In blogtopia (y, sctp!) “astroturf” is the terminology applied to fake political grassroots activity.

I opened up my local paper this afternoon (The Warrensburg Daily Star-Journal) and had the rare privilege to read a rather lengthy letter to the editor by Carl Bearden, representing himself as the state director of Americans for Prosperity Missouri, attacking the Employee Free Choice Act.

Carl Bearden, Carl Bearden? Where have I seen that name before? Oh, yes:

Individual Lobbyist Pricipal List for: Carl Bearden [pdf]

AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY AND FOUNDATION

912 EAST BROADWAY

COLUMBIA MO 65201

573-256-1322 A 11/9/2007

PELOPIDAS, LLC

912 EAST BROADWAY, SUITE 207

COLUMBIA MO 65201

573-256-1322 A 7/19/2007

THE BROWN LOBBY FIRM, LLC

912 EAST BROADWAY, SUITE 208

COLUMBIA MO 65201

314-540-5515 A 8/2/2007

[emphasis added]

Hey, they’re all neighbors! Or do you think it’s like one of those mailbox drop places?

Back to a few key phrases in that letter in today’s Warrensburg Daily Star-Journal:

6/19/2009 10:22:00 AM

Union leaders desperate, threaten secret ballot vote

Letter to the Editor

Union leaders nationally are desperate…

…unions have turned toward an Orwellian named proposed federal legislation called the Employee Free Choice Act…

…The unions are promoting the act as the best method to increase membership, and improve wages and working conditions. But don’t be fooled…

…One union boss, Andy Stern of the SEIU…

Interestingly enough, a Carl Bearden wrote an op-ed in the Springfield News-Leader last week:

Unions up to no good with new legislation

Carl Bearden June 13, 2009

Union leaders nationally are desperate…

…unions have turned toward an Orwellian named proposed federal legislation called the Employee Free Choice Act…

…The unions are promoting the act as the best method to increase membership, and improve wages and working conditions. But don’t be fooled…

…One union boss, Andy Stern of the SEIU…

You get the picture.

So, if Andy Stern, President of the Service Employees International Union can be called a “union boss” in a letter to the editor, don’t you think that Carl Bearden should be identified as a “connected republican lobbyist” in that same editorial page?

Back to Americans for Prosperity. There’s an Americans for Prosperity Foundation registered with the Missouri Secretary of State. And their filing [pdf]contains all kinds of information:

David Koch? The billionaire? He doesn’t like organized labor?

Back to Carl Bearden, and Tilley, and Brown, oh my!:

Today’s Republican Floor Leader co-owns plane with Lobbyist story is [RBH]

A Plane, a Business, a Representative, and a Lobbyist

A Plane, a Business, a Representative, and a Lobbyist, part 2

A Plane, a Business, a Representative, and a Lobbyist, part 3

You get the picture.

And, by the way, the Employee Free Choice Act doesn’t “do away” with the secret ballot. It just leaves the choice up to the working people who will be doing the voting, not the billionaires.

From the Service Employees International Union (hat tip to Yellow Dog at They gave us a republic…):

Meanwhile, thanks to republican right wingnuts in the Missouri General Assembly:

FIRST REGULAR SESSION

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 31

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE CUNNINGHAM.

0987l.01I                                                                                                                                                    D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk

JOINT RESOLUTION

Submitting to the qualified voters of Missouri an amendment repealing section 25 of article I of the Constitution of Missouri, and adopting one new section in lieu thereof relating to guaranteeing the right to vote by secret ballot.

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring therein:

           That at the next general election to be held in the state of Missouri, on Tuesday next following the first Monday in November, 2010, or at a special election to be called by the governor for that purpose, there is hereby submitted to the qualified voters of this state, for adoption or rejection, the following amendment to article I of the Constitution of the state of Missouri:

           Section A. Section 25, article I, Constitution of Missouri, is repealed and one new section adopted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 25, to read as follows:

           Section 25. That all elections shall be free and open; and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage; and that the right of individuals to vote by secret ballot is fundamental and thus, where state or federal law requires elections for public office or public votes on initiatives or referenda, or designations or authorizations of employee representation, the right of individuals to vote by secret ballot shall be guaranteed.

