Koch brothers to Jeb Bush: Dance, monkey, dance

The Koch brothers kept their billions out of the Republican pretender primary in 2012, then regretted Mitt Romney. So they're thinking about endorsing a 2016 candidate and using not just their money but their massive political organization to boost him. The question: Who'll be their guy? Being the answer to that question will be worth a lot to any candidate, which means the Koch brothers can demand a lot of ring kissing and campaign promises. That seems to be exactly what they're gearing up to do:

Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz debated at the Koch network's winter seminar in January, and Scott Walker made a separate appearance. Those were the candidates who appeared to have a chance at the Koch blessing, and attendees said Rubio seemed to win that round.

But those four - plus Jeb - will be invited to the Kochs' summer conference, the aide said. Bush is getting a second look because so many Koch supporters think he looks like a winner. Other candidates, perhaps Rick Perry or Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, may also get invitations.
On Monday, David Koch seemed to indicate support for Scott Walker, but then released a statement insisting he wasn't endorsing anyone. Yet. Instead, the plan, according to Politico's Mike Allen, is to wait until the primary heats up, candidates have a chance to have their "oops" moments in the debates, and polling starts to show which candidates might have a real chance-especially with a couple more billionaires behind them, billionaires planning to direct hundreds of millions of dollars into the 2016 election cycle.
The invitation to Jeb Bush could be another indication that, while the far-right faithful of Iowa aren't (yet) excited about him, his behind-the-scenes strategy of appealing to influential conservatives may be working to line up the kind of high-level support that will ultimately help him win over their followers. But he's definitely not getting a Koch endorsement without dancing for it.

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