Winning Progressive

There was big news Tuesday when the shadowy right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council (“ALEC”) announced it was shutting down its Public Safety and Elections Task Force, which had pushed the controversial voter suppression laws and Stand Your Ground laws in state legislatures throughout the country.  Over the past few weeks, progressives, led by Color of Change and the Center for Media and Democracy, have brought significant pressure on ALEC’s corporate members to withdraw their support.  The result has been not only Tuesday’s announcement by ALEC, but also at least eleven major corporations, including Coke, PepsiCo, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and McDonald’s, have publicly announced their break with ALEC.

What’s nice about the ALEC story is that it shows that progressives are finally beginning to flex their political muscles again, and that it is working.  For years now, one of the big things that has enabled conservatives to have so much power is that they were more than willing to take down their opposition, whether they be politicians, organizations, businesses, or individuals. They understood that politics ain’t beanbag, but instead is a rough and tumble world in which you have to be willing to strenuously fight for your beliefs and interests, and go toe-to-toe with people who oppose you.

For far too long, progressives have been unwilling to engage in a similar sort of approach. We’ve been far more interested in rational debate, seeing both sides of an issue, and trying to reach common ground. Those things are all critically important. But some entities, like ALEC, are never going to be persuaded by debate and compromise – they have an agenda that is opposed to progressive values that we need to stop.  And we can only do so by taking them and their supporters on head on.

In flexing our political muscles we progressives must, of course, ensure that we are doing so fairly and based on facts, rather than following the conservative path of smears and distortions. But figuring out how to continue flexing our muscles while staying true to our values of fairness and reality-based decisionmaking is critical to the future success of the progressive movement.

The progress we’ve made so far on ALEC is wonderful and should be celebrated.  But even as ALEC purports to moves away from promoting voter suppression and other non-economic issues, the organization is committed to continuing to promote a radical right-wing economic agenda of tax cuts for the wealthy, privatization, lax corporate oversight, and weakened environmental and public health standards.  And ALEC almost certainly made its announcement Tuesday with the hope that it would cause progressives to declare victory and move onto other issues.  We cannot let that happen.

Instead, now is the time to push our advantage and continue the pressure on ALEC and its supporters.  You can help do so by:

* Contacting ALEC’s corporate members and urging them to withdraw their support from ALEC

* Checking this list to see if your state legislators are members of ALEC. If they are, call them and urge them to drop their support of the organization.

* Contact ALEC’s Executive Director Ron Scheberle – 202-466-3800 – and let him know that the pressure on his organizations is just beginning (h/t to reader Ethan Oringel for this suggestion)

Please remember to be respectful when you make these calls.   If you’d like further information about ALEC before you make your calls, check out the website ALEC Exposed.

(By Joanne Boyer, cross-posted at Wisdom Voices)

I didn’t think there could be a political issue that could rile me as much as the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, but I think I may just have found it.

I’ve watched with horror as the American Legislative Exchange Council (“ALEC”) has pushed voter photo ID laws nationwide in mainly Republican-controlled state legislatures. How can we as a country watch as this wholly manufactured crisis is used to erect barriers to voting among Democratic-leaning demographic groups state-by-state?

My native state of Wisconsin, which had one of the richest histories of same-day voting registration, fell prey to this legislation and now it’s being introduced by the Republican controlled state legislature in Minnesota, where I currently reside.  This time, they are pushing a constitutional amendment because Republican legislators know Democratic Governor Mark Dayton would veto any such legislation.  Tell me again, when did we vote in legislators to amend a state constitution on a regular basis?  I thought they were elected to legislate.

A Bit of Background

How and why has this legislative push happened?  Consider this: The 2008 electorate that put President Barack Obama in the White House was more than just the highest turnout in more than 60 years. It represented the emergence of a new Democratic coalition, one comprised primarily of racial and ethnic minorities, low-income Americans, liberals, young voters and women. At the time, forecasts of demographic change and shifting views on social issues led to speculation that Republicans were on the verge of becoming a permanent minority party.

Shortly after President Obama’s election, ALEC began to prioritize efforts to chip away at the influence of that coalition. It’s not a big leap to say that these Republican-controlled legislative initiatives are motivated not to protect electoral integrity, but rather to limit the voting power of populations that tend to vote Democratic.  Studies show that approximately 11 percent of Americans – about 21 million people – lack a current government photo ID, disproportionately racial minorities, senior citizens, young voters, the working poor and people with disabilities.

As we head into another historic election cycle, at least 33 states as of November 2011 have introduced legislation to require voter IDs and 14 states have photo ID requirements in place.  This doesn’t even account for the voter suppression laws that were introduced to restrict hours of early voting and voting registration.

