MADISON- A Koch Brothers-sponsored bus organized by Rep. Sean Duffy’s former campaign manager will roll through Wisconsin this weekend to promote Gov. Walker’s union-busting power grab.
Duffy has thus far refused to intercede with Walker to ask him to compromise with public employees, saying this is because it is a “state issue.” Yet a recent report raised troubling questions about Duffy’s connections with the now-infamous Koch Brothers, whom Walker believed he was talking to on the phone recently while plotting to quash protests in Madison.
Two connections are of particular note:
- Duffy’s campaign last year received $10,000 from Koch Industries executives.
- Duffy’s former Chief of Staff and campaign manager, Matt Seaholm, has just been hired to run the Wisconsin affiliate of Americans “For” Prosperity, the extremist group funded by the Koch Brothers that is paying for the bus tour across Wisconsin.
In addition, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, Duffy’s campaign was the beneficiary of nearly $100,000 in spending by the Americans “For” Prosperity group.
“If Hollywood Sean Duffy would only stand up to the Koch Brothers by telling Governor Walker to negotiate, it’d go a long way toward debunking the belief that he is bought and paid for,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate. “Sadly, though, for now it appears Scott Walker may not be the only Wisconsin politician spending his call time coordinating with the Koch Brothers.”
