A BRIEF HISTORY OF ASTROTURF

PART 1

INTRODUCTION

Former Senator Lloyd Bentsen is credited with coining the term "astroturf lobbying" to describe the synthetic grassroots movements that now can be manufactured for a fee by public relations and lobbying firms. One of the earliest known examples of “astroturfing” can be found in Act 1, Scene 2 of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar where Brutus is moved to assassinate Caesar in part by letters, forged by Cassius indicating public support for the assassination.

Cassius: “…………………I will this night,

In several hands, in at his windows throw [letters],

As if they came from several citizens.”

Wikipedia provides the following definition:

“Unlike genuine grassroots activism which tends to be money-poor but people-rich, astroturf campaigns are typically people-poor but cash-rich. Funded heavily by corporate largesse, they use sophisticated computer databases, telephone banks and hired organizers to rope less-informed activists into sending letters to their elected officials, attending protest gatherings and other activities

This definition overlooks the possibility that influence campaigns can be both cash- and people-rich as has been the case with the tea party where money from corporate interests and wealthy ideologues has been used to rally large numbers of people to support a conservative political agenda. I will discuss this in more detail in a later installment.

Virtually all influence campaigns, astroturf or otherwise, are characterized by:

1) The use of organizational tactics and communications technology funded by special interests - often corporate, political, ideological - to mobilize opposition to or support for a specific political or social agenda.

2) The mobilization of volunteers who engage in activities intended to influence public opinion and politicians.

I will argue that astroturf campaigns are distinguished by:

1) the transparency, or lack thereof, with which organizing entities present themselves and their real aims

2) the degree to which these organization rely on misinformation to generate support

It would be unfair and simplistic to associate astroturf campaigns exclusively with right wing or corporate interests although this charge is leveled most often at such groups. Likewise, it should not be assumed that ordinary citizens who participate in an astroturf campaigns might be dismissed as “hired hands” who do not believe in the cause they are supporting. While the organizing entities may have ulterior motives and hidden agendas, my first-hand experience at rallies and demonstrations leads me to believe that the vast majority of participants lend their support because they sincerely believe in the cause they are supporting. Participants in demonstrations, such as the Washington “Tea Party” of September, 12, 2009, clearly believed in the goals and objectives spelled out on their signs and were ordinary people, passionate believers willing to commit their time and resources to the cause.

Having defined astroturf, I will now present the story of Jack Abramoff, an influence peddler who took astroturf to unprecedented levels of sophistication and cynicism.

JACK ABRAMOFF AND MICHAEL SCANLON - EARLY ASTROTURF PIONEERS

One of the best documented cases of the use of astroturf is to be found in the frauds perpetrated by lobbyists Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon on behalf of a dozen Indian tribes that hired them to lobby for tribally owned casinos. In addition to providing an excellent example of astroturf, this sad tale illustrates how influence pedlars use money (outright cash payments or, more commonly, political contributions) and gifts to influence politicians and government officials. In their campaign to influence legislation on behalf of their Indian clients, for example, Abramoff and Scanlon financed an all-expenses paid outing at St. Andrews golf course for Congressman Bob Nev and Bush administration official David Safavian.

One of the earliest chapters in what became known as the Indian lobbying scandal was published in 2004 as part of a series of articles in the Washington Post. The Indian Lobbying scandal, as it came to be known, was first exposed in 2004 in a series of articles in the Washington Post. The Post stories prompted a lengthy investigation by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and additional investigations by five different government agencies, including the Department of Justice. So far, two dozen people have been indicted and/or convicted of giving or accepting bribes of one sort or another. The list includes a Congressmen, a host of Congressional staffers, Bush administration officials, and lobbyists. The Justice Department continues to prosecute cases arising from the activities of Abramoff and Scanlon, the most recent development being the 12 month prison sentence handed down to David Safavian, former head of the Government Services Administration, on October 16, 2009.

While the elaborate schemes of Abramoff and Scanlon to defraud the Indian tribes are a fascinating subject in and of themselves, the focus here will be on the way in which astroturfing was used to protect the profits of the casinos operated by the tribes. I will limit the discussion to Abramoff’s and Scanlon’s work with the Choctawtribe of Mississippi since it is highly representative of how Scanlon and Abramoff employed astroturf in their influence campaigns - with the Indian tribes as well as other clients . Included in the discussion will be an account of the activities of groups and individuals who facilitated and benefited from Abramoff’s corrupt activities. The reader will see that the behavior of all the participants in this drama - direct or indirect - are spectacularly cynical and amoral. And finally, I will attempt to the remarkable web of connections that directs the flow of money and influence through the body politic of America.

