This latest libertarian production intends to reach young people with a populist message brought to them by the Koch brothers.
February 5, 2014

At first blush, this video seems like it must be parody, but it's not. The Kochs never met a wedge issue they didn't exploit, and they've got a whole Kollection of them to enjoy via this online video series.

Meet the “Kronies,” a new online video series that seeks to raise awareness about how well-connected companies use their political muscle in Washington to rig the system in their favor. Using animation straight out of classic Saturday morning cartoons and action figures made with a 3-D printer, "The Kronies" series illustrates how corporations, bureaucrats and politicians work together at the expense of entrepreneurs and the little guy.

Breathe in the deep stench of ironic deception, please, as you learn how this series came into being.

So where did this high quality — and obviously expensive — project come from? Yahoo News has learned that the Kronies grew out of Public Notice, an advocacy group and polling firm that’s part of a sprawling political advocacy network overseen by billionaire activists Charles and David Koch. Public Notice spokesman Bill Riggs confirmed the connection to the Kronies project to Yahoo News in response to an inquiry after several sources informed us of the project’s origins.

Public Notice has passed the project on to another group within the Koch network called Generation Opportunity, which was founded in 2010 to reach out to young people. Generation Opportunity, whichproduced a viral series of anti-Obamacare Web videos last fall, is considering a broader rollout of the Kronies brand later this year, sources with knowledge of the group’s plans told Yahoo News.

While the funding of the program is tied to the Koch network, the videos are a product of the creative genius of libertarian filmmaker John Papola, the CEO of Emergent Order, a video company based in Austin, Texas. Papola burst onto the online video scene when he produced the “Boom and Bust” rap series, educational videos that teach economics by depicting the rivalry between John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich Hayek that have a combined 7.2 million views on YouTube.

Yes, that's right. Billionaire megalomaniacs who want to own our government in the name of "liberty" and "free enterprise" are stepping on the populist wedge and jamming it in with the hope of leveraging young people to support their candidates. It's just geeky enough to get the attention of lefties and disingenuous enough to hold their attention, but none of it's sincere.

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