--- title: Harry Reid Says Republicans Are 'Addicted to Koch' description: The Senate Majority Leader and top democrat used a drug pun to reference conservatives' relationship with the billionaire brothers, who last week Reid called "un-American" for funding anti-Obamacare ads canonical: https://time.com/12462/harry-reid-republicans-are-addicted-to-koch/ author: Alex Rogers article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-04T21:38:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T06:34:34.240Z article:section: Politics og:title: Harry Reid Says Republicans Are 'Addicted to Koch' og:description: The Senate Majority Leader and top democrat used a drug pun to reference conservatives' relationship with the billionaire brothers, who last week Reid called "un-American" for funding anti-Obamacare ads og:url: https://time.com/12462/harry-reid-republicans-are-addicted-to-koch/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01ed326ac7a8123a/698683e8e53aba5b614d14c1/time-a-harry-reid-koch-brothers-140304.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5184 og:image:height: 2916 og:image:alt: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. faces reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Harry Reid Says Republicans Are 'Addicted to Koch' twitter:description: The Senate Majority Leader and top democrat used a drug pun to reference conservatives' relationship with the billionaire brothers, who last week Reid called "un-American" for funding anti-Obamacare ads twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01ed326ac7a8123a/698683e8e53aba5b614d14c1/time-a-harry-reid-koch-brothers-140304.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Harry Reid: 'Republicans Are Addicted to Koch' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Mar 4, 2014 9:38 PM UTC  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. faces reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 25, 2014. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. faces reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 25, 2014. J. Scott Applewhite—AP by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Mar 4, 2014 9:38 PM UTC Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stepped up his war of rhetoric against conservative billionaires and liberal boogymen Koch brothers Tuesday, saying on the senate floor that his Republican colleagues were “addicted to Koch” Reid’s play on words — Charles and David Koch share a homophonous name with a recreational drug — came less than a week after Reid called the brothers “[un-American](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/02/27/reid-koch-brothers-are-un-american/)” for funding anti-Obamacare attack ads. The Nevada Democrat went on: “Based on Senate Republicans’ ardent defense of the Koch brothers and the fact that they advocate for many of the same policies as the Koch brothers, it seems my Republican colleagues also believe in a system that benefits billionaires at the expense of the middle class.” Once Reid was finished with his speech, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell took to the floor to say how “curious” it was that Reid failed to mention [Tom Steyer](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/18/us/politics/financier-plans-big-ad-campaign-on-environment.html?%5Fr=2), the former hedge fund manager who said he hoped to spend $100 million this year to influence elections towards pro-climate change candidates. “It strikes me as curious that if we are going to demonize people for exercising their constitutional rights to go out and speak and participate in the political process, we would just pick out the people that are opposed to us and leave out the people who are in favor of us,” said McConnell. Pollster John Anzalone, whose client Sen. Kay Hagan (R–N.C.) [has been the focus](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/koch-brothers-kay-hagan-103406.html) of $8 million worth of Koch-funded attack ads, said the conservative billionaires have brought such attacks on themselves. “As much as these guys love to be behind the curtain, the reality is that if you stroke that big of a check and you try to influence races in other states you’re going to be a target,” said Anzalone. “It’s outside money…it resonates; people don’t like it. 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