Kevin Drum comments on a recent interview with Charles Koch on Mother Jones.

There are two interesting things going on here. First is Koch’s disappointment that his money doesn’t buy him more influence. It’s easy to laugh at that, but he’s probably right. He’s raised a lot of money. But it’s hard to see that Republican views have changed in his direction much. The entire party denies climate change and wants to lower taxes already, so there was no work to be done there. But a less aggressive foreign policy? An end to corporate welfare? Turning down the volume on social issues? Koch is right: all his money has had no effect on that. It’s only had a significant effect when he’s pushing in the same direction that the GOP wind is already blowing.

Second is Koch’s fascinating observation about the Fabians. The way he mentions them, he sounds as if he’s genuinely surprised that he’s still allowed to say what he pleases. He’s genuinely surprised that Koch Industries hasn’t been nationalized. Here’s a man who has been fighting political battles for decades and is worth something north of $40 billion thanks to the growth of his business. If that doesn’t demonstrate America’s fundamental commitment to both free speech and capitalism, I don’t know what does. And yet, he still seems fearful that Marxism is just around the corner.

It’s weird. What is it that makes a smart guy like him so paranoid?

Cross-posted from The Sensible Center

http://thesensiblecentercom.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-world-according-to-koch.html