Koch Bros. Pump $2.5M Into Right-Wing Database

Extending the reach of corporate power into next year's elections, the Koch Brothers are drawing on a wide range of right-wing groups to establish a database of conservative voters, the Guardian reports. Oil billionaires David and Charles Koch pumped $2.5 million into the voter file, called Themis, which will assemble data from groups like Tea Party organizations and conservative think tanks. "With this resource they become a natural center of gravity for conservatives," says one liberal analyst.

Named after a Greek goddess who controls human affairs, Themis is designed to repeat the success Democrats had with a database called Catalyst. That voter list, assembled after John Kerry's loss in 2004, corralled data on supporters of liberal campaigns and progressive groups—and helped President Obama win the White House. The Koch brothers are no less ambitious: At a recent gathering of billionaires in Vail, Colorado, Charles Koch called next year's presidential race "the mother of all wars. ... [a battle] for the life or death of this country." (More Charles Koch stories.)