And proof that the left is really happy about it? Watch this video.
Here’s the real point that starts at 50 seconds and is restated in a number of ways throughout the video.
PROTESTER: We’re at a point in our history where we need to be a little more open-minded. Um, a little bit more liberal on views all across the board.
WEISSMUELLER: [The] Kochs self-describe as libertarian, and they fund a lot of groups that are against the drug war. The LA Times came out against Prop 19, which would have legalized marijuana in LA, and they’ve pushed anti-dispensary measures. Are you worried that in some sense they would push the LA Times to the left on those kind of issues?
PROTESTER: Um, I believe that regardless of their views, it’s not what the general populace needs.
Liberal heads are exploding in LA because there’s a rumor that the Koch Brothers might be bidding on the LA Times (and several other papers). The reason the Kochs might have an opportunity to buy the papers, including the Chicago Tribune, is that they’re all losing their (brown?) shirts. Now no one really knows for sure if they’re interested since they haven’t actually said anything about the subject, but a rumor is good enough for the Left.
Please note that the tone of the commentary on the video is that we need more liberal news and the general populace doesn’t need to hear from Kochs regardless of their views.
The Kochs are not “conservatives” in the way most of us on the right think of the term. They’re certainly fiscal conservatives and have a long history of support for CATO and the Reason Foundation, both Libertarian groups. The Kochs are, in fact, Libertarians who also happen to be pro-gay marriage and in favor of defense cuts and tax increases, pro-drug legalization and they’re pro-immigration reform. None of that matters to the Left who consider the brothers to be the epitome of evil conservatism.
There have been some very interesting protest statements from the Left on this subject aside from just the normal name calling by rank and file idiots represented by the above video.
There was the meeting held amongst the staff of the LA Times…
Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez addressed the issue on everyone’s lips last week during the paper’s in-house awards ceremony, Huffington Post blogger Kathleen Miles reports.
“Raise your hand if you would quit if the paper was bought by Austin Beutner’s group,” Mr. Lopez asked. No one raised their hands.
Then he asked, “Raise you hand if you would quit if the paper was bought by Rupert Murdoch,” to which a few raised their hands.
Then he addressed the elephant in the room: “Raise your hand if you would quit if the paper was bought by the Koch brothers.”
About half the staff raised their hands, Ms. Miles reports.
And then, reliably, there are the unions…
About 300 labor union members and other activists staged a demonstration to protest the potential sale of the Los Angeles Times to the politically conservative Koch brothers.
Demonstrators marched outside the downtown L.A. headquarters of Oaktree Capital Management, an investment firm that holds a roughly 20% stake in Tribune Co., which owns The Times.
Protesters alleged that Charles and David Koch, billionaire siblings who fund conservative causes, want to buy The Times in order to skew the paper’s coverage to favor anti-union objectives.
Again, nobody has a clue if the Kochs are even interested in the newspapers. Personally, I hope they are. I love the sound of liberal heads exploding. I also enjoy watching the hypocrisy of the Left when it comes to subjects like this.
They are in a froth over somebody who might be “politically motivated” buying a newspaper. Never mind that many of the issues the Kochs favor and fund align pretty well with the idiots who are rallying to tar and feather them. And, with respect to the union version of the idiots, the Kochs actually have about 30% of their employees who are union members and…
Koch Industries in a statement said that published reports of its interest in purchasing The Times are “pure speculation.” The company also said it respects unions, and that 30% of its U.S. workforce is unionized.
“We respect their status, work with them in good faith, and honor the terms of our collective bargaining agreements,” the statement said. “Koch has mutually respectful and productive relationships with the unions that represent its employees — this has been true for more than 50 years.”
All this is, is an exercise in free speech for me, screw you.
With respect to the “partisan froth” all of the protestors have no problem with Austin Beutner putting together a group to buy the Times. Beutner happens to be a wealthy dude who is a far left Democrat who’s worked in the mayor’s office in LA and was considering running for mayor as a Democrat.
With respect to the reporters who are planning on quitting, I hope somebody took names so they can be reminded of their stance if the Kochs end up with the Times. I love the sound of starving, left wing reporters in the morning.
