Why the obsession with the Koch brothers?

I’m a conservative. I’d say I know a bit more average when it comes to the “who’s who” in the conservative world, and I barely know who the Koch Brothers are let alone get talking points or checks from the guys. Yet, the progressive/liberal/statists out there have a complete and total obsession with the Koch brothers. Is it working for them?

I would love to see some media types stop a few union protesters in Wisconsin and ask them … “can you give me the name of one company the Koch brothers own?”

If you asked me yesterday, I’d have no idea. How big of a deal are the Koch brothers – I’d have to look up their first names – when it comes to the opinion here at Radio Vice Online? Previous to today, you could do a search for koch on this blog and you’ll get one result in more than three years … and that post referenced Ed Koch, the former mayor of New York City.

Scott Johnson over at Powerline points out the obsession may have started with a piece in The New Yorker in August 2010.

[T]he battle of Wisconsin has given the occasion for the left’s renewed assault on the Koch brothers.

Yet the assault on the against the Koch brothers has virtually no truth in it. It is an ideological mugging akin to Barack Obama’s assault on the Supreme Court’s Ctiizens United opinion, with similar motives. It is a cast study in the application of Alinskyite tactics, intended to silence the opposition.

This is what they do is it not?

Think about the attacks on George W. Bush concerning the rising oil and gas prices during his administration. It was all because he was an “oil man” and his vice president previously ran Haliburton. Either the president of the United States has the power to set oil prices or he does not. Funny how we don’t see liberals suggesting President Obama is hiking up gas prices. If he did have the power, wouldn’t the liberal left assume his reign would result in lower gas prices for the working people?

Guess not.

Then there is Sarah Palin. The complete hate many progressives feel toward the former governor and vice presidential candidate is unreal. Could you imagine the oil price conspiracy theories if gas prices were this high and she was in the Executive Branch?

Let’s not forget about the hate and attacks on Fox News. We’ve got union thugs taking swings at reporters.

This is what they do is it not? They attack the messenger, not the message.

John Hinderaker from Powerline has an opinion piece posted over at AOL News.

On the surface, the Koch brothers would seem unlikely targets for the political left. After all, they patronize the arts, favor gay marriage, support legalization of drugs and advocate reduced spending on defense.

But they also have a unique distinction: They are two of the very few billionaires in the country who actively contribute to libertarian and conservative causes. Consequently, many liberals have engaged in what can only be characterized as a vicious campaign to drive them out of public life.

For some unknown reason, the unions are running around Wisconsin claiming the Koch brothers are “orchastrating” the “busting” of unions in Wisconsin.

Huh?

Charles and David Koch [first names finally] run one of the most successful and most admired companies in the world. They have created many thousands of jobs, have served their customers well and have paid vast amounts in taxes.

Instead of trying to silence them, perhaps we should listen to what they have to say about how free enterprise creates wealth, and how government can both be restrained and made more efficient.

So lefties … why the obsession with the Koch brothers?