Up until a few weeks ago, the only time I thought of Astroturf was in relation to high school soccer and leg burns. But, with each passing day, I'm learning more and more about front "Astroturf" groups that have been fueling angry crowds and shouting matches at this summer's town hall meetings.
The list of groups and affiliations is long and growing. They have leaders like Newt Gingrich, Dick Armey, and George Allen, and are backed by organizations such as the oil industry's American Petroleum Institute and the coal lobby group the American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy (ACCCE). Not surprisingly, the more we learn about these groups, the more we find out about their shady connections and methods.
As Ian Talley of Dow Jones described on Friday:
"Astroturf groups, while meant to look, act and smell like community groups, are primarily funded by corporations, trade associations, political interests or public-relations firms."
He goes on to expose Americans For Prosperity, one of the most-active front groups:
"The chairman of its affiliate organization, Americans For Prosperity Foundation (which unlike AFP can lobby politicians) is David Koch, co-owner of one of the largest private companies in the U.S., Koch Industries Inc. Among the conglomerate's revenue earners are its refining, oil pipelines and chemical units - including Koch Carbon, which produces greenhouse-gas intense products such as cement, coal, paper and petroleum coke.
"Joining together with the National Association of Manufacturers and 10 other industry groups opposed to the climate bill, the American Petroleum Institute this month founded "Energy Citizens" to rally in 20 states across the U.S."
On Sunday, the Washington Post's David Fahrenthold also picked up on the "Energy Citizens" and the front-group dynamics:
"A petroleum industry trade group is asking oil companies to recruit employees and retirees to attend rallies attacking climate-change legislation, an approach to grass-roots politics that resembles strategies used recently by some opponents of health-care reform."
Blogger Kevin Grandia was one of the first to uncover the revelations around API's funding of sham town hall events, when he reported that:
"The email memo ( download a PDF copy), which appears to come from the desk of American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard, asks API's member companies to recruit employees, retirees, vendors and contractors to attend "Energy Citizen" rallies in key Congressional districts nationwide. API is focusing on 21 states that have "a significant industry presence" or "assets on the ground."
"Taking a page from the playbook of Astroturf campaigners currently crashing health care town hall events across the country, API hopes to similarly sully productive communications between Congressmembers and their actual constituents. Gerard states that API is ready to bus in company members and provide logistical support, and reveals that API has retained "a highly experienced events management company that has produced successful rallies for presidential campaigns, corporations and interest groups."
Similar scare tactics were carried out by the National Association of Manufacturers last week, which released an analysis that clearly exaggerates the cost associated with clean energy and climate legislation. NRDC economist Laurie Johnson remarks: "It's a story they've repeated over and over, against virtually every piece of environmental legislation. And every time history has proven them wrong." In her words, it's a case of "opinions masquerading as facts."
The problem with these groups is not that they are mobilizing activities or exchanging opinions. Everyone has a right to have and express his or her opinion. But the problem, as I see it, is that they are determined to sow fear and they are distorting where most Americans are on these issues.
Senator Specter (D-PA), who has attended a series of heated town halls, said on NBC's Meet the Press (as reported in the Washington Post): "I think we have to bear in mind that, although those people need to be heard and have a right to be heard, that they're not really representative of America, in -- in my opinion."
I could agree more. America deserves to have a serious debate over important issues -- like health care and climate change. Unfortunately, this summer it seems like we are going to have less honest dialogue and more fake front groups.
Forty years ago, we had Woodstock and the summer of peace and love; now it looks like we're left with Astroturf and the summer of fakes and deception.
* * * This post originally appeared on NRDC's Switchboard.
Michael Oko is federal media director for The Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, D.C. He previously worked for the American Red Cross on disasters and public health issues. He graduated from Cornell University and studied economics and international relations at Johns Hopkins University. NRDC is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the environment, people and animals. NRDC was founded in 1970 and is comprised of more than 300 lawyers, scientists and policy experts, with more than one million members and e-activists.