[emphasis in original]

Hmmm. A secret ballot for public votes for public office, or public initiatives or referenda. Quite unlike those previous instances, how is an authorization vote which will determine a part of the relationship between an employer (many which are privately held enterprises) and employees (private individuals) fodder for a constitutional amendment in the State of Missouri? Just asking.

Okay, the right to bargain collectively is in the Missouri Constitution. Is HJR31 a solution in search of a problem? I suppose it would be a problem for those who aren’t sympathetic to the concept of organized workers bargaining collectively. Just think of the probable downsizing of employee exploitation. The thought could make a robber baron shudder.

Here’s the current status of HJR31:

Missouri House of Representatives

95th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session

Activity History for HJR31

As of March 2, 2009, 7:07 pm

Date Jrn Pg Activity Description

02/23/2009 H 371 Introduced and Read First Time (H)

02/24/2009 H 381 Read Second Time (H)

02/26/2009 H 417 Referred: Special Standing Committee on General Laws (H)

[emphasis added]

As I understand it, the governor cannot veto this if it passes.

Educate yourself about what the Employee Free Choice Act actually does. Go ahead, it’ll be good for you. Especially if you’re a working stiff and not a robber baron. That way you can then educate some squeamish members of Congress.

Steve Bough over at the Jackson County Democratic Blog notes that the Chamber of Commerce-anointed HJR 31 that I mentioned earlier today gives the “Sweet Sixteen” group of moderate, pro-labor Republicans a perfect opportunity to show their true colors:

The Sweet 16 are a group of allegedly moderate Republicans in the Missouri House who take money, support and votes from organized labor and are allegedly supportive of unions.  Well, we will see.

Indeed. Are these so-called moderates going to side with the Chamber of Commerce or their friends in labor when they have to vote on an anti-labor constitutional amendment?

From the AFL-CIO:

…Today, American Rights at Work, the national workers’ advocacy group, launches a new ad campaign to cut through the dishonest spin about the Employee Free Choice Act, a vital bill to restore the freedom to form unions and bargain and make the economy work for everyone.

The broadcast and print ads, set to launch Sunday, will push back on a massive and misleading corporate campaign, in which anti-worker front groups are blanketing politicians, journalists and the public with falsehoods about the Employee Free Choice Act…

Union!

Interestingly enough, some people don’t like unions or the Employee Free Choice Act: “Bailout Recipients Hosted Call To Defeat Key Labor Bill”. Go. Read the whole thing. Some of the hyperbole is delicious, especially the part about “the demise of civilization.” I wonder why someone would think that?

Friday, March 7, 2008 at 11:00 AM EST

The ‘Fortunate 400?

Here’s a little something to chew on while you get your income tax files together this season. Median income in the USA is $48,000. Average annual income of the top four hundred taxpayers? Two hundred and fourteen million dollars. Yep. Two hundred and fourteen million.

Their share of the nation’s income has doubled since 1995. And the tax bill of our happy gazillionaires? Well, it’s fallen by almost half in that same period, from 30 to 18 percent.

Compare that against yours, and the national deficit…

And more recently:

JANUARY 30, 2009

For ‘Fortunate 400,’ a Tumbling Tax Rate

By JESSE DRUCKER

The nation’s top 400 taxpayers made more than $263 million on average in 2006, as the stock market was rallying, but paid income taxes at the lowest rate in the 15 years that the Internal Revenue Service has tracked such data, according to figures released Thursday…

Oh, I now understand this “demise of civilization” thing. It’s about money. That explains everything. You see, if employees unionize they might be able to negotiate an actual living wage and decent benefits – and maybe ‘almost” billionaires would just control hundreds of millions of dollars of personal wealth instead of approaching their dream of controlling billions. It all makes sense now…