The "Goon Squad"

The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights put together this report on "the destruction of initiative democracy by big corporations trying to disguise themselves. ... When consumer advocates sponsor HMO reform, or utility rate reduction proposals, for example, insurance lobbyists or utility executives stay behind the scenes. Instead, they give money to individuals or organizations who then appear in their television ads, press conferences and other events, pretending to be impartial experts, consumer advocates, environmentalists, etc. The strategy's been called 'astroturf' or 'corporate camouflage.' We call these phony individuals and organizations the 'goon squad.' " Examples include David Horowitz, Voter Revolt, Andrew Tobias, the Planning & Conservation League, Walter Zelman, the Greenlining Institute, Jeffrey O'Connell, and the University of Wisconsin's Auto Accident Compensation Project.