http://www.npr.org/...
update: PLEASE USE LINKS IN COMMENTS. DKOS IS BLOCKED BY MY EMPLOYER, AND THE WEB PROXY I USE MAKES IT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO POST DIARIES, THUS THE LINKS I POST DO NOT WORK. AGAIN, PLEASE SEE COMMENTS (thank you PARK RANGER for posting the correct links)
I think this infographic is very Awesome. So it needs to be seen.
The groups often bear ambiguous names — Americans for Job Security, Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, the 60 Plus Association. Many of them live through the generosity of anonymous donors. The ambiguity and anonymity blur the public understanding of who these groups are.
So let's start with who they say they are."
In case you are thinking, "there's no way your average low information voter can make sense of a graph, much less one as complex as that...", take a look at the left side of the page. NPR put up these very cool audio/visual assistants; you click on one of three audio cues and you are guided through the web of ties between GOP corporate slush money and astroturf org's sponsored by your Roves, Gillepsies, etc.
You can also click on any name in the graphic- for example, Bob Perry- and it will pop up on the left bar some details about the individual. We learn about Bob Perry thus:
In September and October, the Texas homebuilder gave a total of $7 million to American Crossroads. He has given $4.5 million this cycle to the Republican Governors' Association. Perry provided initial funding for the Swift Boats for Truth ads attacking Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election.
We also see that Black Rock, Crossroads Media, and Americans for Job Security all SHARE OFFICES in the same space in Virginia.
[I'm sure some of you saw the Obama clip on Colbert Report where Barack hilariously pokes fun at the names of these astroturf groups attacking him from the shadows, joking that they have innocent-sounding names like "Moms for Motherhood", and he referenced Americans for Job Security]