ALEC Exposed
“Never has the time been so right,” Louisiana State Representative Noble Ellington told conservative legislators gathered in Washington to plan the radical remaking of policies in the states. It was one month after the 2010 midterm elections. Republicans had grabbed 680 legislative seats and secured a power trifecta—control of both legislative chambers and the governorship—in twenty-one states. Ellington was speaking for hundreds of attendees at a “States and Nation Policy Summit,” featuring GOP stars like Texas Governor Rick Perry, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Convened by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)—“the nation’s largest, non-partisan, individual public-private membership association of state legislators,” as the spin-savvy group describes itself—the meeting did not intend to draw up an agenda for the upcoming legislative session. That had already been done by ALEC’s elite task forces of lawmakers and corporate representatives. The new legislators were there to grab their weapons: carefully crafted model bills seeking to impose a one-size-fits-all agenda on the states.
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John Nichols
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Members of Congress and federal regulators have bowed every bit as deeply before Murdoch as British officials. Don’t just investigate Murdoch's misdeeds, examine those of his political accomplices.
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Revelations about American Legislative Exchange Council project to link corporate interests with state legislators to impose an agenda that protects polluters, privatizes public education, breaks unions and undermines democracy raises questions about whether group is “evading lobbying disclosure laws,” violating tax breaks designed to encourage charitable contributions and doing “an end-run around state ethics laws.”
Founded in 1973 by Paul Weyrich and other conservative activists frustrated by recent electoral setbacks, ALEC is a critical arm of the right-wing network of policy shops that, with infusions of corporate cash, has evolved to shape American politics. Inspired by Milton Friedman’s call for conservatives to “develop alternatives to existing policies [and] keep them alive and available,” ALEC’s model legislation reflects long-term goals: downsizing government, removing regulations on corporations and making it harder to hold the economically and politically powerful to account. Corporate donors retain veto power over the language, which is developed by the secretive task forces. The task forces cover issues from education to health policy. ALEC’s priorities for the 2011 session included bills to privatize education, break unions, deregulate major industries, pass voter ID laws and more. In states across the country they succeeded, with stacks of new laws signed by GOP governors like Ohio’s John Kasich and Wisconsin’s Scott Walker, both ALEC alums.
The details of ALEC’s model bills have been available only to the group’s 2,000 legislative and 300 corporate members. But thanks to a leak to Aliya Rahman, an Ohio-based activist who helped organize protests at ALEC’s Spring Task Force meeting in Cincinnati, The Nation has obtained more than 800 documents representing decades of model legislation. Teaming up with the Center for Media and Democracy, The Nation asked policy experts to analyze this never-before-seen archive.
The articles that follow are the first products of that examination. They provide an inside view of the priorities of ALEC’s corporate board and billionaire benefactors (including Tea Party funders Charles and David Koch). “Dozens of corporations are investing millions of dollars a year to write business-friendly legislation that is being made into law in statehouses coast to coast, with no regard for the public interest,” says Bob Edgar of Common Cause. “This is proof positive of the depth and scope of the corporate reach into our democratic processes.” The full archive of ALEC documents is available at a new website, alecexposed.org, thanks to the Center for Media and Democracy, which has provided powerful tools for progressives to turn this knowledge into power. The data tell us that the time has come to refocus on the battle to loosen the grip of corporate America and renew democracy in the states.
“Business Domination Inc.,” by Joel Rogers and Laura Dresser
“Sabotaging Healthcare,” by Wendell Potter
“The Koch Connection,” by Lisa Graves
“Starving Public Schools,” by Julie Underwood
“Rigging Elections,” by John Nichols
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Comments
Preacher54@11:27am, I'm watching the CBS news shows and the teapub idiot just said that the American people are against raising taxes, and Christine Amampour let that propaganda stand, "propaganda machine" indeed.
the worst thing about this alec group is that there "brain dead zombie" believers will see no problem in its existense or mission. they will simply see it as a necessary group to fight back against obamas socialist plan for america. until or if the massses are educated and the truth told about the "propaganda machine" that has america by the throat we will continue on our march toward coperate oligarcy.
1. posted by: Milhaus at 07/15/2011 @ 7:16pm
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Americans need to wake up and see the flatly obvious. We are doing down, and the only life boat is full of scumbags in 3 piece suits.
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That pretty much hits the nail on the head squarely.
Americans need to wake up and see the flatly obvious. We are doing down, and the only life boat is full of scumbags in 3 piece suits.
John, thank you for your work and dedication in exposing ALEC. My little blog is like a tiny candle - we need floodlights on this organization, and this is hopefully the first of many to be lit!
What the Koch Brothers are spending to get their will imposed on the unwilling public they could put into paying their fair share of taxes. If funding is speech, the Kochs need to shut up!
Very interesting reading,although I was not surprised by any of it. What I do not understand is how people continue to fall for what the right-wingers say.
I noticed this was not reported in the "liberal" NY Times.
posted by: Beethoven1 at 07/13/2011 @ 7:32pm
Very possible, especially if the feds - Justice and the Senate - back down. But, if Fox News, the WSJ or the NY Post are exposed for having hacked the phones or computers of 9/11 family members, dead soldiers or their families, or missing or dead kids, most of the right will keep its head down and try to throw the Murdochs and even Ailes overboard in an attempt to save the political assets. Only the real bottomfeeders and moral infants will stick with them under those circumstances.
posted by: Walter A. Burke at 07/14/2011 @ 9:04am
JOKEman at 07/13 @ 2:19pm: "Why won't the nation investigate Soros?"
