Mike Pence is denouncing as “disgraceful and offensive” suggestions that he is financing-up to prep for the 2020 presidential election. Well he would say that, wouldn’t he, especially within spitting range of the Donald.
Just to run over his political CV. On social and cultural issues, he is to the right of the right – anti-abortion; abstinence is the entire key to sex education; condoms are useless in AIDS prevention; global warming “is a myth”; and evolution is a false theory whereas creationism “is a fact”.
There’s no birth time for him so predictions are iffier than usual. But he does look exceptionally upbeat and successful over the 2021 Inauguration with tr Pluto sextile his Jupiter in Scorpio; and the tr Jupiter Pluto in Capricorn conjunct his Solar Arc Jupiter in the aftermath of the November 2020 election. That’s once he has pulled himself out of a real trough in 2018/19 with tr Neptune square his Gemini Sun.
What is more worrisome may be his economic theories – or at least those of his prime backers, the Koch Brothers. They focus on private enterprise profit, low taxation, removal of big business regulations including the minimum wage; and a shrinking of state power in general. The Kochs fund, among other things, nearly 300 academic courses at colleges and universities, where the syllabus is dictated by the right: Keynes is bad, sweatshops are good and climate change is a myth. They don’t hold strong views on ethnicity, statehood or private vices. They just want more money and less government.
The Kochs’ backstory and influence is documented in Jane Mayer’s 2016 book Dark Money. Their father got his start-up oil money came from Stalin, then the Nazis, graduated in the US to the John Birch Society and he was an abusive disciplinarian of his sons. Mayer writes. Charles’s goal was to “tear the government out ‘at the root’.” Another commentator thought “he was driven by some deeper urge to smash the one thing left in the world that could discipline him: the government”. All these angry, ‘destroy the state’ guys have ginormous father issues, which they are projecting out onto the global scene. Scary.
The Kochs apparently dislike Trump, though they’re sticking around to help along the tax cut campaign; and definitely dislike Robert Mercer’s camp with Steve Bannon (see post June 29 2017.) Though what seems to join all these alt-righters together is a common cause of wrecking the state and eviscerating the constitution if that’s what it takes. So they will attack the judiciary, the FBI, the media, the EU with its multilateral systems and rules.
Charles Koch, 1 Nov 1935, is a Sun Scorpio opposition Saturn, sextile Mars in Capricorn, sextile Saturn. His younger brother David, 3 May 1940, has a Taurus Sun conjunct Saturn on one side with Saturn square Pluto, and Sun conjunct Uranus on the other. So father comes across as bleak, unyielding, disruptive, certainly a hard driver. And ultra-confident and not averse to breaking a few rules with Jupiter Pluto aspects strong in both charts.
Pence gets on exceptionally well with Charles Koch with a composite Sun Venus square Jupiter in their relationship chart. Both Koch Bros are having an undermining 2017/18; and then move into a roller coaster ride with Uranus causing a fair few upheavals (though that doesn’t always mean bad); but with a considerable amount of disillusionment as well. Both look more enthused from 2022 onwards but that may be business matters with tr Saturn out of Capricorn by then. Charles doesn’t look too enamoured around the Nov 2020 election while David seems very upbeat over the Inauguration, though even he’s still on a Neptunian slide through till 2022.
As someone remarked the one outstanding virtue of Trump is that he’s so incompetent nothing gets done; Pence might well be a different kettle of fish altogether.
www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/09/robert-rebekah-mercer-charles-david-koch-republican-party
The dark money in our politics goes in all directions and the Kochs are by no means the only ones who believe their money will control the course of things. Even if Citizens United were overturned, the 527s would continue to have an abundance of influence. I don’t like the Kochs and voted for Hilary, but really wish she had stayed clear of George Soros. Those he gives to must support his programs. He used his power with her and the previous administration to make Panama a tax haven for himself. When wikileaks docs about him where taken down quickly. Kochs, Soros and others who think they can be powerful influencers run on ideologies that are theoretical more than evidence based. They seem to actually think they are ethical in their own systems, while it may not look that way to outsiders. I consider Michael Bloomberg more reasonable in his donations, and more about actually using the money to help people. Bloomberg has a more balanced view of the Kochs than the articles you cite, as he points out how much they give to charitable causes such as cancer research. There is just as much big money financing left-leaning journalism, college classes, if not more. We have lost balanced journalism in the US in a way that was unimaginable even 20 years ago.
With Trump and Kim holding their breaths to see which one turns blue first, Pence should hv nothing but smiles. A shame, our country is directed by such a person.
Well.
May God have mercy on us all.
Well, that’s all very interesting, but these coots can’t live forever, can they? Charles Koch will be 83 and his younger brother will be 80. They may have all the money in the world, and while they may actually find a way to do away with the inevitable taxation, they won’t be able to outwit the other: death.
Yes, but unfortunately, Susan, these deeply unethical people breed; physically, socially, economically and found their dangerous little cabals to promote their agendas.
After reading this post, I seriously need to jump in the shower and scrub myself down with a scouring pad and a bottle of bleach. These people are like a combination of liquid cockroach and sewage. I can’t believe they are legally allowed to breathe.
What does Trump’s astrology indicate over the 2021 inauguration? Does he also look upbeat & successful like Pence?