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Thread: Charles Koch Says His Partisanship Was a Mistake

  1. #1
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    Charles Koch Says His Partisanship Was a Mistake

    From today's WSJ:

    At 85, the libertarian tycoon who spent decades funding conservative causes says he wants a final act building bridges across political divides

    Four days before this year’s presidential election, Charles Koch—the voluble Kansas billionaire who has spent a fortune injecting his particular brand of prairie libertarianism into the American political debate—pauses at the other end of the line when asked if he will vote for Donald Trump or Joe Biden.

    “That’s a very divisive question, because however I answer, that’s going to upset a bunch of people,” he says. “That’s why there’s a secret ballot.”

    Mr. Koch, whom Forbes calls the 15th-wealthiest man in the U.S., says he isn’t interested in more division. At age 85, he says, he is turning his attention to building bridges across partisan divides to find answers to sprawling social problems such as poverty, addiction, recidivism, gang violence and homelessness. His critics are skeptical, noting that his fierce Republican partisanship over the years blew up a lot of bridges.

    Mr. Koch has written (with Brian Hooks) a new book, “Believe in People: Bottom-Up Solutions for a Top-Down World,” which will be published on Nov. 17. It is part mea culpa, part self-help guide and part road map toward a libertarian America. Along the way, the book traces Mr. Koch’s life from hardheaded adolescent to student, engineer, industrialist, tycoon and political mastermind. The book suggests that he wants to add one final act: philosopher and, he hopes, unifier.

    The key to successful, long-term movements? “Unite a diversity of people behind a common goal,” Mr. Koch says. “That’s our approach today.”

    Mr. Koch is still overseeing Koch Industries, a multibillion-dollar conglomerate, and its 130,000 employees. He worked from home for a while when the pandemic began; he still avoids crowds and most public spaces, and wears a mask when he is around people.

    His new book is the latest step in a yearslong process of rebranding (a word he doesn’t appreciate). Mr. Koch, it seems, doesn’t want to be forever known as a hard-driving partisan.
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
    "Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." ---John W. Gardner
    “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ---C. S. Lewis

  2. #2
    Join Date
    05-01-11
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    i only met Charles once in the 12 years I worked for Koch Ind. We flew to Wichita to have our annuals done and I was wasting time in the hangar one day. The back door opened and he drove in, was going out on one of the Lears. He popped the trunk and I saw he was getting his golf clubs out. Since I was right there, I went to get them and carry them to the plane. He turned and said , I may look it but I am not helpless , I'll carry my bag, but, thanks.
    Individual rights are protected only as long as they don't conflict with the desires of the state .

  3. #3
    Join Date
    04-23-02
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    I haven't seen a quote yet where he says his partisan politics was a "mistake". All the headlines say it though.

    Barry Goldwater turned liberal when his grandkids became the poster children for everything he stood against. I went to school with them.

    I hope when Michael Moore comes out against some liberal cause I don't get caught up in the rush to KHA.
    "Back after 5 years. I thought you had died.

    don"


    Splitting my time between the montane and the mesas

    The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep.

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