I am guessing there's a bit more to it than not toeing the line, most of the senior active party members regularly do their own thing and disagree with specific policy. The party only gets pissy when office holders, gov't or party type, make statements that are contrary and derogatory.



If these guys are birthers they aren't popular with the GOP.



I actually don't get your point. As I said way back, I think it was wrong-headed of you to even involve yourself there.



Astro-turfing is what the other side calls it when any vaguely grassroots group is even suspected of getting any support or guidance from a political group. It's a dumb and hypocritical notion, because any grassroots group with common sense will be reaching out to experienced politicos for tactics and support, and the 'establishment' will try to absorb them because that's common sense. Of course I tend to hold 'grassroots' efforts in moderate contempt anyway, the cult analogies I often make about such groups aren't made casually. Most grassroots groups that manage not to fall apart or get absorbed long enough to last a year or so tend to have similar characteristics to a cult.



I don't think so, look I've got a spreadsheet of people who are willing to write letters to the editor, already know the stuff, and will do it for free. Some aren't eloquent, others are, and I'm anything but unique in keeping a physical or mental list of such people. Why spend money when we're always low on it and we always need to find things like this to keep people engaged and feeling like they do something important?



That logic sort of works except we've got interns and we don't usually need to pay them either, and most spend a lot of time doing boring make work outside of Fall every four years.