Huh. It's not just a line in a commercial. There are grassroots / astroturf? "vaper" groups for electronic cigarettes.

" Like the other members of the team, he posed as a disinterested member of the public. Or, to be more accurate, as a crowd of disinterested members of the public: he used 70 personas, both to avoid detection and to create the impression there was widespread support for his pro-corporate arguments. "

" The trainer, Austin James, was instructing Tea Party members on how to "manipulate the medium". This is what he told them: "Here's what I do. I get on Amazon; I type in 'Liberal books'. I go through and I say 'one star, one star, one star'. The flipside is you go to a conservative/ libertarian whatever, go to their products and give them five stars "

" in its 2001 tax returns, 60 Plus failed to list any revenue from membership dues, and that virtually all of its contributions came from the nation's pharmaceutical industry. Similarly, on its most recent publicly-available IRS filing from 2008 available from Guidestar, the group reports income of over $1.8 million, with none of it coming from membership dues. "

" The Tea Party evolved out of the pro-offshore drilling astroturf movement in 2008. They even share some of the same organizers and front groups, from PR operative like Eric Odom, to advocacy groups like FreedomWorks, "

" Social Security Institute President Larry Hunter, a longtime Republican adviser, will launch the for-profit Alliance for Retirement Prosperity on Wednesday, representing a $5 million conservative challenge to the AARP. "

"Over the past year, I have run clandestine marketing campaigns meant to ensure that promotional videos become truly viral... I will share some of the techniques I use to do my job: to get at least 100,000 people to watch my clients’ “viral” videos"

"The Free Speech Coalition is now leading the fight against proposals for mandatory reporting... Led by conservative fixtures such as direct-mail guru Richard Viguerie and Free Congress Foundation chief Paul Weyrich, ..."

On Third Millennium (now 18 to 35): "it lists only 1,700 members. ... funding by a blue-chip roster of Wall Street interests, including Merrill Lynch, David Rockefeller, and the ubiquitous Pete Peterson of the Blackstone Group."

The IHS at George Mason University funds summer internships at a variety of conservative and/or libertarian think-tanks, media outlets, and publications. Incongruously, among them is one student group: Students for Saving Social Security.

Describes the massive logistical support that pro-private accounts interest groups have provided to Students for Saving Social Security (S4) since its inception. Notably, the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors donates K Street office space.

Jonathan Zaff's media outlet. Formerly the 90s "youth" group "Third Millennium" that advocated private accounts. (The old thirdmil.org redirects here.) Called itself "18 to 30" until lately. Youth-oriented materials advocate private accounts.

PAC, lobbying organization, media outlet, and ostensible membership organization. Funding sources and actual membership are unclear. Opposes Social Security "privatization".

Social Security for All revives its blog 28 September 2006, late for the November elections but well ahead of the impending 2007-2008 Social Security agenda push. "Yes, it’s been nearly a year since our last post." - i.e., since Bush's 2005 attempt.

Project of Americans for Prosperity. Advocates private accounts. "Allied organizations" include COMPASS / Generations Together, Heritage, For Our Grandchildren / AIFE, and Students for Saving Social Security.

Project of Americans for Prosperity. "Founded on the same principles as Americans for Prosperity, SFP will be committed to educating students about economic policies and a return of government to its Constitutional limits."

"ballot initiatives across the nation that it will characterize as deceptively-titled attempts to slash funding in health care & education. ... Friday, the NOW website will launch a state by state guide to the propositions - & related campaign financing."

Member of COMPASS. Founded and run by Gary Jarmin, a high-ranking employee and disciple of Sun Myung Moon. Advocates "modernization" of Social Security (compare to COMPASS) with "personal savings accounts".

Conservative "grassroots" organization with considerable Republican insider support, staffing, and funding; see SourceWatch. Notable for the 2004 Sandra Jacques "single mom" debacle. Advocates "personal retirement accounts".

"FreedomWorks staff and interns joined with Students for Saving Social Security on Capitol Hill today... The two free-market groups entered the Capitol Lawn with signs that read, "Personal Accounts Fix Social Security" and "Freedom Works." "

The Social Security project of the conservative think-tank National Center for Policy Analysis. Interestingly for a think-tank, is sponsoring student mobilization activities. Advocates "personal retirement accounts".

"to call on members of Congress to sign a petition and pledge to oppose efforts to privatize Social Security." Perhaps the motivation for recent local confrontations of representatives, ostensibly led by local seniors' interest groups.

Project of former Democratic political advisers, AFL-CIO, AFSCME, USAction, Campaign for America's Future, NOW, AFT, NEA, and others. Opposes Social Security "privatization".

Conservative seniors' organization with considerable support from conservative insiders and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).

Conservative seniors' organization funded and supported by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and individual pharmaceutical companies; see SourceWatch. Advocates "personal retirement accounts".

Subsidiary site of the Council for Government Reform (formerly National Center for Privatization). Accordingly, advocates "Personal Retirement Accounts allowing individual choice, control and ownership".

Conservative seniors' organization with considerable insider support and funding; see SourceWatch. Would-be competitor and strong critic of AARP. Advocates "personal retirement accounts".

Project of the National Association of Manufacturers, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, National Federation of Independent Business, Hispanic Business Roundtable, Pfizer, and others. Advocates "personal retirement accounts".

Subsidiary site of COMPASS; accordingly, advocates "new voluntary personal retirement accounts for younger workers".

Project of the Financial Services Forum, National Association of Manufacturers, National Retail Federation, National Restaurant Association, Business Roundtable, Chamber of Commerce, NFIB, and others. Advocates "personal savings accounts".

"Following the [2004] election, PFA is reported to have spent as much as $20 million – much of that received from investment firms anticipating commission fees – in support of privatizing Social Security."

"The Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA) was founded by the AFL-CIO in 2001 and claims 2.7 million members, most of whom are union retirees who were given a free membership."

"Grassroots" student organization that advocates private accounts. Enjoys massive logistical support from pro-private accounts interest groups, notably K Street office space in DC from the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW).