Scott Walker earns Koch Brother endorsement through nefarious means

Walker has demonstrated his willingness to bend over backwards for Kochs while holding an office of public trust

Scott Walker has earned his first major endorsement as he contemplates running for president.

In front of a group of donors in Manhattan, David Koch, one half of the infamous Koch Brothers political machine, had high regards for Walker. And in private, some said that Koch preferred Walker over any other viable candidate.

“When the primaries are over and Scott Walker gets the nomination,” Mr. Koch told the crowd, the billionaire brothers would support him, according to a spokeswoman. The remark drew laughter and applause from the audience of fellow donors and Republican activists, who had come to hear Mr. Walker speak earlier at the event, held at the Union League Club.

Two people who attended the event said they heard Mr. Koch go even further, indicating that Mr. Walker should be the Republican nominee.

Emphases added.

And why shouldn’t the Kochs want Walker? In a recorded phone conversation, where Walker was pranked into believing he was speaking to the real David Koch, Walker implied that he would take a proverbial bat to state senators opposing his bill ending collective bargaining rights for state workers. He even insinuated he had considered putting agitators into the crowd to discredit protesters.

It shouldn’t be surprising, then, to hear such high praise for Walker emanating from David Koch. Even if it wasn’t him on the other side of the phone line, to hear Walker grovel to such an important donor like Koch must have been sweet music to his ears, even if what Walker was saying during that conversation might have been illegal.

It is worrisome that Walker would curry favor with someone like David or Charles Koch. These men are influential, that’s a certainty -- but it’s not because they are former leaders themselves. They have money. That is all that they bring to the table.

Those dollars are apparently enough to bend over backwards for in Walker’s (and many other candidates’) eyes. Do we really want to elect someone president who closes the doors to constituents but opens the lines to receive policy advice based on monetary merit?

To be fair, the eventual Democratic nominee for president will also likely have this problem, albeit from a name different than Koch. Money in politics, no matter which side it stems from, is problematic, and reform in our campaigns process is desperately needed to restore our true democracy.

But there appears to be no one else other than Walker who is so willing to ignore the will of the people in favor of the privileged few. It is hard to trust a man who is going to bend so easily to the whims of the wealthy to make them happy while holding an office of public trust.

The president is supposed to work for the people of this nation. How sure can we be that a President Scott Walker would do that?