Robert Greenwald on the line was the founder and president a brave new films
brave new films dot org
and got a new movie out Koch brothers
Expo stairwell Koch brother mania is arriving at the Capitol
this is the 2014 edition a Robert I time
great to have you back with us it's thank you it's great to be with your
been too long since we've talked so your so tell us about this
new to prove Koch brothers exposed with the new version which we launched on
Tuesday with an event in Washington DC where
Senator Reid and leedom Pelosi with their
and senator Sanders was what is an effort to reach
millions of people who are being besieged by coke funded ads
attack ad said all kinds a bats and
the way the cokes fun think tanks so what we've been able to do with the
original film and now it is
updated film is go out investigate
find the truths about the cokes and then provide that information to people and
the wonderful news tom is
thanks to over 2,000 people was given us contributions
were able to make it available for free so you can literally watch it for free
and then most importantly
send the link on to someone else you know who should see the film
and what's the website for washing up for free Koch brothers exposed
I'll get you there crisis has exposed are
doubt what dot com dot com okay culture
brothers and coke courses but kuch like
I S yes Koch brothers exposed
I without the R and a
who is so what Robert what if in your mind and and and you
seen the dark underbelly in the right-wing machine what was the most
surprising interest in a shocking part of what you discovered when you were
doing the research for this documentary
well the original research
the which i think was very important what was most powerful
is how smart they are with their funding see they don't just wait for the last
minute and then find something inane 30-second spot
for a candidate that you have to hold your nose about
they start way back at the beginning and they fund the ideas they fund the think
tank's
they fun grassroots organizations they fun college activities
they popped run pundits and Adams that
calms the electoral process it said and
as a result of all the work that they're doing and one of the great quotes from
one of the brothers was
we discovered early on that politicians are like actors
they read from a script and what we want to do
is write the script and that's what they're doing their writing that script
a lot Washington literally said that
yes all politicians are like actors they read from a script and we're going to
provide them with the script
yep and they're doing it and they're doing it legally
and they're doing it effectively and we're seeing how their message machine
she is having an extraordinary impact in the new film Tom
we have a cup we have quite a bit of new material including the cokes role
in citizen United is a perfect example
the law as it as it was pre citizens united had those Muslim it controls as
we know
on funding yet but they had like electrons avoid sorry
mccain feingold a few other these summer some
remnants of the post nixon abuse serve campaign finance laws
you talking about yes exactly but they didn't like that
so they got involved %uh several different organizations that they find
became friends have the court in the Citizens United
chase and they had to have the justices
to their setups secretive in retreats
and suddenly a new law and now they're benefiting from the new law by spending
hundreds of millions of dollars more
those two justices for clarence thomas and
antonin scalia I said yes isn't
isn't there some pie meaning had Thomas risk alia been
federal judges in any court other than the Supreme Court
they could be in prison right now for that
I mean it's a clear coated the vial are a violation of the
the code a federal judicial ethics maybe not in prison but certainly lose their
you know it be impeached and K
well I guess I guess that's beyond the purview corporate is exposed basically
%uh the Koch brothers are
are corrupt in these guys what can we do about this Robert the mall
well I think there's a you know there's a lot we could do and
and again let's just remember Tom and of course you know this and many of your
listeners do
its social change begins with social movements it doesn't begin
with the perfect or imperfect piece of legislation
or the women's movement to the civil rights to the peace will manage
you've been active in all of those things talks so what we can do is a
first step
is make clear to people the real import
I'll dark money in politics I E the Koch brothers
it's not abstract it affects the job you could get
it affects minimum wage which they're fighting by the way
what are the most extraordinary figures we came up with
is lit listen to this what the Koch brothers would make
in one hour a minimum wage worker
would have to work seventy 6
years full tie
while and thats you know that's the kind of information and the
and we have personal stories in the film so the first and I think
the job that we all can't do is help spread the word
and again the film is Trey and not only that
you can send individual sections at the film so let's say you
you know and environmentalists and their worst thing is all in the environment
you can follow with that section minutes unions
a union section if its minimum wage a minimum wage section
et cetera et cetera et cetera so we're really excited to be able to unleash the
digital tools
so that everyone can do something that is super love it that's extraordinary
Robert
which I am very excited Robert Greenwald activist filmmaker
present a brave new films brave new films .org about his new project
Koch brothers exposed dot com
and he it does it doesn't heart knew that Harry Reid is actually taking these
guys on the floor the senator
I think it's been great I mean its read is binge
fierce on this issue and it is also
made him stronger and stronger on supporting
the constitutional amendment and you know William
talk to politicians in DC and generally of course this is off the record
and even republicans they get up
every day and how many hours a day did they spend just begging for money
nobody can almost nobody can enjoy that Anna
on a human level policy aside so
I may be naive but I am actually hoped for
that this will begin to really affect
elected officials when they see maybe there are other ways to work
yeah yeah I I think you're right I did a TED talk on this cover tax talk on this
a couple weeks ago in Portland
and on this topic a Citizens United
and II you know I call for action courses amend the Constitution say that
money is in speech
eisner and therefore is not protected by the First Amendment George Washington
not by the revolutionary war to protect the billionaires
and corporations are not persons and therefore not protected by the
Fourteenth Amendment Iran Lincolnton fight this award for this
the corporation's arm and after I was done
it hit be that the one thing I'd for got to say and I'm slapping myself upside
the head for it
was that it's not gonna be that hard to get this amendment through congress
because
I have talked with republicans as well as democrats
II little like you said off the record
who say I hate the fact that I have to spend five six hours a day you know
there's
is probably 50 a month who have offices in this building or something right
that I'm sitting right now because we're just two blocks reply Hart Senate office
building
arm and and that they have to go off premises for 4-5 hours a day and dial
for dollars in bad people for money
they hated right and at at and I think
I think that's very important and I think you mix that tom with the fact
that
no matter what your issue its and no matter on which side of the issue you
are
unless you're one percenter unless you're a billionaire
you know that your issue is being screwed over
in this sense that is being bought it's being literally
all that's right we saw this new study that just came out to buy think it was
princeton
on that that indicated that you know the one percent wanted something
it probably happens legislatively over the last 10 years
are at last 18 years actually looked at and if the app if the fifty percent of
the median want something
no knows no such thing Robert Greenwald hang and a second I love it I'm gonna
get stepped on
hang on this is the Thom Hartmann program Robert Greenwald president and
founder brave new films brave new films that are more importantly Koch brothers
exposed dot com check it out thank you Robert
my pleasure