“Always follow the Koch money,” opined my esteemed liberal colleague, the Gooze, in a recent post, “Have the Kochs Opened a Back Door for the Cooch?” Well, that’s what Rep. Jim Moran, D-8th, did in a recent rally, when he suggested that the long arm of the conservative Koch brothers extended into the cafeteria of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Wesley P. Hester with the Times-Dispatch quotes Moran as follows:
As soon as the Republicans took over the House of Representatives, they threw out all of the biodegradable utensils we were using in the cafeterias and they required us to buy styrofoam cups and plates and so on that are manufactured by Dixie, and, in fact, this is part of Koch Industries. … the CEO was one of the partners of Koch Industries that is now benefiting from what we have to buy because we’re basically a captive audience in the House of Representatives.
Interesting theory. But Hester takes a wrecking ball to it. First, House Republicans canceled the recycling program because it was costing $475,000 to run and was found to have increased the House’s energy demand — not because they are in thrall to the Koch Brothers. The change had been recommended by outgoing Administration Committee Chairman Robert A. Brady, a Pennsylvania Democrat.
Second, House Republicans did not recommend the use of Styrofoam. That decision was made by Restaurant Associates, the company that manages the cafeteria.
Third, while Dixie is a brand owned by Georgia-Pacific, which is owned by Koch Industries, the Styrofoam products are actually manufactured by WinCup, which has no affiliation with Dixie, other than the fact that its owner, George Wurtz, worked for Georgia-Pacific before Koch Industries acquired it in 2005.
The Kochs represent to the Left what George Soros does to the Right, a malign and shadowy influence whose tendrils reach everywhere. Conspiracy mongering is the American way. Admittedly, conspiracies sometimes do exist. Just insist upon solid proof before believing in them.
