Want to know how to really astroturf a movement? Just ask Democrat money men Craig Varoga and George Rakis

By: Mark Tapscott
Editorial Page Editor
02/20/10 3:59 PM EST

A man who asked not to be identified wears a National Tea Party Convention shirt as he awaits lunch at the event in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, Feb. 5, 2010.

Remember all those accusations last summer from the Obama White House and Democratic congressional leaders like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that the Tea Party movement was nothing more than an astroturfed mirage paid for by a few rich Repubican donors?

Well, nobody outside the newsrooms of places like The New York Times and the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee who had actually attended a Tea Party rally took such accusations seriously because of their transparently nonsensical basis.

But that doesn't mean folks on the left don't know how to do real astroturfing. In fact, there are experts at it like Craig Varoga and George Rakis, the guys behind the new effort to discredit the Tea Party movement. Check this out from Democracy21:

"Democrats have created another 'astroturf' group to kill the Tea Party Movement. A new website appeared recently called 'The Tea Party Is Over. Their mission is: 'To prevent the Tea Party's dangerous ideas from gaining legislative traction.' Initially, the website targets three Republican candidates for destruction.

"The website is paid for by the 'American Public Policy Committee,' which is nothing more than a domain name registered to Craig Varoga. Varoga, along with his partner, George Rakis, in a consulting firm called Independent Strategies, are listed on IRS documents as the people responsible for several other astroturf organizations, which include:

* The American Public Policy Committee Donations | IRS forms

* Patriot Majority Donations | IRS forms

* Citizens for Progress Donations | IRS forms

* Oklahoma Freedom Fund Donations | IRS forms

* Mid Atlantic Leadership Fund Donations | IRS forms

* Public Security Now Donations | IRS forms

* Pioneer Majority Donations | IRS forms

* Bluegrass Freedom Fund Donations | IRS forms

"Each of these so-called organizations list their address at 300 M Street SE, Suite 1102, Washington DC. Neither Varoga nor Rakis occupy this office. It is, however, occupied by Joseph Sandler who is an attorney for the Democratic National Committee."