THE PLAYERS

Abramoff

Jack Abramoff became active in Republican party politics while still in college and was elected President of the College Republican National Committee (CRNC) in 1981, shortly after graduating from Brandeis University. His campaign for that office, interestingly enough, was managed by Grover Norquist[1], now head of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) - one of the groups that helped to organize the Washington Tea Party of September 12, 2009[2] (more about this later).

Another early associate was Ralph Reed, who later served as the head of Pat Robertson’s Christian Coalition from 1989 through 1997 when it wielded considerable political influence in support of conservative, Christian values. In 1981, Reed was still a student when he was recruited by Norquist to work as an intern with CRNC and during his first few weeks on the job, he actually slept on Abramoff’s couch.

Abramoff went on to graduate from Georgetown University Law School in 1986 with a J.D. degree

The year before he graduated, he founded the International Freedom Foundation (IFF) which, according to reports in The Observer and Newsday, was secretly funded by South Africa’s apartheid government.

"...the International Freedom Foundation was, in fact, a South African military intelligence front, created in the dying years of apartheid to win friends and influence people internationally, and to campaign against the African National Congress. In Washington it passed on information to a British-based company, Long Reach, also a military intelligence front, whose job was to gather data on the ANC for the apartheid government." [3]

According to a 1995 report issued by South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission the apartheid government had supported the IFF to the tune of $1.5 million a year from 1986 to 1992. They also financed a rabidly anti-communist B-movie called “Red Scorpion”, which Abramoff helped to write and produce while living in Hollywood. [4]

In December, 1994, Abramoff was hired by Preston Gates where he was able to parlay his Republican connections into a lucrative lobbying career. Abramoff’s first dealings with Indian tribes began in 1995 but the frauds did not really kick into high gear until 2001 after he moved to another lobbying firm, Greenberg Traurig, and formed a secret partnership with Michael Scanlon. (More on this later.)

Following an exposé published in The Washington Post in February 2004[5], Abramoff’s life began to unravel. He was fired by Greenberg Traurig, and both the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and the Department of Justice initiated investigations. On January 3, 2006, Abramoff pleaded guilty to three criminal felony counts — conspiracy, fraud, and tax evasion. He was sentenced on September 24, 2008 to four years in the Federal Correctional Facility in Cumberland, MD. At the time of his sentencing, he had already served 21 months of a six-year sentence on charges unrelated to the Indian frauds. He was released from prison on 6/8/10 and worked for six months at a kosher pizza parlor in Pikesville, MD as a condition of his parole. He is the subject of a movie, “Casino Jack” released in December, 2010 in which Kevin Spacy plays the Abramoff role.

Scanlon

Michael Scanlon followed the time-honored tradition of launching a lucrative career as a lobbyist by exploiting connections developed while working as a Congressional aide. In his last position on the Hill, Scanlon served from 1998 to March, 2000 as communications director for Rep. Tom DeLay (R - Texas). He resigned from that position to join the Washington lobbying firm, Preston Gates, where he worked closely with Jack Abramoff. After Abramoff left Preston Gates in January 2001, Scanlon formed his own public relations firm, Capitol Campaign Strategies (CCS) which was to become one of the main vehicles through which the Indian frauds were perpetrated. Neither the Indian tribes nor the lobbying firms for whom Scanlon and Abramoff worked knew that the two were working together until the scandal broke in early 2004. On November 21, 2005, Scanlon pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe a member of Congress and other public officials. He agreed to repay $19.6 million to his former Indian tribe lobbying clients and to cooperate with prosecutors in other investigations. Scanlon is scheduled for sentencing on 2/11/2011 as he continues to cooperate with prosecutors in ongoing cases related to the Indian frauds.

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Next Installment - The Indian Tribes Frauds - the Sordid Details

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[1] Norquist is often cited for his statement, “I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.”

[2] The “Tea Parties” were locally organized, but nationally coordinated demonstrations that occurred in dozens of cities across the county - most on April 15^th, 2009 - to protest “big government” and taxes. The Washington Tea Party added anti-health care reform and anti-Obama themes.

[3] . Phillip Van Niekerk, "How Apartheid conned the West", The Observer, July 16, 1995, Sunday.

[4] Dele Olojede and Tim Phelps, “Front for Apartheid: Washington-based think tank said to be part of ruse to prolong power", Newsday, July 16, 1995.

[5] Susan Schmidt, “A Jackpot From Indian Gaming Tribes; Lobbying, PR Firms Paid $45 Million Over 3 Years.” The Washington Post, February 22, 2004.

Sunday, December 26, 2010