None Dare Call It Astroturf

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The moneyed interests that organized last week’s Tea Party protests may insist that their efforts did not constitute astroturfing–that, much like the anti-Iraq war protesters who’ve taken to the streets between 2003 and today, the tea party attendees are articulating organic anger, and groups like FreedomWorks have only helped them co-ordinate.

That’s probably not how students and officials at Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls, SD feel about it. According to the Argus Leader, 19 school drummers and 15 choir members (though there appears to be some overlap between the two) showed up at the local tea party and were shocked to find themselves at a political event.

The school’s assistant principle, Mike Klinedinst, told the Leader that the band and choir had been assured the event would be non-partisan, and the students themselves were told to expect a re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party, organized by Sen. John Thune (R-SD).

The reality was, of course, very different, and seems to have put the school in violation of district policy. The invitations came from a percussion teacher (whose wife works in Thune’s office), and from Sioux Falls lawyer Jim Even. I’ve placed a call to Even to see where he first learned about the protests and how he characterized the even to the school, and will report back if I learn anything more.

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