Those Evil Koch BrothersKoch Sponsors Pro-Amnesty  Event

by Lee Stranahan 10 May 2013
An event touting itself as an evening of immigration reform discussion with a "diversity of opinion" turns out to be slanted heavily towards "comprehensive immigration reform." The BuzzFeed Brews Special Edition: Immigration Summit, sponsored by the Charles Koch Institute, will take place Tuesday, May 14th from 6 PM - 8 PM Eastern Time. The Charles Koch Institute is an educational offshoot of the Charles Koch Foundation.

It's an unusual pairing: BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith has a reputation for liberal bias (he recently blamed "the right" for conditions of Kermit Gosnell's abortion clinic) will be the moderator; Charles Koch, founder of the libertarian CATO Institute, is one of the people most reviled by the left.

The goal of the event is described as follows:

    [W]e believe one of the best ways to turn conversations into solutions is through the challenge of assumptions and exchange of ideas. Our event on immigration aims to do just that by bringing together a diversity of opinions for a thoughtful dialogue.

At first glance, the panel appears diverse: the six invitees include a Democrat politician, a Republican politician, two members of conservative organizations, one from a liberal Hispanic/Latino organization, and one from a libertarian think tank.

Looking closer, however, five of the invitees are strongly in favor of the comprehensive immigration reform/amnesty package being put forward by the "Gang of Eight" in Congress. Only one guest--from The Heritage Foundation--has been critical of the proposed immigration reform package. Additionally, an illegal immigrant who is an award-winning journalist will be assisting in broadcasting the event.