ALEC - civil society fights back

[kristopher]

ALEC - civil society fights back
Ben Whitford 28th December 2013

Few groups have done more to further the US conservative agenda - and harm progressive causes - than the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. But as Ben Whitford reports, civil society is fighting back.

Virtually every piece of controversial, right-wing legislation passed by America's statehouses in recent years has borne ALEC's grubby fingerprints.
A shadowy but extraordinarily powerful legislation-mill and stealth-lobbying outfit, ALEC specialises in quietly shepherding right-wing legislation through America’s statehouses - a process that, until recently, went all but unnoticed by the national media.

In recent months, however, ALEC has found itself the subject of a great deal of unwanted attention. The Occupy protests helped draw attention to ALEC’s activities, while the killing of Florida teen Trayvon Martin led to scrutiny of ALEC’s role in pushing legislation designed to make it harder to prosecute fatal shootings.

The cloak of secrecy is lifted

Internal ALEC documents, meanwhile, have been obtained by PR Watch, the Guardian and others, giving campaigners a rare look at ALEC’s inner workings - and allowing progressives to begin formulating more effective strategies for fighting back.

That’s especially painful for ALEC’s supporters...

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2210057/alec_civil_society_fights_back.html

[Gothmog]

1. Sunlight is a good remedy

ALEC is upset that the voters are learning about their methods and goals

[mitty14u2]

2. American Legislative Exchange Council

American Legislative Exchange Council

Snip;
The Guardian described ALEC as "a dating agency for Republican state legislators and big corporations, bringing them together to frame rightwing legislative agendas in the form of 'model bills'." Several liberal groups, including Common Cause, have challenged its tax-exempt status
Snip
Early members included a number of state and local politicians who went on to statewide or national office, including Bob Kasten and Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin, John Engler of Michigan, Terry Branstad of Iowa, and John Kasich of Ohio. Several members of Congress were also involved in the organization during its early years, including Sen. John Buckley and Rep. Jack Kemp of New York, Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, and Rep. Phil Crane of Illinois.
Snip
Wisconsin Republicans and ALEC had been "upheld" by a report from ALEC Exposed which showed that an influential bloc of 49 of Wisconsin's 132 legislators were connected to ALEC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Legislative_Exchange_Council

I believe in God and Holly Christ I believe in the Devil and these group is Evil. Wisconsin over the years seams to be the strong hold of these deviates of democracy, they now have two Paul Ryan and Scott Walker, has anyone checked to see if they guys have horns ground off?

[libodem]

3. And on top of that

There is The Chamber of Commerce's secret legislative agenda.

[Phlem]

4. Beautiful!

-p

[mountain grammy]

5. What's amazing is how ALEC remained under the radar.

I usually pay attention to what my legislature is doing and didn't noticed ALEC until a few years ago when our local teabagger state rep started spouting Arizona immigration nonsense, pushing for stricter legislation so we can incarcerate even more people in private prisons. I wondered what his agenda was and found out he had attended some high dollar affair at some swank Arizona spa sponsored by a group named ALEC.
Once I had the name, it was easy to find more, but this group had been operating for many years before I first heard of them, I'm ashamed to say.
I swore to watch every fucking move ALEC makes. The links in this article are great.

[cheapdate]

6. The Obama adminstration and the Department of Justice

have stood in firm opposition to these anti-democratic attempts to to restrict and dilute the ability of all Americans to exercise their right to vote. These attacks, fueled by the right and spearheaded by the anti-democratic ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), are the greatest assault against voting rights since the Jim Crow era. They have exploded across the country in state after GOP controlled state.

The administration has aggressively challenged these undemocratic measures and has vigorously defended voting rights, often with great success. The issue went to the Supreme Court where unfortunately, the right wing Roberts court nullified important sections of the voting rights act. The administration and the Department of Justice continue to use every tool at their disposal to challenge this extremely troubling assault against the most basic idea of government by the people.

For sure, the president has presided over many controversial policies and initiatives. His stance on matters of national security and counter-terrorism raises serious moral and ethical questions that deserve to be debated with the utmost urgency. Many other policy areas raise similar serious questions and warrant the urgent attention of all concerned Americans.

But in this vitally important matter, the administration has earned my deepest gratitude.

[Lasher]

7. Something is seriously wrong with IRS policies regarding 501(c) tax-exempt status.

ALEC is just the tip of the iceberg. There's an enormous tangled web of shady trusts and think tanks that are anything but charitable. Donors Trust is just one foundation that funnels dark money from secret donors to their favorite think tanks:



http://www.alternet.org/media/revealed-right-wing-groups-spent-over-1-million-bankrolling-fox-news-hosts-propaganda-schools

[Enthusiast]

8. Recommended X 1000!

ALEC = evil.