The Koch Brothers' War on Transit - 2014-09-25

The Koch Brothers' War on Transit September 25, 2014, Angie Schmitt, blog, StreetsBlog USA

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Transit advocates around the country were transfixed by a story in Tennessee this April, when the state chapter of Americans for Prosperity made a bid to pre-emptively kill Nashville bus rapid transit. It was an especially brazen attempt by Charles and David Koch's political network to strong-arm local transportation policy makers. But it was far from the only time the Kochs and their surrogates have taken aim at transit.

The Koch brothers, who owe their fortune to fossil fuels, are best known for funding global warming deniers and Republican insurgents aligned with the Tea Party. With their political influence under greater scrutiny during election season, now's a good time to pull together the various strands of Koch anti-transit activism.

The Kochs fund a wide-ranging network of "think tanks," non-profits, and political organizations. Their best-known political arm is Americans for Prosperity and its various offshoots and subsidiaries. David Koch was founding chairman of Americans for Prosperity, and both brothers provided funding for its launch. Among other activities, the group does plenty to manufacture Agenda 21 paranoia, which has cable subscribers around the country convinced that smart growth is a United Nations conspiracy that will lead to one-world government.

Wikipedia cite:

{{cite news | first = Angie | last = Schmitt | title = The Koch Brothers' War on Transit | url = https://usa.streetsblog.org/2014/09/25/the-koch-brothers-war-on-transit/ | work = blog | publisher = StreetsBlog USA | date = September 25, 2014 | accessdate = September 6, 2020 }}