Media Matters' Political Correction-Primer on ALEC,"The Premier Right-Wing Corporate Lawmaking Shop"

[highplainsdem]

From PoliticalCorrection.org, a project of Media Matters Action Network (a partner of Media Matters for America):

http://politicalcorrection.org/factcheck/201104280008

The American Legislative Exchange Council: A Primer On The Premier Right-Wing Corporate Lawmaking Shop
April 28, 2011 5:03 pm ET


The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has been around for almost 40 years, but it remains a little-known entity. Its influence over American politics is enormous. ALEC recruits conservative members of state legislatures to pay a $50 annual membership fee, and then solicits millions of dollars from corporations to finance a series of conferences where state lawmakers sit down with big business to write model legislation that can be easily propagated across the country at the state level. The laws often work to the economic benefit of the corporate giants who bankroll ALEC.

-snip-

American Association For Justice: ALEC "Is The Ultimate Smoke Filled Back Room." From the American Association for Justice's report on ALEC: "Few have ever heard of it, but the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, is the ultimate smoke filled back room. On the surface, ALEC's membership is mostly comprised of thousands of state legislators. Each pays a nominal membership fee in order to attend ALEC retreats and receive model legislation. ALEC's corporate contributors, on the other hand, pay a king's ransom to gain access to legislators and distribute their corporate-crafted legislation. So, while the membership appears to be public sector, the bankroll is almost entirely private sector. In fact, public sector membership dues account for only around one percent of ALEC's annual revenues."

-snip-

ALEC Connects Conservative State Legislators With Corporate Lobbyists. As reported by Fortune: "The organization , founded in 1973 and funded mostly by corporations and conservative foundations, exists to bring business-friendly state lawmakers together with lobbyists for corporations, including AT&T, Exxon Mobil, Wal-Mart, and Johnson & Johnson. It drafts model bills related to its goals of free markets and limited government. Issues that ALEC has influenced include Arizona's anti-immigration law, tort reform in Mississippi, and the opposition to Net neutrality. Despite the intimate involvement of lobbyists, ALEC officials insist the organization is not a lobbying group, since it doesn't follow lawmakers to try to advance their bills. Instead, ALEC is a charity, a status it justifies because of its educational mission. The designation allows the group to collect tax-deductible contributions, and it eases lawmaker travel to ALEC events."

-snip-

ALEC: We Are Behind Approximately 1,000 Separate Pieces Of State Legislation In Any Given Year. From ALEC's "History" page: "Each year, close to 1,000 bills, based at least in part on ALEC Model Legislation, are introduced in the states. Of these, an average of 20 percent become law."

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Much, much more on that page, with each paragraph linking to the source.

If you've been keeping up with the long compilation topic here on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), you've probably already read many of the articles and reports this Political Correction primer refers to.

But this is still a very handy primer, and there's a Share link at the bottom to share it on Facebook, Twitter, Digg and other sites.

[DCKit]

1. To the greatest.

This is something that needs to be universally understood by all DUers.

Republicans, Teabaggers and other willfully ignorant cretins will, unfortunately, never understand the implications.

[highplainsdem]

2. Thanks for the rec!

[Supersedeas]

3. smoke filled rooms full of lobbyists

[RufusTFirefly]

4. K & R. ALEC needs to be brought out from the shadows. n/t

[hootinholler]

5. Kick for later, we need to figure out a way to counter this. n/t