Herman Cain: Koch brothers' brother from another mother? - Video

Herman Cain defended his connection to the Koch brothers today at the 2011 Summit for the American Dream  in Washington, D.C.

“I’m proud to know the Koch brothers," the former CEO of Godfathers' Pizza said.

“I’m the Koch brothers brother from another mother," Cain quipped, drawing laughter from the conservative crowd.

The summit was organized by the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, a group chaired by Koch Industries Executive Vice President David Koch, a giant of the fossil fuel industry and one the world's 20 wealthiest billionaires.

AFP Foundation President Tim Phillips warmed the audience up for the main event by blaming President Obama for "green energy boondoggles" implemented "in pursuit of his global warming ideology."

Phillips also claimed that the AFP Foundation and Tea Party are allies, before going on to attack the Occupy Wall Street movement that many grassroots Tea Party activists say they support. He claimed OWS "openly call for socialism" and that the movement is "based on anger and envy."

Mitt Romney then preceded Herman Cain at the podium. As he did yesterday in Exeter, Romney again raised the specter of Solyndra as evidence that government is inherently inferior to the private sector, apparently forgetting the failed solar company was itself a private enterprise.

For his part, Cain made a call for energy independence based entirely on fossil fuels

"We've got plenty of coal, oil, natural gas, shale oil..," he listed.

Cain also threw in an attack on the EPA for good measure.

"The EPA needs an attitude adjustment," he said.

All that had one conservative commentator feeling "happier than a hippy at Zuccotti Park on free hash brownie day."

I'm betting the Koch brothers felt the same way.

Video of Herman Cain's speech at the 2011 Summit for the American Dream:

Herman Cain at the Defending the American Dream Summit from AFPhq on Vimeo.

Photo of Herman Cain courtesy of Gage Skidmore