Astroturf?

I have seen this term used here recently. Not sure whether it is about the birthers or about the mob at the town hall meetings.

Can someone please enlighten me?

Thanks

So the political astroturf is artificial grassroots. Get it? :)

was not thinking of grassroots.

:hi:

Thank you!

I was curious about that.

People like populist movements, so corporate systems created one where it left out part of the equation, so people would fight for what the few wanted, while thinking they were fighting for the many.

The Libertarian equation is broken because it misses a variable that flips the equation, but is mostly only seen by those that promote it for their own gain, so it does not promote what the people in the organization think it does.

It is actually really sinister, it creates a populist movement with all the themes of the many, but by leaving out part of it, it actually supports the few that those themes speak against.

describe the town hall protests as phony grass roots. The protests are being organized to appear as if they are grass roots citizen protests when in fact they are being funded and organized by insurance companies. Astroturf = fake grass.

without "offending" the Fox crowd by calling them a mob.

The term is said to have been used first in this context by former US Senator Lloyd Bentsen. It is wordplay based on grassroots democracy efforts – truly spontaneous undertakings largely sustained by private persons – as opposed to politicians, governments, corporations, or public relations firms. AstroTurf refers to the bright green artificial grass used in some sports stadiums, so "astroturfing" refers to imitating or faking popular grassroots opinion or behaviour.

This practice is specifically prohibited by the code of ethics of the Public Relations Society of America, the national association for members of the public relations profession in the United States. As a private organization, the most significant punishment PRSA can hand out to members who engage in astroturfing is revocation of membership in the association. Although the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) does not specifically mention astroturfing, it does require honest communication.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing

You don't have many politicians these days who can come with such a response as he did with Dan Quayle.

the current brouhaha.

Teabaggers = The folks against taxes that hold Tea Parties

Birthers = The folks that don't believe that Obama was born in Hawaii and want to see his long form birth certificate --- even though he has produced a certified copy with a seal and the REPUBLICAN Governor of Hawaii has stated that he was born in Hawaii.

Astroturfers/Turfers = The folks that are being organized and riled up by lobbyists, insurance companies, big pharma, and the right-wing via emails, websites, talk radio and FoxNews - they are the ones going to the health care town hall meetings to protest and cause a ruckus

The 912'ers = The folks that are part of Glenn Beck's new 9-12 Project
http://www.the912project.com/
http://www.the912project.com/the-912-2/

Edited to Add:
PUMA's = A group of fanatical women trying to cause havoc where they can.
First they were just pro-Hillary, anti-Obama. Now they are anti-Obama, anti-Dems, and anti-Men.

You have to be a blithering idiot to be ANY of those.

which, frankly, I think it "wishing for the old America" with no black president and no Latina Supreme Court Justice.

Oh, and where Bush actually appeared to know what he was doing - when he grabbed that megaphone from the group working at Ground Zero...

Deather, defined

Main entry: deather
Function: noun
Etymology: From birther, a related conspiracy theory which holds that President Obama is not a natural born U.S. citizen. Inspired by the teabaggers of April 15, 2009.
Date: Mid-2009
Definition: One who believes or spreads the false conspiracy theory that the health care reform legislation before Congress would create "death panels" or force seniors and sick people into euthanasia.
Examples: Sarah Palin is a deather. Glenn Beck is a deather. Rush Limbaugh is a deather.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/8/10/764581/-Glenn-Beck-is-a-deather

It's top down instead of bottom up.

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Do you seriously think the Obama campaign was a grassroots movement? Why not send an email to Noam Chomsky and see what he thinks?

I'm down with Kucinich. Of course, he never had a chance. The party leadership would never allow it.

Now that the election is over, and yes, Kucinich never had a chance. Why are you here NOW?

As an Anarchist however you won't last one week around here so there really isn't much point in starting a conversation about it.

show up on DU from time to time.

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under the astroturf.