Astroturf, Dark Money, and the Temptation of “Winning at Any Cost”
Guest Editorial by Becky Funk
Mr. Edwards’ rebuttal to my recent column relied on labels. What it did not dispute were the numbers.
Public campaign finance records show that approximately 97 percent of Citizens Alliance of Idaho PAC funding originated outside Idaho. That fact remains unchanged. But this conversation is bigger than percentages. It’s about something Idahoans instinctively understand: The difference between grassroots and astroturf.
In a 2023 Coeur d’Alene Press opinion column, Penelope Harries-Morris outlined a simple distinction. Authentic grassroots movements are self-organized local efforts powered by ordinary people committed to transparency, shared values, and community participation. Not by outside money. Grassroots movements build from the ground up.
Astroturfing, a term coined in 1985, is something very different. It refers to manufacturing the appearance of grassroots support through coordinated funding, messaging, and psychological tactics designed to create a bandwagon effect.
And one of the defining features of astroturf operations is this:
They rely more on centralized money and strategy than organic local momentum.
The Political Potatoes investigation describes a network of aligned political operations involving Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), affiliated PACs, Citizens Alliance of Idaho (CAI), and outside firms such as Mobilize the Message LLC.
According to that reporting:
CAI PAC received approximately $390,000 from an out-of-state Citizens Alliance PAC entity.
Funds were routed through political structures and deployed using paid door-knocking operations and attack advertising.
Mobilize the Message LLC, a Florida-based firm, was one of the major recipients of this spending.
Whether one agrees with the policy positions of these groups is not the point. The point is structural.
When campaigns are fueled primarily by out-of-state entities and executed through professionalized messaging machines rather than local volunteer energy, the claim that it represents a purely “Idaho-first grassroots uprising” deserves scrutiny.
That is not deflection. That is definition.
Mr. Edwards argues that “out-of-state leftists” funding Idaho politics is a threat. Yet when out-of-state funding supports his organization’s objectives, it is described as patriotic generosity.
If dark money is corrosive when it advances progressive causes, it does not become virtuous when it advances conservative ones. If centralized political machines are dangerous when they operate on the left, they are not suddenly wholesome when they operate on the right.
There is always a temptation in politics to justify tactics by outcomes.
“If it protects Idaho.”
“If it saves the state.”
“If it defeats the other side.”
But conservatism at its best has never been about winning by any means necessary. It has been about ordered liberty. Limited power. Transparent institutions. Local accountability.
If we criticize the left for centralized coordination, pledge enforcement, professional smear campaigns, and outside influence we cannot co-opt those tactics and call it virtue simply because we agree with the goals.
The ends do not justify the means. If they did, we would have nothing left to conserve.
If Citizens Alliance of Idaho is proud of its national funding base and strategic alliances, it is free to say so. But branding and balance sheets should align.
Conservatism is not measured by how much money you can marshal or how many attack ads you can deploy. It is measured by restraint, consistency, and whether we are willing to adhere ourselves to the same standards we demand of others.
We cannot condemn dark money on Monday and celebrate it on Tuesday.We cannot denounce astroturf when the left installs it and applaud when our side rolls it out.
If we genuinely believe in limited government and local control, then we must practice it even when it is inconvenient. Otherwise, this was never about principle.
It was only about power.
Links:
https://cdapress.com/news/2026/feb/06/opinion-the-out-of-state-money-myth/
https://cdapress.com/news/2023/feb/11/my-turn-grassroots-politics-or-astroturfing/
About the Author
Becky Funk is a member of the North Idaho Republicans and the former Republican Chair of Legislative District 4
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Great piece, Becky. As they say, “What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.” You cannot expect a society to succeed when one side tilts the playing field to their favor. All that does it breed resentment and animosity, which are not conducive to a healthy democracy.
Great piece, together we can defeat dark money influence.