Koch brothers summon 4 leading GOP presidential candidates

The Koch brothers and other wealthy conservatives planning to spend nearly $1 billion in the run-up to the 2016 US presidential election have invited four leading Republican candidates – Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Scott Walker – to have a chance at their blessing.

The Koch annual summer conference is scheduled to begin on August 1 and continue up to August 3, according to a report published by the POLITICO, a news organization based in Virginia.

The billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch wield significant financial and political influence on US politics, both directly and indirectly, via various advocacy and lobbying organizations.

The Koch brothers are the sons of Fred C. Koch, who founded Koch Industries, the second-largest privately held company in the United States.

The brothers have contributed heavily to conservative campaigns and think tanks. They are among the best-known Republican donors, and potential GOP candidates court their favor.

But the brothers are considering throwing their massive wealth and sophisticated organization into the Republican presidential primary for the first time. The Kochs have resisted jumping into presidential campaigns in the past because they had doubts in the value of the investment.

The pair has said they plan to spend about $1 billion during the 2016 election cycle.

Sixteen candidates are battling for the 2016 Republican nomination for the White House, including billionaire businessman Donald Trump, who has moved to the top of the 2016 GOP nomination, according to a new poll.

The new CNN/ORC Poll, released on Sunday, shows Trump at 18% support among Republican voters, with former Florida Governor Bush trailing behind at 15%.

"There is a movement going on. This is more than me," Trump told CNN, adding the poll results were not surprising. "People are tired of these incompetent politicians in Washington that can't get anything done."

The poll shows that Trump's support among Republican voters increased six percentage points since late June, while support for Bush and Wisconsin Governor Walker has not changed considerably. Walker has 10% support among Republicans and Republican-leaning voters.

According to a recent study published by the New York Times, Wealthy individuals and corporations have begun to replace powerless people as direct beneficiaries of the US political system and the Constitution.

“Concentrated, moneyed interests, represented by those in control of the country’s largest business corporation are increasingly able to turn law into a lottery, reducing law’s predictability, impairing property rights, and increasing the share of the economy devoted to rent-seeking rather than productive activity,” says John C. Coates, who teaches business law at Harvard University.

In a 2010 ruling, the US Supreme Court allowed unlimited independent spending by corporations in elections.

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