The Kochs v. Cato: Winners and Losers

The politically potent Koch Brothers have agreed to drop their lawsuit against the Washington-based Cato Institute. So what was the fight all about? And who won?

Last week, an agreement was announced in the dispute over control of Cato, America’s first, and largest, libertarian think tank. In exchange for the retirement of Cato’s current C.E.O., Ed Crane, and acceptance from all sides of his replacement, the banker John Allison, Charles and David Koch agreed to end their litigation. They also agreed to abandon their effort to exert influence over the organization through an ownership arrangement that involved them holding shares rather than relying on the board of directors to pick top personnel. And they agreed that only David Koch, and not his brother Charles, would take a place on the think tank’s board. Reduced to its simplest level, says Bruce Bartlett, a conservative economist and historian who briefly worked at Cato and who has fallen out with the Kochs, the dispute came down to control of the think tank’s post-Crane future: “It was about making sure that when he left they would name his successor.” Under Crane, Cato achieved a degree of intellectual independence, pushing not only the predictable anti-government, pro-business views of the Kochs but also some ideas that clashed with the Republican platform, including opposition to the use of torture during the Bush years and support for gay rights and drug legalization—both of which David Koch supports, but which he and his brother have not made priorities.

FreedomWorks, Koch Brothers Clash Over Cato Institute Takeover Bid

WASHINGTON -- A split is opening up between two forces that helped to launch the Tea Party in 2009. FreedomWorks, a free market/limited government advocacy group, released a statement Thursday criticizing the move by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch to sue for majority control of the libertarian Cato Institute.

"As representatives of FreedomWorks, a grassroots organization that fights for constitutionally-limited government and individual freedom, we have grave concerns regarding the potential damage to the cause of liberty that will result from the dispute that has erupted between the Board of Directors of the Cato Institute and various parties at Koch Industries," says the statement from FreedomWorks' top three officials -- Chairman Dick Armey, the former congressman from Texas; Co-Chairman C. Boyden Gray and President Matt Kibbe.

FreedomWorks worked hand-in-glove with the Koch brothers-funded group Americans for Prosperity to help rally the Tea Party movement in 2009. The two groups teamed up to sponsor the Tea Party Tax Day Protest that followed a televised rant against government support for homeowners facing foreclosure by CNBC's Rick Santelli.

Thursday's statement calls the Kochs' move a "hostile takeover" of Cato, echoing words used by Cato President Ed Crane, who has vocally opposed.

Laissez Cato Faire

Like many other longstanding friends of the Cato Institute, I am appalled to learn of the Koch brothers' attempt to take it over and convert it into some kind of weapons factory for conservative and Republican organizations. Over the last 35 years, a combination of strong libertarian principles, sound leadership and integrity have built Cato into the pre-eminent libertarian think tank on the planet. I can't for the life of me understand why anyone who supports the principles for which Cato stands would wish to mess with such a successful formula and risk destroying it all.

A Koch-controlled Cato would no longer be the same Cato Institute, and would strike a major blow at some of Cato's key principles, not least its commitment to nonpartisanship and libertarian non-conservative causes (such as support for gay marriage, an end to the war on drugs, opposition to overseas adventurism, etc.). It would also strike at Cato's independence and institutional integrity, and do enormous and probably irreparable damage to its stellar reputation. This reputation took decades to build up, but could be destroyed in an instant.

The most likely outcome of a Koch takeover is that Cato would be eviscerated, the brand would be destroyed and the Kochs would take over an empty shell -- in short, the outcome would be a catastrophe, and even the winners would gain nothing.

Cato's succcess is due in great part to the quality of its existing leadership and to the confidence that that engenders in those of us who work for or with the Institute -- as I have had the honor to do for almost a quarter of a century. One thinks especially of Ed Crane, David Boaz, Jim Dorn and the late and much missed Bill Niskanen. If a Koch takeover were to lead them to step down, then I (and doubtless many other affiliates of Cato) would have no choice but to follow them and sever our links with the Institute as well, before rejoining them in a new start-from-scratch Cato II. But it would be a real shame if it ever came to that.

Original Article
Source: Huff
Author: Kevin Dowd

The Kochs vs. Cato

hereThe arch-conservative billionaire Koch Brothers have sued the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington—often mistakenly seen as merely a tentacle, if not mouthpiece, for the Kochtopus—for control of Cato. Slate’s Jacob Weisberg wryly tweeted: “Brothers sue to regain ownership of CATO. Like the Iran-Iraq War, but better.”

The lawsuit, filed in Kansas, certainly adds a new layer of rancor, and, if it goes forward, promises a glimpse inside the secretive machinations of the Kochs. But the friction between Charles Koch and the Cato Institute isn’t new—there’s a long backstory here. In fact, Charles Koch, whom many regard as the brains behind the Kochs’ powerful political and industrial empires, first broke with Cato some two decades ago, while still retaining a stake in the think tank, for reasons that have never been made public.