Some might respond: ZZzzzzzzz.
LOL!
Murdoch/NewsCorp/News oft he World and obstruction of Justice. Again, remember that this is the criminal mob that still signs Saint Sarah Barraquitta's paychecks:
"But the journalists at the News of the World then encountered a problem. Milly's voicemail box filled up and would accept no more messages. Apparently thirsty for more information from more voicemails, the paper intervened – and deleted the messages that had been left in the first few days after her disappearance. According to one source, this had a devastating effect: when her friends and family called again and discovered that her voicemail had been cleared, they concluded that this must have been done by Milly herself and, therefore, that she must still be alive. But she was not. The interference created false hope and extra agony for those who were misled by it.
The Dowler family then granted an exclusive interview to the News of the World in which they talked about their hope... The deletion of the messages also caused difficulties for the police by confusing the picture when they had few leads to pursue. It also potentially destroyed valuable evidence."
More about Murdoch/NewsCorp's MO when it comes to hacking a murdered 13 year old girl's phone. Remember this is the same outfit of pious moralists that employs Saint Sarah Barraquitta, Huck, Sean Vannity, Santorum:
July 4 Guaridan: "The Guardian investigation has shown that, within a very short time of Milly vanishing, News of the World journalists reacted by engaging in what was standard practice in their newsroom: they hired private investigators to get them a story. Their first step was simple, albeit illegal. Paperwork seen by the Guardian reveals that they paid a Hampshire private investigator, Steve Whittamore, to obtain home addresses ... Then, with the help of its own full-time private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire, the News of the World started illegally intercepting mobile phone messages. Scotland Yard is now investigating evidence that the paper hacked directly into the voicemail of the missing girl's own phone. As her friends and parents called and left messages imploring Milly to get in touch with them, the News of the World was listening and recording their every private word..."
JOKEman at 07/13 @ 2:19pm: "Why won't the nation investigate Soros?"
Some might respond: ZZzzzzzzz. Hasn't Glenn Dreck already been there and done that investigation? How can anyone hope to go beyond a Glenn Dreck exclusive investigation? What further stone could be unturned in that case?
Speaking of investigations, here is one of Murdoch's News International title _News of the World_ that lead to the paper closing within a week out of public disgust & revulsion. This is why we detest you right-wing sickies who hack into the phones of murdered 13 year olds and thus obstruct the course of the police investigation to, you know, find the murderer.
We know you are a woman hater, JOKEman, but do you support this kind of investigation of rightwing media's filthy behavior toward a murdered 13 year old girl? Or are you still obsessed, like an obedient dittohead, with Soros?
London Guardian, July 4, 2011: "The News of the World illegally targeted the missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler and her family in March 2002, interfering with police inquiries into her disappearance, an investigation by the Guardian has established.
The Dowlers' family lawyer, Mark Lewis, this afternoon issued a statement describing the News of the World's activities as "heinous" and "despicable". He said this afternoon the Dowler family was now pursuing a damages claim against the News of the World. Milly Dowler disappeared at the age of 13 on her way home in Walton-on-...
2. posted by: cka2nd at 07/13/2011 @ 4:00pm
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posted by: Beethoven1 at 07/13/2011 @ 12:30pm
A correction: Murdoch is under fire not because his minions snooped on the powerful but because his supposedly populist papers were snooping on people very much like their readers, who may not believe that movie stars and politicians have any "legitimate expectation of privacy" but murdered girls, dead soldiers and their families hit too close to home and stretched even their definition of decency.
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What do you want to bet that the right wing spin machine will kick into high gear defending Murdoch. They'll shift all of the blame to lower level people who were just following orders, but Murdoch, family and friends will walk away from this unscathed. Don't forget about the faux noise machine along with Wall Street Journal. Rupert will have the right winger dancing on strings in a heart beat.
The only real way to stop this element is to make corporate personhood and corporate political involvement unattractive first, and illegal next.
I think it's high time for a Consumer's Union who's membership is vast and can direct boycotts powerful enough to immediately kill profit margins of those involved in this kind of corruption. Also, a voting block big enough bring politicians from any party into line.
posted by: Beethoven1 at 07/13/2011 @ 12:30pm
A correction: Murdoch is under fire not because his minions snooped on the powerful but because his supposedly populist papers were snooping on people very much like their readers, who may not believe that movie stars and politicians have any "legitimate expectation of privacy" but murdered girls, dead soldiers and their families hit too close to home and stretched even their definition of decency.
Why won't the nation investigate Soros?
Just once? And be honest about his finances and where his money goes?
It's also quite telling that Rupert Murdoch's businesses are under fire now. These people believe that laws are only for the small fry, not them, and for the most part, they are right. Only when they are caught snooping on people in positions of power do they get called out.
The so called billionaires backing the democratic party would do well to channel some of their money into investigating the fraud and crimes committed by these right wing groups.
It's quite amazing that these treasonous vipers continue to get support from the local right wing posters here at the nation as well as the bought off neocons in D.C.
What these people get away with on a daily basis would put most people behind bars.
