The billionaire owners of Koch Industries, known for putting billions into conservative Republican campaigns and crusading against ObamaCare, turned heads last month when they joined several liberal organizations, including the ACLU, in a coalition to promote prison reform.
An article in The Atlantic this week poses the question of whether Charles and David Koch are just trying to put a shine on their public image while continuing to push a deregulatory agenda.
Ben Ray of American Bridge, operators of the anti-Koch "Real Koch Facts" website, told the Atlantic: "Their own bottom line isn't just an important factor in their activity, it's the only thing."
But even the Koch's harshest critics seem willing to take their funding of prison reform efforts for what they are worth. Former Obama administration adviser Van Jones, who once accused the Kochs of "economic tyranny" welcomed Koch Industries' contributions to his "Cut50" project, aimed at cutting America's prison population in half in 15 years, according to The Atlantic article.
"When you've got more than 2 million people behind bars, I'll fight alongside anybody to change those numbers," Jones told The Atlantic.
What do you think? Are the Koch brothers serious about reforms that would keep nonviolent offenders out of prison, or are they just trying to improve their PR?