Five Republican candidates to vie for Koch brothers backing at donor retreat

The competition among Republican presidential candidates for the support of the political and fundraising network of Charles and David Koch will heat up this weekend.

Five Republican candidates will attend a retreat held by Freedom Partners, a key cog in the political network of the Koch brothers. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Texas senator Ted Cruz, former CEO Carly Fiorina, Florida senator Marco Rubio and Wisconsin governor Scott Walker will all attend a gathering of well-heeled GOP donors at a luxury resort in Orange County, California. Kentucky senator Rand Paul was invited but declined to attend, citing previous commitments to campaign in Iowa.

Donald Trump is not considered among the candidates who are most capable of elevating that debate and Politico has reported that the Koch network is “freezing him out”. Trump’s signature policy, his hostility to immigration from Mexico and Latin America, runs counter to the Kochs’ support for immigration reform and efforts to sell Hispanic Americans on conservative ideas. The Koch network has long funded the Libre Initiative, a group dedicated to “advanc[ing] the principles and values of economic freedom to empower the US Hispanic community”. The Trump campaign declined to comment.

Even if Trump were welcome at the event, it would counteract the increasingly populist message of the bellicose billionaire. The former reality television star has flaunted his wealth to demonstrate his independence from special interests in politics. At a campaign event in Iowa earlier in July, Trump said of Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush: “Those people are controlled by whoever gave them their money, and I will tell you they are totally controlled.” He boasted of buying influence with politicians himself in the past: “I give to everybody and they do whatever I say.”

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/01/republican-candidates-koch-brothers-backing-donor-retreat

Interesting that Rand Paul turned down a Koch brothers invitation and that Trump never received one.