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The political activities of the Koch brothers include the financial and political influence of Charles G. and David H. Koch on United States politics. This influence is seen both directly and indirectly via various advocacy and lobbying organizations in which they have an interest. The Koch brothers are the sons of Fred C. Koch, who founded Koch Industries, the second-largest privately held company in the United States, of which they own 84%. Having bought out two other brothers' interests, they remain in control of the family business, the fortune which they inherited from their father, and the Koch Family Foundations. The brothers have made significant financial contributions to libertarian and conservative think tanks and campaigns. They actively fund and support organizations that contribute significantly to Republican candidates, and that lobby against efforts to expand government's role in health care and combat global warming. They have donated more than $100 million to dozens of free-market and advocacy organizations.〔 In 2008, the three main Koch family foundations contributed to 34 political and policy organizations, three of which they founded, and several of which they direct.〔 Some of the political activities of the Koch brothers have been criticized by organizations such as Greenpeace and politicians such as Harry Reid. ==Background== The phrase "Koch brothers" generally refers to the sons of Fred C. Koch. The most politically active sons are Charles Koch and David H. Koch who bought out their brothers Frederick and Bill in 1983.〔The brothers settled in 2001, in 〕 David H. Koch was the Libertarian Party's vice-presidential candidate in 1980.〔(''Quixotic ’80 Campaign Gave Birth to Kochs’ Powerful Network'' ) May 17, 2014 NYT〕 He advocated for the abolition of Social Security, the FBI, the CIA, and public schools. Koch put $500,000 of his own money into the race,〔 and he and Ed Clark, his presidential running mate, won 1.1% of the vote – the best Libertarian showing in a U.S. presidential race to date. The experience of running for office caused David Koch to change course: "I had enough ... ()e are not a nation that debates issues. We vote on candidates' personalities." By 1984, David had parted company with the Libertarian Party, because, he said, "they nominated a ticket I wasn't happy with" and "so many of the hard-core Libertarian ideas are unrealistic."〔 David Koch has voiced support for gay marriage and U.S. military withdrawal from the Middle East. He has also stated that the government should consider defense spending cuts and tax increases to balance the budget.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=David Koch breaks from GOP on gay marriage, taxes, defense cuts )〕 Interested in maintaining their privacy, Charles and David prefer to donate to non-profit groups who do not disclose their donors.〔 Charles Koch funds and supports libertarian and free-market organizations such as the Cato Institute, which he co-founded with Edward H. Crane and Murray Rothbard in 1977,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=25 Years at Cato )〕 and is a board member at the Mercatus Center, a market-oriented research think tank at George Mason University. Charles Koch supported his brother's candidacy for Vice President on the Libertarian Party ticket in 1980.〔 After the bid, Charles told a reporter that conventional politics "tends to be a nasty, corrupting business ... I'm interested in advancing libertarian ideas".〔 In addition to funding think tanks, the brothers support libertarian academics; since 1992, Charles has funded the Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow Program through the Institute for Humane Studies, which mentors young, self-described libertarians. The brothers promote the ideal of economic freedom as essential to society's well-being.〔 (password required to access URL)〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Political activities of the Koch brothers」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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