Bush Government Propaganda: Much Worse Than You Think

Regular readers might understand why my ears started tingling when I saw that disgraced GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff was involved with a company called "Grassroots Interactive".

My old friends at the bogus US "charity" Spirit Of America, you will remember, were clients of a company called "Direct Impact", a marketing company that uses so-called "grassroots" techniques to target unsuspecting minds.

Grassroots marketing is an eminently modern concept. The idea is to "spread a buzz" among advertising-weary consumers without them ever being aware that they are actually being targetted by commercial propaganda. The thought of using such covert marketing techniques to promote government agendas is something which should be reprehensible to all decent citizens, yet the practice seems to have quietly slipped into our lives without any serious public debate (or even general awareness).

Abramoff's "Grassroots Interactive" was ostensibly a lobbying firm and it may well be that they confined their activites to regular lobbyist work (notwithstanding it was also working as a front for concealing funds). But the name "Grassroots Interactive"is very suggestive, isn't it? I have long suspected that a large segment of the most vehemently pro-Bush voices on the Internet are paid marketing agents. And I am not just talking about big-name bloggers or bogus GOP-friendly "news" sites here. I am talking about the rabidly pro-war, pro-Bush comment-posters who have infested the Internet over the past five years.

If you have ever tried to criticize Bush online, you know who I am talking about. Some of these people seem to be online just about 24 hours a day, lurking around different sites simultaneously, even posting under different monikers, always ready to shoot down the first piece of intelligent criticism that comes along with a snide response that somehow always mimicks the latest GOP talking point.

So I thought it might be a good time to take another look at Direct Impact's (re-vamped) website. Who are these people anyway?

Direct Impact claim their staff come from "leading public affairs firms, the federal government, high-level strategic positions in congressional offices and top public relations and advertising agencies." SourceWatch confirms the by-now expected link to Bush's GOP:

In September 2005, president & CEO Craig G. Veith left Direct Impact after three years, "to pursue other interests," according to PR Week. Instead of replacing him directly, the firm hired Whitfield (formerly of BKSH & Associates and the Ronald Reagan administration) and DenHerder (who "previously worked as a regional political director for the Bush 2004 campaign").

In fact, Direct Impact's own website proudly trumpets their many GOP links. Here's what it says about chairman Dennis Whitfield:

Whitfield served in both of President Ronald Reagan’s administrations, initially as chief of staff for the United States Trade Representative, and then as the deputy secretary of labor. He was nominated to the latter position by President Reagan in October of 1985 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate the following November. As deputy secretary, Whitfield served as the chief operating officer for a department with ten major agencies, 19,000 employees and ten regional offices...

From 1977 to 1981, he worked for the Republican National Committee, where he served in several capacities, including national political director. Prior to joining the RNC, he served as special assistant to the secretary of agriculture and was a senior legislative assistant at the U.S. Department of Agriculture from January 1976 to February 1977.

And here's the bio on COO Dave DenHerder:

Prior to joining Direct Impact, DenHerder spent 18 months as a regional political director for Bush-Cheney ’04. He was responsible for developing, planning and managing all political and grassroots operations in seven states, including Ohio, West Virginia and Michigan. He also acted as the campaign’s liaison with state political and elected leaders.

Prior to the campaign, DenHerder was the White House Liaison and Special Assistant to the Secretary of Labor. His extensive political and campaign experience includes BC ’00, Illinois Victory 2000, Lightfoot for Governor in 1998 and Lightfoot for Senate in 1996. In addition, he has experience as a staff member on the Hill working for Representatives Leach and Christensen.

In fact, the company seems to be riddled with GOP'ers. Senior Strategic Counselor William "Bill" Lee was involved in the presidential campaigns of Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp, George H.W. Bush, Senator Phil Gramm and Senator Bob Dole. Lee remains active in the US Military and presumably excercises his influence there. Even Senior Vice President Mary Beth Bloomberg is a former senior health official in the Reagan Administration.

Still , nothing wrong with that, is there? Being closely associated with a party that is riddled with corruption does not make you or your company corrupt per se. Even if your company is a subsidiary of the GOP-friendly Burson-Marsteller:

In April 2005, Jack O'Dwyer's Newsletter reported that Burson-Marsteller had joined with Quinn Gillespie & Associates to launch 360 Advantage, a public affairs shop filled with "key players in George W. Bush's successful presidential campaigns." 360 Advantage is headed by Russ Schriefer, who did advertising with the Bush/Cheney 2000 and 2004 campaigns and produced the 2004 Republican National Convention, and by Stuart Stevens, a "Bush adman and veteran political strategist."

Burson-Marsteller's clients include Ahmed Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress. Still... what does that prove, right?

Let's get back to Direct Impact. Now that we know who these guys are, what do they actually do? Here's how they describe it:

Grassroots communications affect us every day of our lives, whether we know it or not.

An opinion editorial on an important issue; a health screening at work that motivates you to learn more; a website link allowing you to instantly email your Member of Congress.

Drawing on the "word of mouth" concept, Direct Impact's grassroots communications capture and involve audiences like no other form of communications.

One message. Community voices.

It's a simple fact. People embrace messages when they are delivered through locally known and trusted sources.

Direct Impact's local market presence in every political jurisdiction and Designated Market Area (DMA) in the United States offers the native intelligence and homegrown relationships to ensure our clients' messages hit home with the right audiences. Direct Impact's field teams have the community reach to get it done.

And here's a bit more low-level information on just how they "get it done":

We take care to identify communications channels within communities, whether it be through local chambers of commerce, PTAs, women's groups, patient organizations, small-business councils or faith-based organizations. By targeting the right people with the right messages, we build grassroots momentum to educate audiences and affect a behavior change that often has lasting impact on their lives....

Our Grassroots Communications, Outreach and Mobilization (COM) Center is a one-of-a-kind telecommunications platform to engage and bypass gatekeepers. Using unscripted discussion guides, COM specialists navigate their way through front-line barriers to connect with hard-to-reach audiences—recruiting, educating and mobilizing targeted individuals to take action.

And did I mention talk radio yet? It's just one of their many "channels" ...

Through the strategic, creative application of these resources, we recruit and educate credible community-based thought and opinion leaders to incite action. These trusted allies become our message advocates, who penetrate the clutter to deliver personalized communications that make target audiences sit up and take notice.

And what about the media?

Former elected officials and staffers, lobbyists, marketing professionals, branding experts, issue champions, reporters and newspaper editors, Direct Impact's local field representatives maintain deep relationships with community members, organizations and media outlets that can be activated anytime, anyplace on behalf of our clients.

Now if, in the wake of NSA spy networks, lobbyists bieng indicted, paid media stories and all the rest that has happened in the past 6 months or more, the above information has not been enough to scare you, well... you probably haven't been paying enough attention.