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The Water Cooler
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Trump leads in polls
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<blockquote data-quote="Hobbes" data-source="post: 2774418" data-attributes="member: 3371"><p>It’s unclear whether the Koch network intends to weigh in more directly against Trump, with the preferred approach seemingly being to allow him to flame out on his own. But if the network were to decide to mobilize against him, it could strain its efforts to remain above the GOP fray, while also testing its ability to shape the primary.[/B]</p><p></p><p>That’s because, while Trump’s campaign could certainly benefit from the network’s data and grass-roots reach, he doesn’t need its cash in the same way that his rivals do.</p><p></p><p>Trump’s net worth is independently estimated at about $3 billion, and he is funding his campaign out of his own pocket. <strong>He has repeatedly lambasted his rivals - particularly Bush - as beholden to their wealthy donors, declaring at a campaign event this month that his own political giving reveals what donors can get in exchange for their checks.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>“Who knows it better than me? I give to everybody. They do whatever I want,” he said. “It’s true.”</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>In fact, independence from major donors and special interests is among Trump’s main selling points - an image that in some ways may be bolstered by his Koch snub and one that appears to resonate with his supporters.</strong></p><p></p><p>“The good news is that Donald Trump doesn’t need the Koch brothers, and he can do this perfectly without their assistance,” said Josh Youssef, who’s chairing Trump’s campaign in Belknap County, New Hampshire. Of the Kochs, Youssef said: “Their motivations are clearly not to break the mold of political insider-ship. Their goal is to keep the wheel spinning. Trump’s bad for business for them.”</p><p></p><p>Still, the Koch network’s rejections of Trump are telling because of the relationships between Trump and his aides, and the Kochs and their operation.</p><p></p><p>Trump is personally friendly with David Koch, according to a source familiar with their interactions, who said “there’s a long relationship with mutual respect and admiration.” The two men own mansions near one another in Palm Beach, Florida, and mingled at a March fundraiser for the Republican Governors Association at Koch’s place.</p><p></p><p>Many of Trump’s top campaign operatives have recently worked for groups in the Koch network, including campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who until January ran AFP’s national voter-registration effort.</p><p>....</p><p>But Stephen Stepanek, a New Hampshire state legislator who is co-chairing Trump’s state campaign and owns the building that houses the Manchester Trump headquarters and AFP, said Trump’s appeal is partly his willingness to buck traditional ideological lines and the powerful interests behind them.</p><p></p><p><strong>“I think that’s what is sort of scaring a lot of people, especially on both Republican and Democratic sides, because they can’t control Trump,” said Stepanek, whose company made $5,000 in rent from Trump’s campaign, according to its FEC filing. “People are really afraid to speak their mind, and it is actually with the way people react to things and the way that these various groups attack people if they say anything, we’re having our First Amendment, freedom of speech, stepped on, walked all over by these various groups.”</strong></p><p></p><p>Read more: <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/kochs-freeze-out-trump-120752.html#ixzz3hHJtSnLP" target="_blank">http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/kochs-freeze-out-trump-120752.html#ixzz3hHJtSnLP</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hobbes, post: 2774418, member: 3371"] It’s unclear whether the Koch network intends to weigh in more directly against Trump, with the preferred approach seemingly being to allow him to flame out on his own. But if the network were to decide to mobilize against him, it could strain its efforts to remain above the GOP fray, while also testing its ability to shape the primary.[/B] That’s because, while Trump’s campaign could certainly benefit from the network’s data and grass-roots reach, he doesn’t need its cash in the same way that his rivals do. Trump’s net worth is independently estimated at about $3 billion, and he is funding his campaign out of his own pocket. [B]He has repeatedly lambasted his rivals - particularly Bush - as beholden to their wealthy donors, declaring at a campaign event this month that his own political giving reveals what donors can get in exchange for their checks. “Who knows it better than me? I give to everybody. They do whatever I want,” he said. “It’s true.”[/B] [B]In fact, independence from major donors and special interests is among Trump’s main selling points - an image that in some ways may be bolstered by his Koch snub and one that appears to resonate with his supporters.[/B] “The good news is that Donald Trump doesn’t need the Koch brothers, and he can do this perfectly without their assistance,” said Josh Youssef, who’s chairing Trump’s campaign in Belknap County, New Hampshire. Of the Kochs, Youssef said: “Their motivations are clearly not to break the mold of political insider-ship. Their goal is to keep the wheel spinning. Trump’s bad for business for them.” Still, the Koch network’s rejections of Trump are telling because of the relationships between Trump and his aides, and the Kochs and their operation. Trump is personally friendly with David Koch, according to a source familiar with their interactions, who said “there’s a long relationship with mutual respect and admiration.” The two men own mansions near one another in Palm Beach, Florida, and mingled at a March fundraiser for the Republican Governors Association at Koch’s place. Many of Trump’s top campaign operatives have recently worked for groups in the Koch network, including campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who until January ran AFP’s national voter-registration effort. .... But Stephen Stepanek, a New Hampshire state legislator who is co-chairing Trump’s state campaign and owns the building that houses the Manchester Trump headquarters and AFP, said Trump’s appeal is partly his willingness to buck traditional ideological lines and the powerful interests behind them. [B]“I think that’s what is sort of scaring a lot of people, especially on both Republican and Democratic sides, because they can’t control Trump,” said Stepanek, whose company made $5,000 in rent from Trump’s campaign, according to its FEC filing. “People are really afraid to speak their mind, and it is actually with the way people react to things and the way that these various groups attack people if they say anything, we’re having our First Amendment, freedom of speech, stepped on, walked all over by these various groups.”[/B] Read more: [url]http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/kochs-freeze-out-trump-120752.html#ixzz3hHJtSnLP[/url] [/QUOTE]
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