Why Reid Is Waging War On The Koch Bros

SAHIL KAPUR – MARCH 7, 2014, 6:00 AM EST

It's not every day you see a powerful politician waging an unapologetic public war against a couple of private citizens. But Harry Reid is no ordinary politician, and the Koch brothers are no ordinary men.

The Democratic Senate majority leader is using his bully pulpit to pick an increasingly acrimonious fight with the billionaire oil tycoons, seizing on every opportunity he gets -- and creating new ones -- to throw everything but the kitchen sink at them. In recent weeks he has called them "un-American" plutocrats who "have no conscience and are willing to lie" in order to "rig the system" against the middle class. He has also accused them of bribing foreign governments in order to expand their energy empire.

"I've been told by lots of people, 'Don't pick a fight. They're wealthy. They're very vengeful.' But without sounding too melodramatic, if not me, then who?" Reid told reporters in his Capitol office on Thursday. "I am after the two [Koch] brothers. They are two people who are trying to buy America. They have the money to do it."

So, what's really driving the Nevada Democrat's fight? The brothers, Charles and David, are reportedly worth a stunning $36 billion, and they're pouring millions into an all-out effort to dismantle Reid's Democratic majority in the upcoming congressional elections. The GOP has a real chance of winning the majority this November, and it helps them to have Koch-funded ads routinely flooding the airwaves and shredding Democratic priorities.

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