Kochs' "Grassroots Leadership Academy" Is Training an Astroturf Army

[Lodestar]

With no clear favorite in the 2016 U.S. presidential primary race -- following Gov. Scott Walker's early exit and Trump's march toward the nomination -- the Koch brothers have turned their attention (and opened their wallets) to races for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House and state governorships.

But with the Kochs having already spent at least $400 million of $889 million committed to the 2016 election cycle, according to news reports, where is that money being spent?

An under-covered arm of the Koch political operations is a likely recipient of some of that cash and it's called Americans for Prosperity's "Grassroots Leadership Academy."

Koch Ground Troops

The Republican Party has long been disadvantaged in the electoral ground game. It does not have as many community-based institutions to knock on doors and pass out literature as the Democratic Party, which enjoys broad backing from unions and other community-based organizations.

This is why the Kochs built the multi-million dollar political operation, Americans for Prosperity (AFP), which spends millions on phony "issue ads" in the election cycle and also recruits the Kochs' "grassroots."

Cont'd
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/36059-kochs-grassroots-leadership-academy-training-astroturf-army

[underthematrix]

1. I don't understand why any amount of money would persuade anyone to vote

for lunatics, wingnuts and crazies. My vote is not for sale.

[LiberalArkie]

2. Neither was hers

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511982717

[underthematrix]

3. She's supposed to be a "christian"?

[Baobab]

4. This stuff should be very illegal

As it undermines democracy

[Pakid]

5. Please send one of these clown to knock on my door

I haven't had the chance to tell a fool off for a long time.

[bemildred]

6. “I suspect it will be hard for paid operatives to win a trolling war

against people who don’t need to be paid to troll,” he said.

Exactly.

ETA: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=1927125