Astroturf for Rent

The term ‘Astroturf” usually refers to fake “grassroots” movements that are actually fronts to support the agenda of a few wealthy backers. There’s a new species of Astroturf, however, which is even more unprincipled: “organizations” that have no agenda of their own whatsoever, and send out fliers that support whatever cause or candidates will pay them. One of the worst is Cops voter guide, which as far as I can tell has no connections with any policeman or police organization. It supports Jerry Brown, even though the Policeman’s union has come out for Whitman (in exchange for a promise to not touch their salaries or pensions). It also urges no on all measures that allegedly increase taxes—except for Prop 21 which would increase Car License fees. It also supports prop. 19 (which legalizes recreational pot). It’s pretty hard to find a coherent ideology in this voting pattern. Should we call this organization DPLTEEC? (Democratic Potheads for lower taxes on everything except cars? ). I think the slogan that best expresses their values would be a paraphrase from the Sting song about streetwalkers: “If you’ve got the money, I’ve got the space.” A visit to the blog political blotter reveals even more inconsistencies, including the fact that a previous mailer sent around May 2010 supported Gavin Newsom for Lt. Governor, even though the one I just received supports Abel Maldonado for the same office.

A visit to the cops voters guide website reveals that it is run by a political consultant named Kelley Moran. Moran has also gotten into trouble by working for both gay rights organizations and accepting money for advocating yes on proposition 8. Moran is apparently gay himself, which makes this behavior considerably more odious, I think. A search on his name revealed this article, which has more details on his numerous flipflops for hire. Thanks also to blogger Greta for revealing the connections that Moran has to an Animal rights group call Petpac, as well as connections to another dubious political organizer named William Hemby.

I am also suspicious of an organization called Californians Vote Green. They take the appropriately green stances on most ballot measures (yes on 21, and no on 23). But they also say yes on 26, widely referred to as the polluter protection act because it would make it much harder to pass new pollution restrictions. It also supports all the Democrats except for one. The fine print reveals that this Republican is the only candidate who paid to be on this mailer. When you go to the Californians Vote Green Website, there is nothing but a page with two links to completely unrelated sites to help oil spill victims and Sea Otters. In short, a bit of Green Window dressing, and no information whatsoever about the organization itself. Blogger Dan Brekke reveals that they used to have a more detailed website, back when they took money from PG&E to support proposition 16 (Which would have obstructed attempts to form public utilities, had it passed.) Apparently the founder of Californians Vote Green is named Rick Taylor. Brekke gives you contact information on his page, if you feel like emailing him or calling him.

None of these activities are illegal. There are fortunately campaign laws which require these mailers to state they are not affiliated with any official organization, and identify which candidates and campaigns paid to be in the mailer. You don’t need to do much research to discover which of these organizations are bogus. All you need are a few critical thinking skills, and a willingness to read some fine print.