Charles Koch all of a sudden has a problem with corporate influence in politics

By Joan McCarter

Yes, you read that right. Charles Koch, in an op-ed in The Washington Post, complains that there's too much corporate influence in policy-making. Charles Koch, the guy who with his brother has bought the whole Republican House conference and about a third of the Senate's, says this:

When large companies can pressure politicians to force everyday Americans to fork over unearned millions, we should all question the fairness of the system. […] To include millions more of our people in true economic progress, our lawmakers must act on behalf of all Americans—not just the privileged few.

For reals. What brought this sudden realization upon him? He doesn't like Trump's tariffs, which show, he says, that "Our entire economy is rife with cronyism."

Uh-huh. He really, really wrote that, after the Kochs spent more than $20 million on the Republican tax scam that will net them more than $1 billion in tax cuts. They gave a fund-raising committee that supports Paul Ryan, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and a pro-Ryan PAC $500,000 to get that tax law, a law that's going to cause plenty of everyday Americans to "fork over unearned millions when the few provisions benefiting them expire in a few years.

And he has the gall to say "We only support policies that are based on equality under the law and that help people improve their lives." His evidence of that? The Kochs lobbied for the end of ethanol subsidies. Because that really helps the great unwashed in their everyday lives.

The incredible thing is, he really believes he's been treated unfairly here.