Fake Grass Roots and Energy Policy

Click on the title to read more revelations about the fake grass roots letters sent to Congressman Carney. I was most struck by this passage:

Bonner billed Hawthorn for $43,500 but has not been paid; the coal group told Hawthorn not to pay the bill, according to a letter from Hawthorn. A document from the coal group indicates it paid Hawthorn about $7 million last year for grass-roots lobbying services and about $3 million through the first six months of this year.

Hawthorn is described as the "primary grass-roots lobbying contractor" for this coal industry group. Perhaps these industry people need a bit of help understanding what grass roots means. If you have to pay $7 million per year for it, I'm pretty sure it's not grass roots.