I guess my concern is that there is no reason for vaping to be in state legslatures at all without being introduced from an outside organization such as ALEC and that is one of the problems with gaining grassroots traction. It's not a natural issue, brought about by the swelling of concerns from the voters or legislators. None of this legislation should be on the agenda; most of the public doesn't know what vaping is, hasn't harmed anyone and isn't really even a noticable revenue loss (yet). Instead, organizations such as ALEC are hyjacking local agendas and issues that are of concern get overshadowed or put on the back burner. That's not representative democracy.
I also don't see a huge red vs. blue divide on this. If anything I do see a divide among those willing to break their backs for special interest money and that's about it. Also not much of a divide along the political aisle.
What I do expect from a grassroots organization is facts and not more political rhetoric. Terms such as "leftist, socialist" and putting the words "pro-business" in the same sentence as Republican is either a joke, or an attempt to spin and mislead. One thing for sure is that it's not objective or factual and an immediate turn off.
I respect Moyer's reporting. He offers crediable sources, good investigating, context and objective that's missing in most news reports. He doesn't resort to name-calling or opinion tactics like pundits use. I can go back and review his reporting for decades and his story's still hold up as factual. I think he chooses topics that are under reported and things that people want to know or should know about - which is either a compliment or comical that's considered "leftist" by some.
However, I don't think I'm alone in thinking that name calling and political labeling is a big turn off and self-limiting for an organization such as CASAA when there is a need for more people to get involved in local legislation. I expect facts and objectivity that I don't think I can get when an organization has a political axe to grind - which may not be in my interest. My experience is that a number of political organizations would like to be considered "grassroots" when they aren't and they do have other motives.