Astroturf

Why does Ellen Weaver keep calling herself "grassroots"?

astroturf

adjective

as·​tro·​turf | \ ˈa-strə-ˌtərf , -ˌstrō- \

variants: or less commonly Astroturf

Definition of astroturf (Entry 2 of 2)

: falsely made to appear grassroots

an astroturf campaign/group

-Merriam-Webster

If you haven’t read my last piece, a deep dive into the finances of the SC Superintendent of Education race, I would probably read that one first.

I’ve seen Superintendent of Education candidate Ellen Weaver or her campaign surrogates refer to Weaver as “grassroots” repeatedly. I can only infer that she is trying to compare herself favorably with her general election opponent, Lisa Ellis, because Weaver is about as grassroots as a feudal landlord.

In a Facebook ad from May, Weaver’s campaign wrote, “Thanks to you, we reached our fundraising goal of OVER $124K in the final quarter of 2021!” (That was over $200k of reported donations ago.)

"Ellen for Education," Ellen Weaver's Virginia-based Facebook account, has spent $17,600 on ads like this according to Facebook’s “Ad Lib…