 I need everyone to understand that if a politician talks about campaign finance reform, but they add the caveat that we need to get dark money out of politics, then you've got to understand that they're not taking this issue seriously. We need to get all money out of politics, because money and allowing capital into democracy, this destroys democracy. What we're witnessing currently is capitalism eating away at our democracy, and when democracy is at stake, when capitalism has hollowed out our democratic institutions, it's time we take action. And if we don't, it's going to get worse. And hey, here's an example of it getting a lot worse, because guess what? The Koch brothers, notorious right-wing billionaires, they just came out and admitted that they're not just going to be buying off politicians who are Republicans. They're now opening the doors to bankrolling, independence, and Democrats. So as Brian Schwartz of CNBC reports, the political arm of the network funded in part by libertarian billionaire Charles Koch is turning over a new leaf for the upcoming elections and expanding its engagement to include supporting Democrats running for office. In a memo distributed to employees and activists, Emily Seidel, CEO of the Koch-affiliated Americans for Prosperity, said the organization is going into the next round of congressional elections being open to backing Democrats in primary fights as long as they support some of the network's proposed policies. AFP, or AFP Action, the group's super PAC, will be ready to engage in contested U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and state-level primary races, including Republican-Democrat Independent, or otherwise, to support sitting legislators who lead by uniting with others to pass principal policy and get good things done, Seidel said. Historically, the political network has only backed Republicans running for Congress. So imagine the effect that this would have, because they're going after primary fights, right? They're targeting vulnerable Democrats in primary fights. Now, if you're on the progressive left, you are actively trying to help people like Shehid Batar, Makayla Wilkes, Corey Bush, all primary and corporate Democrats. But in the event the Koch brothers stepped in and started donating to corporate Democrats, can you imagine how detrimental that would be to the cause of brand new Congress or justice Democrats? Grassroots candidates would be incapable of competing with right-wing Koch money. It's already difficult to compete with these corporate Democrats who outspend progressives, oftentimes 10 to 1, but if the Koch brothers stepped in, we would have virtually no chance at primarying corporate Democrats. It's already tough, but upsets like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would become almost impossible if this were to happen. So in response to this, we need Democratic Party leadership to scream at the top of their lungs. We need Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to denounce this and say any Democrat who accepts money from the Koch brothers network and Americans for prosperity, they're cut off. You're not getting money from the DNC or the DCCC, because that is a bridge too far. We already let you guys do what you want. We already are letting you all slide to the right, but if you take money from the Koch brothers, that delegitimizes the aggregate party and we just can't accept it. So that's what we need Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to do, because this is really an existential threat to democracy because think about this. If Koch brothers start bankrolling corporate Democrats too, every election will be a victory for them. They win every single election because they have their cronies in office. And if you don't think that money from the Koch brothers is corrosive, look at what it did to Dave Rubin. He worked for the Young Turks. He got his career start on the Young Turks, was seemingly progressive, and then all of a sudden his show teams up with Learn Liberty, which receives a large portion of funding from the Koch brothers and all of a sudden he's espousing these same tired right-wing talking points as all the other right-wing hacks are doing. So you saw what it did to Dave Rubin. Imagine it having that effect on lawmakers in Congress. They're already corrupt, but imagine if Steny Hoyer started taking Koch brother money. He would be indistinguishable from a Republican. Not just moderate Republicans like Susan Collins, but the average Republican, which is a far-right extremist. So this is something that absolutely should not be tolerated. And I really hope that Democratic Party leadership, think of the optics and how this will hurt their image among the Democratic Party base. But will they do that? I doubt it. Well, they condemn this because they are in that leadership position specifically because they are prolific fundraisers. So why would they do anything to jeopardize their fundraising? Look, here's the thing. Be very vigilant. If a Democratic Party lawmaker takes money from a Koch-affiliated network, that person is not your friend. Just because they have a D next to their name doesn't make them your friend. They are your enemy and they are actively fighting against the things that you want implemented.