AFP Members: What are you going to do about this?

11/20/2009 (Via email/Hat tip: Linda Weimer, Benton County AFP Chair) - If you saw the editorial page of the Oregonian today, you saw a piece on Al Gore's visit to Oregon. In the piece, the Oregonian directly attacks AFP as a so-called "Astroturf" organization, one that does not have any real grassroots members and is controlled by big energy big-money in Washington, D.C. ∴ The editorial repeated Al Gore's claim that, "They sent a professional, so-called 'astroturf' organizer from Washington, D.C., to come out here to Portland," Gore said Wednesday. "This group is financed by the single largest private energy interest in the United States, Koch Industries." The editorial continued, "As The Oregonian's Matthew Preusch reported, the group behind the anti-Gore rallying is Americans for Prosperity, which claims to have 700,000 members in 50 states." The entire editorial can be read HERE. And, please...

ARE YOU ASTROTURF LIKE AL GORE AND NANCY PELOSI SAY YOU ARE???

According to the Oregonian and Al Gore, neither you or the members who attend your meetings exist. The Oregonian also doesn't seem to know that all of the money AFP-Oregon spends in Oregon is raised from Oregon - they seem to believe a bunch of oil companies from D.C. fund our operations. Apparently, they also believe it is a crime that David Koch, one of AFP's founders, has interests in the energy industry. These people are out to marginalize not just AFP, but you and your chapter members.

If any of this offends you, you can do something about it. Write a Letter to the Editor telling the Oregonian who you are as an AFP member - that you are not "Astroturf." Let them know that the AFP office in Washington, D.C. doesn't pull your strings and doesn't give you money.

Writing such a Letter to the Editor is very easy...The Oregonian provides guidelines for writing Letters to the Editor, along with the email link to actually submit one, at this web page:

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2008/04/letters_to_the_editor_policy.html

To further help you, you will find a PDF file containing the AFP University unit on "Writing Effective Letters to the Editor." Let's hit the Oregonian hard and show them that you, real grassroots volunteers, really exist in Oregon!

Good Luck

Richard P. Burke, Dir. of Grassroots Development
AFP - Oregon