Astroturf Update: House investigation discovers more forged letters

categories: Astroturf, Fossil Energy, Greenhouse Gas, Policy & Legislation

Published August 18, 2009 @ 05:41PM PT

A congressional investigation has yielded five more fraudulent letters sent to Congress in opposition to the House energy and climate bill that passed narrowly in June. This brings the total to 13 so far, with dozens more letters left to verify or debunk.

The letters were made to look as if they were written by legitimate grassroots community groups and associations -- nine in all -- and sent to three House members: Kathy Dahlkemper (D-Pa.), Christopher Carney (D-Pa.), and Tom Perriello (D-Va.). "All three Members represent conservative, Republican-leaning districts and could be vulnerable in the 2010 elections," writes Anna Palmer at Roll Call.

The letters were actually created by the campaign-organizing firm Bonner & Associates, which was hired by the corporate PR firm Hawthorn Group, which in turn was engaged by the industry group American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy (ACCCE) to generate opposition to the bill.

Bonner and Associates has claimed that the letters were the work of a temporary employee gone roguewho's since been fired. The firm, which has a long history of working to promote anti-reform political agendas, has used that excuse before when it's been caught in corrupt activities.

Bonner worked in the late 1990s to avert U.S. ratification of the Kyoto Treaty to cap and lower greenhouse gas pollution. Then as now, the firm played upon fears of higher energy rates, without regard for their basis in reality. "But a former Bonner and Associates employee who spoke to TPMmuckraker" when this story broke at the end of July "significantly complicated that picture, portraying Bonner and Associates as a place where ethical missteps were far from rare. 'They just got caught this time,' he said."

As the three representatives received 58 letters in all, the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming is continuing to investigate the fraud. The committee, headed by energy bill co-sponsor Edward Markey (D-Mass.), has the power to subpoena witnesses to testify before Congress.

The astroturf letters released today were written to look as if they were coming from groups advocating for senior citizens -- grandma and grandpa, who would have to forego food and prescription medications if their heating and cooling bills went up due to a cap-and-trade system for cutting carbon emissions.

"Dahlkemper received a letter claiming to be from the Erie Center on Health and Aging that warned of higher electric bills should the climate bill pass," reports Jim Snyder on TheHill.com:

“We ask you to use your very important position to help protect seniors and other consumers in Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional district from higher electricity bills,” the letter states.

Carney, meanwhile, received a letter from the Dunmore Senior Citizens that included phrases similar to those in the letter to Dahlkemper.

“Many of our seniors, as you know, are on low fixed incomes. The cost to heat and cool our homes, run hot water and use other appliances is very important to those on a budget,” both letters state.

[[According to a non-partisan analysis, the bill as passed by the House would raise energy bills by an average of only $175 a year per household, less than $0.50 a day, by 2020 -- with the poorest Americans actually getting some money back.]]

Astroturf letters released earlier by the Select Committee faked the authorship of grassroots minority groups -- NAACP and Creciendo Juntos -- as well as other real-grassroots organizations. (The links go to the actual astroturf anti-cap-and-trade letters, at the Talking Points Memo's documents collection).

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Bonner & Associates claims they fired the lone. rogue temp responsible for the forgeries. Congress should subpoena Bonner & Associates' top partners and that lone rogue temp supposedly solely responsible for the forgeries and have them answer tough questions under oath so they can be criminally charged, imprisoned, and closed down permanently if the fraud was initiated by Bonner and top assoociates rather than that lone, rogue temp as Bonner and top associates publicly claim. Put the bigshots' feet to the fire in a perjury trap to get to the TRUTH, and this criminal non-sense will stop quickly!!

Posted by Jeffrey Hill on 08/19/2009 @ 02:39PM PT
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Waxman's committee, the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, does have subpoena power. That's part of what makes this fraud more than a run-of-the-mill bad acts story: the potential that Bonner & Assoc., Hawthorn, and ACCCE will be called to testify on the forgeries.

Posted by Emily Gertz on 08/20/2009 @ 03:25PM PT
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If i remember correctly, isn't there a law, which forbids perpetrating fraud against congress? My husband is now giving Republicans kudos, as they are really good at this subversive behavior. We have decided that our party can lie, cheat, steal and hide behind Christian beliefs better than any other group in the history of this nation....Yes, we really are Independentand voted for Pres. Obama. and will continue to vote Democratic until change actually happens

Posted by Cindy lang on 08/20/2009 @ 04:56PM PT
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The hypocrisy is unbelieveable. All you political activists do all the same crap. If the media really did their job they'd be looking at alleged "astroturf" on both sides. You all organize, you all get backed by millions of dollars and professionals, and occassionally there is genuinely enough outrage when things get so bad that a true grassroots upheaval happens. Based upon the polls, this may be one.

Posted by James Dunham on 08/21/2009 @ 04:01PM PT
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Wish I'd earned me some of those millions in my activist salad days, 20 years ago.

Posted by Emily Gertz on 08/21/2009 @ 08:37PM PT
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