BREAKING: Shortly after secret meeting with Koch network, Beck cited Charles Koch on-air
Written by Ben Dimiero
Published
This morning, the New York Times and Think Progress broke news that Koch Industries, the conservative/libertarian manufacturing conglomerate headed up by billionaires Charles and David Koch, is planning a meeting in January to “develop strategies to counter the most severe threats facing our free society and outline a vision of how we can foster a renewal of American free enterprise and prosperity.”
As reported by the Times, the “Koch network meets twice a year to plan and expand its efforts.” Their most recent meeting took place in Aspen, Colorado, in June of this year to strategize about the upcoming elections, and featured none other than Fox News' own Glenn Beck, who gave a talk about whether America is on the “Road to Serfdom.”
The Aspen meeting took place the weekend of June 26-27. On Tuesday, June 29, Beck attacked Al Gore and his film An Inconvenient Truth on his Fox News program. In the middle of his screed about climate science and GDP, Beck said: “I want to thank Charles Koch for this information.”
Beck did not explain to his audience who Charles Koch is. As we noted at the time, Koch Industries is heavily involved in the petroleum, chemicals and energy sectors. Charles Koch and other people affiliated with his organization spoke at the June meeting.
In the letter posted by Think Progress inviting people to the upcoming January meeting, Charles Koch explains that “this is a gathering of doers who are willing to engage in the hard work necessary to advance our shared principles.” [emphasis in original] They've apparently found a helpful ally in Glenn Beck, who is willing to advance their “shared principles” on his Fox News show.