Heartland Institute: A Manifestation of the Kochtopus Empire

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It is nearly impossible to discuss the vast climate change denialย echo chamberย and not mention theย Koch Brothers,ย Koch Industries, and what some have called theย Koch Empire.

Perhaps unsurpisingly then, the origins of the Heartland Institute โ€“ whose internal documents wereย recently leaked to DeSmogBlogย โ€“ have a direct historical link to the rise of the Kochtopus’s wide-reaching climate change denialย machine.

It all began in 1977 in Wichita, Kansas, with the creation of theย Cato Institute.

David Padden, Cato Institute, and the Rise ofย Heartland

The Cato Institute wasย founded in 1977 and originally fundedย by Charles Koch, of Koch Industries fame andย fortune.

It is known today for its libertarian policy stances on issues like theย War on Drugs,ย anti-interventionist foreign policy, andย support for civil liberties, and perhaps most notoriously for its climate change denial and pro-polluter stance in energy policy debates. Cato’s most infamous talking head today isย Pat Michaels, who serves as itsย โ€œSenior Fellow in Environmentalย Studies.โ€

One of the key original members of Cato’s Board of Directors wasย David Padden, a Chicago, IL-based investment banker and then owner ofย Padden & Company, which now also has a spinoff calledย Padco Lease Corporation. Padden passed away in Octoberย 2011.

In 1984, piggybacking off of his role at Cato, Paddenย foundedย the Heartland Institute, also serving on its original Board ofย Directors.

Padden also served on the original Board of Directors of another organization founded that year,ย Citizens for a Sound Economy, now known as bothย FreedomWorksย and Americans for Prosperity.ย Both of these echo chambersย recieved their initial seed money from the Koch familyย fortune.

Padden alsoย served as the original co-chairman withย Joseph Bastย at Heartland, while U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), a current Republican Party candidate for the 2012 election, wasย theย first chairmanย of Citizens for a Soundย Economy.

Koch Empire Funds Heartland Climate Change Denial Echoย Chamber

Between 1986 and 2009, theย Koch Empire gave $75,000ย to the Heartland Institute, according toย Greenpeace USA‘sย PolluterWatchย project. During that same time period, the Empire gave just under $14 millionย to Cato,ย over $7.5 millionย to Citizens for a Sound Economy (now known as FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity), and overย $5.5 millionย to Americans for Prosperity, according toย PolluterWatch.

Prior to his death, Padden hadย affiliationsย with all of theseย outfits.ย 

Joseph Bast, the current head of Heartland, served asย Founding Director, officer, and member of the executive committee of theย State Policy Network (SPN). He is on the Board of Advisors of theย Illinois Policy Instituteย (IPI), aย memberย of SPN.

SPN receivedย $39,000ย from the Koch Empire between 1986 and 2009, according toย PolluterWatch. IPI, meanwhile, does not make its funding sources publicly available, but its 2006 annual report shows that it receivedย $50,000ย from the Cato Institute thatย year.ย 

Heartland Exposed: Sowing the Seeds ofย Doubt

As DeSmogBlog has made clear throughย Heartland Exposed, Heartland, and the vast echo chamber it is a part of, are still hard at work โ€œsowing the seeds of doubtโ€ on climateย change.

Heartland and its affiliates are a small, but vocal part of the deeply-intertwined, well-funded machine undermining democracy and delaying action to address anย ever-worsening climate change crisis.ย 

And at the center of it all, lo and behold, is the Kochtopusย Empire.

Explore this Prezi infographic created by the International Forum on Globalization to learn more about the tentacles of the Kochtopus:
ย 

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Steve Horn is the owner of the consultancy Horn Communications & Research Services, which provides public relations, content writing, and investigative research work products to a wide range of nonprofit and for-profit clients across the world. He is an investigative reporter on the climate beat for over a decade and former Research Fellow for DeSmog.

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