What makes Organizing for America different from Americans for Prosperity?

[LLStarks]

Aside from policy goals, aren't both considered top-down organizations?

I don't mean to condemn OfA's work, but I think it's a bit facetious to call out AfP for astroturfing while not doing the same of OfA.

True grassroots reform is bottom-up and as far as I can see, neither side's organizations represent that.

[LLStarks]

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[LLStarks]

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[Emit]

3. Tell me how OfA is similar to this

Americans for Prosperity

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Americans for Prosperity Has History of Launching Front Groups to Fight Against Progressive Priorities. In the past, Americans for Prosperity has started a host of groups to fight against legislative priorities, including the Hot Air Tour questioning global warming, Save My Ballot Tour, launched to fight against the Employee Free Choice Act, and No Stimulus, formed to attempt to derail the passage of the Recovery Act. (Hotairtour.org, accessed 8/5/2009; Savemyballot.com, accessed 8/5/2009; Nostimulus.com, accessed 8/5/2009)

Americans for Prosperity Opposed Expansion Of Children's Health Insurance. In 2007, Americans for Prosperity opposed legislation to expand children's health insurance to cover millions of additional kids. The legislation would have provided funding to boost enrollment to 10 million children, up from 6.6 million. (Americans for Prosperity Release, 10/18/07, 7/30/2007)

Americans For Prosperity Established by Oil Magnate David Koch. In 2003, David Koch "a major contributor to the Republican Party and supporter of conservative causes...helped establish the nonprofit Americans for Prosperity Foundation...It split off from an earlier Koch-backed enterprise, now called FreedomWorks." (New York Times, 7/10/2008)

* 2000: Koch Industries Paid $30 Million In Fines For Oil Spills. In 2000, Koch Industries paid $30 million in what was at the time the largest civil fine ever imposed on a company under any federal environmental law, to resolve claims related to more than 300 oil spills from its pipelines and oil facilities in six states. (EPA Press release)

* 2009: Koch Industries Subsidiary Paid $1.7 Million In Penalties. In 2009, "Invista, a subsidiary of Koch Industries" paid "$1.7 million in civil penalties to the federal government and to three states after numerous violations at its chemical plants." (New York Times, 4/14/2009)

* Koch Admitted Releasing a Dangerous Carcinogen. In 2002, the Washington City Paper reported that a "97-count indictment against Koch Industries and Koch Petroleum Group LP for violating the Clean Air Act and hazardous-waste laws, filed in 2000, was settled last year with a $20 million assessment and an admission by the company that it had vented benzene, a carcinogen, directly into the air at its Corpus Christi, Texas, plant." (Washington City Paper, 3/14/2002)

Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips Founded Firm With Abramoff-Connected Ralph Reed. "In 1997, Phillips and former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed founded Atlanta-based Century Strategies." (National Journal, 2/25/2006)

* Enron Paid Firm $380,000 To Deregulate Industry. Phillips' and Reed's firm, Century Strategies, was retained by Enron from 1997 until 2001 and they were paid $380,000. Reed "offered to help Enron Corp. deregulate the electricity industry by working his 'good friends' in Washington and by mobilizing religious leaders and pro-family groups for the cause." (Washington Post, 2/17/2002)

* Phillips Helped Disgraced Lobbyist Jack Abramoff Funnel Money. In 2000, Tim Phillips reportedly recruited Robin Vanderwall to run the non-profit Faith and Family Alliance. According to the Washington Post, "Faith and Family allegedly was used by Abramoff to funnel money to a campaign to defeat legislation to prohibit gambling over the Internet. Money was sent from a client of Abramoff's to Americans for Tax Reform, which kept a portion. The rest was routed to Faith and Family, records show. Vanderwall then made out a check for the identical amount and sent it to the political consulting firm where Phillips is vice president. That firm was founded by former Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed, an Abramoff friend. The money was meant to attack conservative Republicans who backed the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, a review of records shows." (Washington Post, 11/3/2005)

(From SEIU)

As far as your top-down assertion, on edit, while I do certainly see your point that OFA appears top-down and functionally requires that in order to have some form of cohesiveness and direction, you appear to not know the bottom-up grassroots history of what is now Organizing for America.

From the original OFA 2.0 meeting back in Dec of '08, aside from their obvious goal of supporting Obama's/Democratic legislative agenda, they plan to do "electoral organizing behind local candidates, expand civic engagement, and facilitate two-way communication with the administration." In essence, the flavor of OFA in its current form is one of sharing stories, inviting discussion, going door to door in neighborhoods to discuss legislation and priority issues (both local and natl), promoting meaningful action-oriented activities of all sorts in the community (i.e., food drives) and, overall, attempting to bridge bottom grassroots with the top through increased communication top to bottom and bottom to top, so to speak. On edit, these groups that continue to participate in OFA do so with and without direction from Obama and the administration. Many folks I know who remain involved are doing their own thing, basically, with very little involvement from OFA. In short, OFA 2.0 appears to me an attempt to capture and continue the grassroots' sweat equity that brought that campaign to fruition through the primaries. The dilemma, however, as you point out, is how to turn a grassroots campaign into a movement supportive of Obama's policies while maintaining its grassroots style and flavor.