. . UNITED STATES: POLITICS: POLITICAL PARTIES: REPUBLICAN PARTY, TEA PARTY : INDUSTRIES: PETROLEUM INDUSTRY : POLITICS : LAW: CASES: Koch Brothers vs. Cato: Cato Chairman Bob Levy Refutes Charles Kochs Statement . . Koch Brothers vs. Cato: Cato Chairman Bob Levy Refutes Charles Kochs Statement By Allen McDuffee Posted at 01:15 PM ET, 03/12/2012 Washington Post Post Politics Think Tankedhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/think-tanked/post/koch-brothers- vs-cato-cato-chairman-bob-levy-refutes-charles-kochs-statement/
2012/03/12/gIQA5Feb7R_blog.html . A shorter URL for the above link: . http://tinyurl.com/78m793q . .Last Thursday, Charles Koch released his full statement regarding the lawsuit he and his brother, David, filed last month for control of the Cato Institute.
.Today, Cato Institute Chairman Bob Levy responded to Kochs statement point-by-point, characterizing it as doing nothing to address the genuine concerns expressed by their friends and ours that the action the Kochs have taken will pointlessly and grievously injure the movement for individual liberty that they have previously done so much to advance.
. The full Levy response below the jump: .On March 1, after filing suit in Kansas court to gain control over the Cato Institute, Charles Koch issued a statement to the media: We are not acting in a partisan manner, we seek no takeover and this is not a hostile action. The purpose of the suit, he insisted, was simply to ensure that Cato stays true to its fundamental principles.
.Last week, Mr. Koch circulated a longer Statement Regarding the Cato Institute, again professing his steadfast intent that Cato remain a principled and nonpartisan organization that would advance the ideas that enable all people to prosper by promoting individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace.
.But actions speak louder than words. The Kochs takeover attempt has included packing Catos board of directors with individuals, almost all of whom are financially entangled with the Kochs and have no history of libertarian advocacy.
. snip .Koch: With its emphasis on education, Cato has contributed greatly to the marketplace of ideas and is now a respected thought leader.
.We couldnt agree more. The testimonials to Catos effectiveness from independent parties on the political Left, Right, and Center who have followed the Koch lawsuit affirm Charles Kochs public acknowledgment of our success. But why, then, have the Kochs insisted on precipitously replacing Cato president Ed Crane and ousting key members of the Institutes board of directors who have contributed to that success? What is the rationale for a new leadership team and a new direction for our institute? We have repeatedly asked the Kochs and their representatives those very questions and have never received a straightforward answer, in private or in public.
.Here is the bottom line: Cato cannot function as an independent voice for liberty if it is thought to be under the thumb of Charles Koch or Rich Fink indeed, literally owned by the Koch family. Nor, if the lawsuit succeeds, will Cato be considered a reputable and credible source of intellectual ammunition by anyone outside the small circle of already committed libertarians. Instead, the Kochs will control a shell think-tank that can be dismissed out of hand as a front for Koch Industries. Thats the clear consensus of nearly everyone who has seen this lamentable and unwelcome dispute unfold.
.Nothing good can come of this not for Cato, not for the Kochs, and not for the libertarian movement. Its time to restore common sense and adopt a governance structure for Cato that eliminates the prospect of Koch control.
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