Koch Brothers poked fun at in Salina

By JD Wayne

Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R), Fowler,  sees a lot of variety when traveling the state,  but the Koch Bros protest held during his town hall meeting in Salina Tuesday was probably a first.
Wichita’s Koch Brothers have come under fire lately for their interference within Wisconsin politics and numerous stories surfacing across the country. Up to now, the Koch family has remained somewhat anonymous in their political activities, however, their anonymity is changing as more information is becoming known about their involvement in politics, university educational programs, large campaign contributions to legislators across the US, and the formation of numerous think tanks to influence public opinion.

Recent reports also indicate that the Koch’s are largely responsible for the funding and founding the Tea Party which advocates for tax breaks for business and cutting middle class programs. Rep. Huelskamp is a member of the Tea Party legislative caucus and the Koch’s were the second largest contributor to his recent election campaign.

Rep. Huelskamp seemed good natured about the demonstration. His presentation included several charts depicting the deficit growth during the past 20 years. Following a short talk about current legislative activities he took several questions from his audience of about 60 citizens who were concerned about Headstart programs, ethanol, farm subsidies, abortion, the Defense of Marriage Act, the EPA, and taxes.

One member of the audience portraying the Koch Brothers held signs saying “Kansas Politicians are in Koch Bros Pockets”, E-Verify Livestock, Immigrants, Politicians and Feral Pigs”, “Stop Farm Subsidies, But Keep Oil Subsidies”, and “Let Them Eat Cake”.