“This is the truest form of grass-roots there is. We don’t charge people to be members of the Citizen Army, so if anything, it’s more organic than what some of the environmental groups do. We allow these people to express their own opinions on these issues.”
— Joe Lucas, senior vice president for communications at the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (aka Top Coal Lobby Spokesflak), defending the actions of coal lobbyists against accusations of creating fraudulent grassroots support, or “astroturfing.”
