New film exposes Astro-turfing of America

You’re probably sick of hearing me rant about Astro-Turf ‘front groups’ and the shadowy operatives that run them for the wealthy corporate interests, but I believe the danger to our democracy is very real. It seems that I’m no longer alone in this belief.

I just found this on the Center for Media and Democracy PR Watch.org website:

“The documentary film “(astro)Turf Wars: How Corporate America is Faking a Grassroots Revolution,” explains the bizarre situation we face as America drowns in fake, corporate-funded “grassroots” movements.”

“The 2009 “Tea Party Movement”, for example, came out of nowhere, and through a string of well-funded activities, became a huge roadblock to reforming health care, financial services and more. Leaders portray the tea party “movement” as made up of hard-working, mom-and-pop patriots who love their country, but well-heeled players representing some of the biggest and most lucrative businesses in the country are really funding and organizing it. The Tea Party labels of “government takeover,” “socialism” and “communism” stir up fear while disguising hidden corporate agendas. Real grassroots movements rarely make multimillion-dollar ad buys, tour the nation in custom-painted buses, or put on media events from coast to coast. The film calls on propaganda experts like CMD’s own Wendell Potter, media critic Professor Mark Crispin Miller and PR expert James Hoggan to expose corporate fllim-flamming in other areas, too, like health care, climate change, and the 2010 elections. Don’t miss this important movie!”

If you want to see more about this film, go to www.Astroturfwars.com where you can instantly watch the film for $1.99 or order the DVD for $14.99.

The PR front groups spring up like fungi in a pile of horseshit

Oh, they’re out there sprouting and touting the evils of Harry Reid and the virtues of Sharron Angle - Paul Ryan’s witless puppet.

Here’s the latest crop of Astroturf :

Bankrupting America isn’t a grassroots movement in any stretch of the imagination, but rather a project by PR and marketing firm, Patriot Group.

“We are a company of public affairs principals, not an advertising agency or public relations firm. We have assembled a group of individuals with the finest minds and deepest reservoirs of experience in business, government and politics.”

from Patriot Group website

As you can see they are a group of true blue average Joe and Jane Americans - or the inevitable result of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision which took the lid - and all sensible restrictions - off campaign money.

These people are not local. They don’t have any interest in Nevada, Sharron Angle, Nevada’s politics or its citizens. They have one master - Republican money and power. That’s why they can lie so easily about the issues here.

Then there is the ‘guy with the shovel, quit digging’ commercial:

And another ad by the same firm:

Yup, these ads were produed by another marketing/PR/lobbying firm, Public Notice. Bankrupting America is simply an ad campaign. Nothing more. No mom’s and pop’s. No rallies. Just commercials. These people also aren’t in Nevada.

“Public Notice is an independent non-profit dedicated to providing facts and insight on the economy and how government policy affects Americans’ financial well-being.” from Public Notice website

But when you read their ‘About Us’ statement, gee …. it sounds a LOT like a PR firm’s Statement of Qualifications. At least to me - a used to be PR hack. The last thing Public Notice actually IS, is dedicated to anything other than making a big profit telling lies for any client that will foot the bill.

Now, you know why I exited the PR business, with a vow never, ever to engage in it again.

The line between legitimate, above board PR and this sort of political prostitution is just too fine for me to walk.

This sort of thing is the anti-thesis of representative democracy, which is why I was adamantly opposed to the Citizens United SCOTUS decision. If that misguided decision isn’t the functional definition of an activist court, then nothing is. The good news is that the Court has made bad decisions in the past, and somehow, Congress was able to mitigate the damage.