NFL's Sanders among Koch cheerers as donors network

CHICAGO -- Former National Football League star Deion Sanders defended Charles and David Koch -- conservative industrialists often vilified by Democrats -- as a donor gathering led by the billionaire brothers got under way Saturday in Colorado.

"I've been on that side of the fence and I've been targeted unfairly," Sanders said, when asked by a reporter whether the Kochs have been demonized. "I've been booed simultaneously by 90,000 that sung my name like a quartet."

Sanders is attending the three-day conclave of the Koch political network as part of fundraising for a joint project with one of their affiliated organizations, Stand Together. The project has the goal of raising $21 million to focus on Dallas' pockets of persistent poverty plagued by chronic joblessness, education failure, addiction and trauma, personal debt and family breakdowns.

"You are talking about a family that has one desire, to make this country a better place, to level the playing field," said Sanders, who declined to discuss political topics beyond the Kochs.

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On Friday evening, Vice President Mike Pence met privately with Charles Koch at a time of angst and uncertainty for some conservatives about the early months of President Donald Trump's administration.

Pence, who has long ties to the Koch brothers, also attended an evening fundraiser for Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado at the resort where the network is meeting. The vice president didn't speak to the full gathering of Koch donors.

After meeting briefly one-on-one, Pence and Koch were joined by several others for a discussion about a variety of issues, including potential changes to the tax code, according to Bill Riggs, a spokesman in the network.

Two of those who joined the roughly 45-minute session were Marc Short, a former top Koch official who's now the White House legislative liaison, and Tim Phillips, president of the Koch-affiliated political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity.

Other than the appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, filling a seat vacant for over a year, the network has little to show so far for its investments in recent years. The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act remains law, there's been little progress on overhauling the nation's tax system, and there's a distinct possibility trade will become more restrictive, counter to the Koch preference for free markets.

James Davis, the spokesman for the Koch political network, downplayed the notion that the Trump administration hasn't accomplished much yet from the group's list of goals, pointing to a reduction in "burdensome regulations" and discussions about changing the tax system.

"There's been more progress in the last six months at the federal level than there has been in last 10 years," he said.

The Koch brothers and their network didn't support Trump's campaign. The organization has also denounced several of the president's positions, including the proposed travel ban on some refugees and immigrants. Freedom Partners, another group partially funded by the Koch brothers, has also warned that Trump's call for a $1 trillion infrastructure package could become a "spending boondoggle."

The network, which has hundreds of donors who give a minimum of $100,000 per year, has convened the seminar twice annually since 2003. It last met in January, days after Trump's inauguration.

At that time, the network announced plans to spend $300 million to $400 million on policy and political campaigns in 2017 and 2018, up from the roughly $250 million invested in the 2016 campaign season. Some of the money will be spread across Koch-affiliated groups to expand a political network that has a presence in more than 30 states.

Chris Rufer, a libertarian-leaning Koch donor who runs a vast tomato-processing business in California's Central Valley, said he sees little reason for optimism from Washington.

"It's just a show and they really don't do much," said Rufer, who has belonged to the network for about a decade. "They are truly incompetent in Washington."

Rufer, who cast his 2016 presidential ballot for Libertarian Gary Johnson, said Trump has proven to be a disappointment.

"He's not a businessman. He's a wheeler-dealer," said Rufer. "In a real estate deal, you can always move on to another deal. You can't just walk away in Washington."

A Section on 06/25/2017

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