Summary

Mayer dedicates this chapter to what Charles Koch himself called “the Mother of All Wars,” both a crude reference to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and the title of his June 2011 donor summit (301). This summit gathered almost three hundred wealthy participants in the Kochs’ donor network, who met to strategize how their millions of dollars would be spent to further bro-business political initiatives. With a presidential election looming a little over a year away, the conservative movement had the prime opportunity to use their sphere of influence to purchase the most important election possible. Obama’s falling approval ratings and the economy’s stagnation gave the Kochs an advantageous position; the only thing conservatives needed to do was pick a strong candidate.

As part of their strategy to buy the presidential election, the Kochs created a new type of political...