It is fashionable in Democrat circles to be enraged about the Koch brothers. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has been claiming that Charles and David Koch, two men who have grown wealthy by making things Americans see fit to purchase and who employ tens of thousands of people, including Wisconsinites, are “un-American.” Last month, unions in New York protested angrily because David Koch gave $100 million to a hospital.

It’s fair to wonder what beliefs these brothers have that set off such hate. Charles Koch laid it out in a Wall Street Journal essay last week. In case you missed it, judge for yourself whether this is an “un-American” set of beliefs:

“Instead of fostering a system that enables people to help themselves, America is now saddled with a system that destroys value, raises costs, hinders innovation and relegates millions of citizens to a life of poverty, dependency and hopelessness. This is what happens when elected officials believe that people's lives are better run by politicians and regulators than by the people themselves. Those in power fail to see that more government means less liberty, and liberty is the essence of what it means to be American. Love of liberty is the American ideal.”

Harry Reid and other liberals are so offended by those ideas, they would rather you never hear them. That’s why they keep telling the Koch brothers to shut up. I know what I think is un-American: Saying “Shut up!” to anyone’s right to free speech.

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