Reid: GOP senators are in ‘cult of Koch’

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) are in the “cult of Koch.”

Reid said the two Republicans attended a secret meeting in southern California last week where wealthy donors gathered, including billionaires David and Charles Koch. He said that because attendees were sworn to secrecy, the event reminded him of a cult gathering.

{mosads}“High levels of security, concealment, deception, and oaths of silence — that doesn’t sound anything like a typical conference. It sounds more like a cult,” Reid said on the Senate floor Thursday. “But instead of being a religious movement or secret sect, this is a cult of money, influence, and self-serving politics. This is the Cult of Koch.”

Reid has criticized the Koch brothers, who donate millions to conservative political campaigns, for “trying to buy America.”

“We have two of the richest men in America trying to buy America,” Reid said. “They want to have their view of government be the law.”

Senate Democrats have introduced a constitutional amendment to reverse recent Supreme Court rulings that have allowed unlimited campaign contributions. Reid said he supports that effort.

“We must undo the damage done by the Supreme Court’s recent campaign finance decisions,” Reid said. “A constitutional amendment is what this nation needs to bring sanity back to political campaigns and restore Americans’ confidence in their elected leaders.”

Republican support the court rulings, saying they protect the First Amendment right to free speech.