My must read of the day is "’Dear Koch Brothers: We Aren’t Going Anywhere’," in Politico:
Democrats are doubling down on their attacks against the Koch brothers.
Prompted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democrats spent millions of dollars spotlighting Republican ties to the billionaire conservative megadonors Charles and David Koch. But despite Republicans — and some Democrats — publicly decrying the strategy after Tuesday’s GOP wave as an ineffective waste of money, Reid told allies on election night that he planned to continue hammering the brothers, according to an operative close to him.
And big-money liberal groups ranging from the Democrats’ Senate campaign arm and House Super PAC to the outfits run by billionaire Tom Steyer and conservative-turned-liberal enforcer David Brock all signaled that they intended to pursue anti-Koch spending and oppo tactics headed into the 2016 election.
Sometimes being smart is as simple as recognizing when you’re wrong, and having the wherewithal to admit that you actually don’t know everything.
If Democrats continue to make the Koch brothers an election strategy they’re foolish, and if Republicans made their elections about Tom Steyer they would be as well.
The attack on the Koch brothers does not resonate with the average American, in large part because most people recognize that there’s big money on both sides of the aisle and shockingly have real problems to worry about so they don’t particularly care where those random rich people are choosing to legally send their money. The attack ultimately hurts Democrats because they’re taking time and shifting focus away from more compelling issues voters would actually like to hear about.
Every time a politician speaks they’re campaigning. It’s a bit frustrating, but it’s just the way things are and if they’re going to do it why wouldn’t they want to make it count with an issue that actually impacts races? This election showed the Koch attack doesn’t work, and going back to it—even sporadically—defies logic.