The conservative Kansas brothers who sunk billions into the effort to defeat President Barack Obama's reelection run have apparently pulled out of the running to own the Los Angeles Times.

For many in ultra-liberal L.A., ownership of the paper by Charles and David Koch would have been a fate worse than inorganic produce and a shortage of vegan fro-yo. Not to worry:

A spokeswoman for Koch Industries confirmed the duo's waning interest to the New York Times following the scoop on the story from the Daily Caller yesterday.

[Added at 3:20 p.m.]: Koch Industries spokeswoman Melissa Cohlmia confirmed the Daily Caller's report. She sent the Weekly this statement:

Koch continues to have an interest in the media business and we're exploring a broad range of opportunities where we think we can add value. In terms of the Tribune, the Daily Caller story is accurate.

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Y'all can exhale and get back to your yoga now. Because having rich suckers bankroll something some of us love doing is a horrible thing!

A source familiar with the situation is quoted as saying a Koch brothers purchase of the Tribune Co., the Times' parent and owner of the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and other papers, was “not economically viable.”

The brothers' interest in the Times was first reported by the Weekly in May.

See also: Are the Koch Brothers Trying to Buy the Los Angeles Times?

Credit: Debaird / Flickr

Credit: Debaird / Flickr

Guess they don't have the cajones of a digital visionary like Jeff Bezos, the Amazon billionaire who is taking control of the Washington Post.

There was mad fear in Los Angeles that these guys would turn our Times into a tool of the right, something akin to the Washington Times.

Now the big question is, given the paper's for-sale sign, who is going to step up and buy this thing? We're looking at you, Eli Broad. And at you, David Geffen.

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