it is sponsored by the americans for prosperity, which is heavily funded by david and charles koch. play in today's u.s. political world? cnn's randi kaye brings you up to speed. >> reporter: come election day, you won't find the names charles and david koch on the ballot, but don't think for a minute they didn't have a hand in the race. the billionaire brothers own wichita-based coke industries, one of the largest privately owned businesses in the united states. their other interest is politics. those who track them believe they have been operating a stealth political network for years. politico reporter ken vogel. >> their primary little nonprofit group, americans for prosperity, spends as much as $45 million on political activity in the run-up to the 2010 midterm elections. >> the koches are some of the wealthiest americans in the country. >> reporter: critics like mary boyle with the group common cause says the koches who are long time libertarians are only interested in furthering their political agenda. they funded opposition campaigns against many of president obama's policies

i'm joined by charles koch on in washington he's a senior fellow at the council on foreign relations and professor of international affairs at georgetown university in london we crossed averred involved in our he is a research professor at the institute of contemporary history king's college london and in brussels we cross to you also yang he is the director of studies at the european policy center all right gentlemen this is crosstalk that means you can jump in anytime you want and i very much encourage it but first tell us more about the euro in the state of the european union there's been a lot of talk about and i think that it's no coincidence that last week german chancellor angela merkel an ounce that europe has reached its most difficult hour since world war two she delivered an interest in her christian democratic party calling for not less europe but more as a solution to the sovereign debt crisis merkel's overarching message the deeper cooperation within the union is the. economic and political unity resulted in a growing skepticism over the entire here opinion project as w

the convention of americans for prosperity founded by cain's billionaire benefactors, david and charles koch>> i am the koch brothers's brother from another mother. yes. i'm that brother from another mother! and proud of it. >> wow! indeed he is. while cain may be seeking solace among friends as he battles a sexual harassment scandal, the same friends are now the subject of scrutiny. take mark block, better known as the disheveleded smoking man in the infamous ad, but it got the campaign off the ground that may pose a bigger problem. in a case filed hours ago, block now faces legal charges over some $40,000 that his koch brothers off shoot, prosperity usa paid to the cain campaign in its early days. gosh, legal charges, a sexual harassment scandal, it really hasn't been a good week for herman. why does he keep on smiling? the hits just keep coming. cain faced serious criticism on foreign policy missteps on china. >> i do view china as a potential military threat to the united states. they indicated that they are trying to develop nuclear capabilities. >> you probably knew that china develope

thspeech that cain gave on friday about prosperity founded by the two oil billionaires, david and charles kochre brothers from another mother, getting a big response from the crowd. but the koch brothers and their group of americans for prosperity had financial dealings and was helping to fund prosperity usa. so there does -- could be or what looks like a money trail going from the koch brothers' outfit to the group in wisconsin to the campaign. >>> union groups around the country will be closely watching a critical vote in ohio tomorrow, one that could provide a window to the 20 12 election. the residents will r. being asked to toss out a republican law that stripped most of the woe workers of their bargaining rights. i'm joined now by the governor. the numbers are certainly on the side of repeal, 57% in the latest poll i saw. are you surprised? >> not at all. i'm not surprised because the people of ohio recognize unfairness when they see it. and senate bill 5 is an unfair piece of legislation that penalize nurses and firefighters and teachers and other public employees for economic circumsta

study is getting a lot of attention because it was funded in part by a foundation backed by charles and david koch. they are oil billionaires and climate change deniers. today no one can deny that extreme weather is here to stay. >> all i know is, this didn't happen when we were kids. anne tom on son the change in our weather. thanks. >>> now to presidential politics and the sexual harassment allegations swirling around herman cain. tonight, one of the women who claims cain engaged in inappropriate behavior says she wants to go public with her story. meanwhile, cain has been doing a lot of talking about the allegations, denying them. but also struggling at times to explain himself. our report tonight from nbc's lisa myers. >> reporter: for herman cain, day two of damage control, also involved trying to undo the damage from shifting stories on day one. >> i just started to remember more. remember, in 12 years a lot of stuff can go through your head. >> reporter: that's how cain explained yesterday's inconsistencies. he recommended that the work performance of one accuser was subpar. and offered new

the organization funded by billionaires charles and david koch. out the response he got. >> he's a successful business leader and he hails from the great state of georgia. please welcome herman cain. [ cheers and applause ] >> thank you very much. delighted to be here. love y'all. >> he received a standing ovation from the tea party crowd. then came this. >> i'm proud to know the koch brothers. i'm very proud to know the koch brothers. this may be a breaking news announcement for the media. i am the koch brothers brother from another mother. yes. i'm their mother from another mother. and proud of it. >> that line really says it all. and the links between the kochs and the campaign are stunning. the smoking campaign manager we all know about now was once a chapter president for americans for prosperity in wisconsin. working directly with the kochs. and the architect of cain's 9-9-9 plan is on the board of advisers of americans for prosperity. but just hours before saying this -- >> i am the koch brothers brother from another mother -- >> comes this

the conservative group funded by the oil and chemical fortune heirs, charles and david koch, their group, they'll be spending 2.4 million big ones, $2.4 million buying airtime for this new ad demanding real answers to what they call a green energy scam. tomorrow a house committee is expected to issue subpoenas to the white house for more documents related to the loan guarantees. that's the unsexy energy scandal on the right. meanwhile, on the left, there's plenty of, i think, still safe to say, unsexy consternation over the state department's still pending approval of a massive pipeline across the continent, north to south. e-mails show a cozy relationship between staffers at hillary clinton's state department and lobbyist for the pipeline who used to be the deputy national campaign director in hillary clinton's '08 campaign for president. whether or not this keystone pipeline gets built will not actually be up to secretary clinton and the state department. as was made clear yesterday. the state department gets to make a recommendation but the decision will be the presidents. >> the stat

he enthusiastically embraced his relationship with charles and david koch, two wealthy brothers who support conservative and tea party. cain critics have been going after his financial and political ties to the duo. >> just so i can clarify this for the media, this may be a breaking news announcement for the media. i am the koch brothers' brother from another mother. yes! i'm their brother from another mother! and proud of it. >> mitt romney spoke at the conference outlining his ideas to bolster medicare and cut discretionary spending. >> for each program that we have in the government, i'm going to look at them one by one, i'm going to ask this question. is this program so critical, so essential, that we should borrow money from china to pay for it? >> rick perry's wife spoke to reporters at her husband's new hampshire headquarters and commented on the current harassment allegations surrounding rival candidate herman cain. >> i can't judge mr. cain. you know, i read it on the internet, rick and i read it at the same time about the allegations. i don't know anything about that. i can't spea