Schumer: Attacks on Koch brothers will work

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday said Democrats’ counterattacks on billionaires Charles and David Koch will be effective in this year’s election. 

In an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Schumer cited a poll that found 48 percent of the U.S. public doesn’t know of the Koch brothers. Schumer said that by October, 90 percent of the country will. 

Schumer said Democrats must pursue a “positive agenda” on top of their strategy to expose the Koch brothers’ efforts to fund conservative campaigns and political ads.

{mosads}“We also have to have a shield that protects us from these ads, and I think the Koch brother thing will work,” he said.

The billionaire donors are spending $40 million or $50 million in ads that are focused on eliminating regulations on corporations and cutting taxes, said Schumer, adding “that demands a response.”

In ads and in speeches on the Senate floor, Democrats have stepped up their attacks on the Koch brothers’ campaign, which Schumer said will help his party this year.

“And I think it’s going to make a difference. It’s going to undo the sting of a lot of these ads. We’re already finding that in the polling in a few of the states,” he said.

It can’t be Democrats’ only strategy because, Schumer added, otherwise “we’ll lose.”