A Democratic senator chided Senate majority leader Harry Reid on Thursday for his repeated attacks on the billionaires Charles and David Koch for spending money to help Republicans win back the Senate this year.
During an appearance on Fox and Friends, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin was asked about Reid’s constant attacks.
“You don’t beat up people,” Manchin said of Reid’s assault on the businessmen. “I mean, I don’t agree with their politics — or philosophically — but you know, they’re Americans, they’re paying their taxes.”
“This type of rhetoric does not help us move this country or move the agenda forward,” Manchin added.
Speaking of the Kochs, Manchin said, “They’re not breaking the law. They’re providing jobs. Right, wrong or indifferent, whether you like the politics, people don’t like the extreme Democratic politics or extreme Republican politics, we got to start being Americans again.”
In a speech from the floor of the Senate earlier this week, Reid uttered the name “Koch” 27 times. Democrats have tried to make the Kochs infamous in an attempt to rally the liberal base in the 2014 elections.
“If the Koch brothers have bank-rolled efforts to keep senators in their seats, those members should publicly acknowledge their providers,” Reid said. “If my Republican colleagues find my criticism of the Kochs’ shadowy influence unjust, they should take their case to the American people.”