -strategic