An obscure conference subsidized by Charles Koch laid out much of the road map for the Kochs’ future attempted takeover of American politics. In 1976, with a contribution of some $65,000 from Charles Koch, the Center for Libertarian Studies in New York City was launched and soon held a conference featuring several leading lights of the libertarian movement. Among those delivering papers on how the fringe movement could obtain genuine power was Charles Koch.
The papers are striking in their radicalism, their disdain for the public and their belief in the necessity of political subterfuge(deception). Speakers proposed that libertarians hide their true antigovernment extremism by banishing the word “anarchism,” because it reminded too many people of “terrorists.” To attract a bigger following, some suggested, they needed to organize synthetic “grassroots” groups and issue meaningless titles to volunteers, without yielding any real control.
Charles Koch’s contribution was a paper that methodically analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of a group he knew intimately, the John Birch Society, as a model for his budding movement’s future enterprise. His assessment was clear-eyed and businesslike. He pointed out that despite the fringe group’s shortcomings, it boasted 90,000 members, 240 paid staffers and a $7 million annual budget. While these numbers were impressive, he faulted the John Birch Society’s obsession with conspiracies, as well as the unchecked cult of personality that the society’s founder Robert Welch had built up.
He noted that Welch’s ownership of the organization’s stock had centralized control in his hands, making him impervious to constructive criticism. (Interestingly, Charles would go on to issue stock in his own nonprofit think tank, the Cato Institute, in much the same way.) But he also found much to admire. In particular, he argued in favor of copying the John Birch Society’s secrecy.
“In order to avoid undesirable criticism, how the organization is controlled and directed should not be widely advertised,” Charles wrote, arguing for stealth in his future plans to influence American politics.
He also wrote that to fund their future political enterprise, the organization’s leaders should, like the John Birch Society, make use of “all modern sales and motivational techniques to raise money and attract donors … including meeting in a home or other place the prospect enjoys being.” The Kochs’ donor summits would follow this marketing approach, transforming fund-raising into exclusive, invitation-only social events held in luxurious settings.
Two new documents reveal the political blueprint the billionaire developed 40 years ago, heavily influenced by the ultraconservative John Birch Society.
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