A New York state senator, Daniel Squadron, a Democrat who represents parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan, has an op-ed in the New York Daily News announcing that he is resigning to work with Jeffrey Sachs and Adam Pritzker on some kind of project. The piece includes the following passage:
The last election reflected a growing divide — based on geography, background, opportunity and even truth — that threatens our democracy and our future.
It's not the inevitable consequence of living in a huge country with diverse interests. Rather, this divide has been manufactured for the financial gain of the Koch brothers and very few others. For decades, they have invested in campaigns on the local, state and national levels, as well as think tanks, legislative development, and media outlets, building a unified front to advance their self-serving agenda.
What a breathtaking accusation against the Koch brothers, made with no evidence and without them having any apparent opportunity to respond: that they intentionally divided a previously united America along lines of "geography, background, opportunity and even truth" so that they could make more money. In fact these divisions existed long before the Koch brothers came along and will exist long after they die. If anything illustrates the growing divide over "truth," it's Squadron's own untrue allegation. As for the claim that there is a "unified front" advancing the Koch agenda, it doesn't square in my view with what is happening in Washington, where disunity is so far preventing Republicans from achieving ObamaCare repeal, tax or entitlement reform, or many other items on the legislative agenda.