Political allies of Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) announced on Feb. 28 that they are starting up a super PAC with the explicit task of defending Republican members of Congress who joined with Democrats to support the second impeachment of President Donald Trump. “Americans Keeping Country First has a clearly defined mission to provide air cover for the members of Congress who took votes of conscience to impeach or convict President Trump,” Mario Castillo, a GOP lobbyist and adviser to the new PAC, said in a statement.
Who’s on First?
Perhaps it would be a good time, then, to take a closer at Kinzinger’s allies. Americans Keeping Country First will be working alongside Country First, the leadership PAC Kinzinger founded in January. The Chicago Sun-Times reported on Jan. 31 that:
“Kinzinger said ‘Country First’ is being bankrolled by one of his political action committees, the Future First Leadership PAC. The PAC had a balance of $39,956 as of Dec. 31. Its donors included philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates, who each gave $5,000.”
That’s right, renowned globalist Bill Gates is funding Kinzinger’s Country First alternative to Trump’s America First movement. It makes one wonder why Kinzinger chose that rather clunky name. Two years ago, Melinda Gates attracted a bit of attention by using the words “country first” in the power couple’s Gates Notes Annual 2019 Letter. Her remarks were cited as “a not-so-subtle nudge at Trump.” She stated, “There is nothing about putting your country first that requires turning your back on the rest of the world. If anything, the opposite is true.” In this way, Mrs. Gates seems to stoutly defend internationalist interventionism on the part of the United States.
Coincidence?
Bill & Melinda are also donors to Kinzinger’s Campaign Committee. Their foundation gave $5,600 in 2020, according to information listed on the website Open Secrets. A search of the heading Campaign Committee & Leadership PAC Combined shows the Gates Foundation giving $15,600 to Kinzinger for the 2019-20 election cycle.
Let’s Go Away Together
Kinzinger appears to have strong ties to Gates’ orbit dating back to his earliest days in Congress, which began in 2011. A November 2015 Chicago Tribune investigative piece exposed the pricey globetrotting affinities of Illinois’ congressional delegation. Guess who was the worst offender?
“The state's 20 members of Congress took 70 foreign trips and visited 44 countries over the past two years at a cost of more than $518,000, a Tribune analysis found.
“The actual cost, which under the rules of Congress can be paid for by a number of entities, is hard to pinpoint. When military aircraft are used on congressional trips, that expense is mentioned — but a dollar figure is not attached. When foreign governments pay for trips, the cost remains a mystery. And some reports from recent trips have not been filed.
“Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Channahon, was the most frequent flier. He has taken nine foreign trips since October 2013, the analysis found.”
The matter of who paid for Kinzinger’s exotic travels becomes all the more interesting when Africa is on the itinerary. The continent is an especial focus of Gates’ “philanthropic” efforts. A May 15, 2015, post on Kinzinger’s congressional web page reveals details of one of his trips:
“In April, I traveled to Ethiopia and Kenya with the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition to explore the relationship between America’s national security and economic interests in the sub-Saharan Africa region.”
The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) is an organization dedicated to expanding an aggressive American approach to international affairs. The very first funding source named on its website is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The National Interest reported in February 2020 that Hunter Biden served on the board of directors for the coalition’s “educational arm,” the Center for U.S. Global Leadership, in 2014 while he was involved with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. The USGLC “added a series of Ukraine-related bills to its lobbying portfolio at around the same time, lobbying disclosures show.”
When he’s not jaunting off to Africa with the USGLC, Kinzinger is a frequent participant in the coalition’s various programs. He spoke at the group’s State Leaders Summit in 2015 and 2017 and has appeared at luncheons and other functions.
Other heavyweight funders of the USGLC include globalist progressive billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and the Rockefeller Foundation.
Kinzinger told The Washington Post last month that he isn’t concerned about the anger he is whipping up inside the GOP grassroots with his strident opposition to the overwhelmingly popular Trump.
"The bottom line, I don't need the job. I enjoy doing it. I'd like to win again, but if I don't, I can look at myself in the mirror and I'm at total peace,” he told the newspaper.
Que sera sera. After all, with friends like Bill Gates, who needs to worry about the wrath of irate constituents?
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