Obama 'Grassroots' Group Actually a Bit Astroturf-y

Organizing for Action leans heavily on established insiders, the usual big donors

When President Barack Obama rolled out his new political outfit last week, he and his allies declared it would be powered by grassroots activists and change politics from outside Washington.

Not exactly.

In its first days, Organizing for Action has closely affiliated itself with insider liberal organizations funded by mega-donors like George Soros and corporations such as Lockheed Martin, Citi and Duke Energy.

And it has quietly sought support from the same rich donors who backed Obama's campaigns, asking for help from Democratic donors and bundlers in town for the Inauguration at a closed-door corporate-sponsored confab that featured Bill Clinton as the keynote speaker.