Are You Enjoying The Trump V Koch War? You Should

Trump always seems to make sure that there are people in his circle who are bigger morons than he is. It probably makes him feel smart. So is he ready to get rid of the nightly TV shows' clownish oaf? Also the morning shows'. It probably takes the psychic pressure off him that it's Giuliani getting lambasted on CNN and MSNBC in primetime everyday. Don McGahan, on the other hand, is an actual lawyer, not a p.r. flack. Gabriel Sherman in Vanity Fair yesterday: McGahn's hatred for Rudy is hotter than 1,000 burning suns. He wants Trump to fire him. Trump, we're hearing, isn't happy with Giuliani's myriad of missteps either. But Trump has other craziness on his mind now-- his war against the Koch network.

Yesterday, another one of the losers Trump drew into his circle-- and then fired but still keeps around... sub rosa-like-- Bannon was running his mouth again. Bannon thinks he's a Trump enforcer-- and maybe he is.

He was sending out a message (from Trumpanzee?) that if Republican candidates take Koch money, there could be a price to pay, or as he so gracefully put it: "punishment." Who exactly is the "we" is this sentence from his CNBC interview Tuesday? "You take Koch money, it's going to be toxic. We are going to let people know that if you take Koch money there's a punishment." And by "people," who does he mean? These two?

"If you take money from people who are against the president and are looking to put a knife in the back of the president, you are going to pay," he hissed menacingly.

Bannon, in an interview with Politico that ran over the weekend, had urged the Kochs to "shut up and get with a program" in backing Trump's agenda in this fall's midterm elections. But on Tuesday, he ratcheted up his already-heated rhetoric.

"Let's start holding the Kochs accountable. It's a con job and they are a total scam," Bannon said Tuesday. "They are promoters and it's a total Ponzi scheme. They never raise as much money as they talk about and no one ever knows who their donors are.

" ...The strategist declined to elaborate on what the punishment would look like. The Koch network traditionally backs Republican candidates, but has recently said it is open to supporting Democrats who favor the group's policies.

Funny that the Republican establishment-- including the Kochs-- and the Democratic establishment-- including Pelosi-- have all identified the same Public Enemy #1: 28 year old establishment-killer Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Why are they all so afraid of her, maybe even more than the fear Bernie and Elizabeth Warren? The power of ideas and the ability to communicate them to a mass audience. I'm planning on getting into that later today. Meanwhile, let's stick to the Bannon vs Koch gunfight while it still lasts and can be savored.

Bannon said he doesn't believe the widely influential Koch organization is as powerful as it used to be. His political operation, he said, will go on a "continual pressure" campaign against the Koch network, its donors and any candidate who accepts money from the organization.

"We are going to find out who they [the donors] are. We are going to identify people who the Kochs back. We're not just going to sit there and allow them to destroy the Trump presidency," Bannon said.

The outrage from Trump and Bannon came after Koch network officials told financial backers at a summit over the weekend that they are no longer committed to solely backing Republican candidates in this year's congressional midterm elections. The group said it is leaving the door open to potentially supporting Democrats who back their policy initiatives.

"I know this is uncomfortable," Emily Seidel, chief executive officer of Americans for Prosperity, told a group of donors on Sunday. "If you are a Democrat and stand up to [Sen.] Elizabeth Warren to corral enough votes for financial reform that breaks barriers for community banks and families, you're darn right we will work with you."

Charles Koch himself told reporters that he hopes to see people in power who will back policies that will "move toward a society, mutual benefit, equal rights, where everybody has the opportunity to realize their full potential." He added, "I don't care what initials are in front or after somebody's name."

On Monday, the network announced that it wasn't planning to back Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., against Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in a race Republicans see as a prime opportunity for a Senate seat pickup.

Bannon said the Koch network has received everything it has wanted from the Trump administration, including comprehensive tax reform, business deregulation and conservative Supreme Court justices, including the recent nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Yet, he said, none of that matters to the Kochs because they didn't support Trump during the election.

The Kochs are huge players in GOP politics and are just getting started trying to buy control over the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. Last cycle alone, just one Koch-owned entity, Americans for Prosperity, spent $13,309,199 in independent expenditures for GOP candidates. They spent over a million dollars each smearing Katie McGinty (D-PA), Patrick Murphy (D-FL), Deborah Ross (D-NC), Ted Strickland (D-OH), Evan Bayh (D-IN), Jason Kander (D-MO) and Russ Feingold (D-WI), most of whom were favored candidates to win at one time or another during the cycle and all of whom were defeated.

They're just getting started but so far this cycle, Americans for Prosperity has spent $2,970,865 on behalf of Republicans, the biggest money going to smear Democratic incumbents Claire McCaskill (MO) and Tammy Baldwin (WI). It's probably just a coincidence that the Kochs and the Kremlin always seem to have the same targets.

Dear Republicans, This is what you gave the keys to your party. One day you'll wake up and puke all over yourselves and ask for forgiveness.