The evidence to support the rhetoric of “voter fraud” is scant – and has been for years. You remember the firings of U.S. attorneys during George Bush’s administration?  The ones who refused to prosecute the cases of voter fraud because of weak evidence?  A comprehensive five-year investigation by the Bush Justice Department announced in 2007 found just 86 instances of improper voting.  Simply put:  Those who seek voter photo ID laws buy into the myth of “voter fraud.”

The Advancement Project, a policy, communications and legal action group committed to racial justice, has sounded the alarm on this recent forceful momentum of voter suppression bills.  This group and its recent report provide some of the best analysis of the current situation and present some of the most logical and reason-based arguments against voter ID legislation.  They point to it as the largest legislative effort to scale back ballot access since the post-Reconstruction era, reversing a century-long trend of opening the ballot to everyone.

In the conclusion of The Advancement Project’s report:  What’s Wrong With This Picture:  New Photo ID Proposals Part of a National Push to Turn Back the Clock on Voting Rights they state:

Elections cannot be free and fair unless they are open to every eligible voter. Photo ID requirements erode the integrity of elections by systematically excluding large groups of eligible voters and place them in second-class status. This is part of a larger movement to erect significant barriers for voters of color, reversing a century-long trend. If states are truly concerned about protecting the integrity of the elections process, they should start by ensuring that all eligible voters have access to the vote, not just those with a state-issued photo ID.

Another excellent source of information is the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University’s School of Law, which also issued a report on the voting rights changes for 2012 and states:

These new restrictions fall most heavily on young, minority, and low-income voters, as well as on voters with disabilities. This wave of changes may sharply tilt the political terrain for the 2012 election. Already 19 new laws and two new executive actions are in place. At least 42 bills are still pending, and at least 69 more were introduced but failed. Already, it is clear that:

• These new laws could make it significantly harder for more than five million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012.
• The states that have already cut back on voting rights will provide 185 electoral votes in 2012 – more than two thirds of the 270 needed to win the presidency.

• Of the 12 likely battleground states, as assessed by an August  Los Angeles Times analysis of Gallup polling, six have either cut back on voting rights already or are currently considering new restrictions.

I urge everyone to read these reports and to stay informed and up-to-date about what your state is doing on this issue, especially if you have a Republican controlled legislature.

Winning Progressive adds – if you are as upset as we are about the GOP’s attack on voting rights, click here for some ways to get involved in fighting back.

(By Jillian Barclay)

Want your kid to go to summer camp this year? How about one sponsored by ALEC, the shadow organization that sponsors and writes right-wing legislation to be shared by the states? ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, is offering ‘Kid’s Congress’ in New Orleans this year. What better way to indoctrinate youth than to mix the fun of New Orleans with Koch-funded politics? Am I the only one that finds this subversive and distasteful?

ALEC is having its national meeting in New Orleans the first week in August. Right-wing state lawmakers (ALEC members) from around the country will be in attendance. Many will bring their families and ALEC offers its ‘Kid’s Congress’ to the attendees. Why the concern? Learn about ALEC, and then tell me you would let your child attend!

ALEC is the shadowy, corporate-funded organization that has sponsored and written the following state legislative proposals:

* Voter ID bills that tighten registration requirements and disenfranchise up to 20 million voters. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, over 20 million will be disenfranchised by the new laws. They are mainly students, the elderly, the poor and the disabled.

* Bills that have assaulted and destroyed collective bargaining rights in states such as Wisconsin and Michigan. ALEC stands behind laws that would roll-back employee protections, worker’s compensation and even do away with the minimum wage.

* Bills that eliminate pension plans and turn them into 401K’s

* Bills designed to overturn the Affordable Care Act. ALEC offers each state a “Guide to Repealing Obamacare“.  Because it would certainly be horrible if we both reduced overall health care spending in the U.S. while also making affordable health insurance available to 32 million more Americans.

* Bills that eliminate environmental protections. Not only are the bills already written(ALEC says they have 15 model bills), the state legislators can work with ALEC’s task force to launch an all out assault on EPA rules and regulations.
* Bills that lower corporate tax rates. In fact, to assist in this effort, ALEC has written the “State Budget Reform Tool Kit“. It is a must have for states that want to lower taxes for the wealthy and raise taxes for the middle class and poor.
* Bills that strip education of funding and decimate local control of schools.
This list could go on and on. It includes prison reform (and privatization) legislation, legislation designed to “protect innocent corporations from liability for asbestos poisoning”, how states can effectively market pharmaceuticals, as well as “how to privatize” almost every sector of government, along with instructions on how to frame the bills to make them sound as advantageous as possible.
ALEC has also been responsible for providing model legislation that tightens immigration requirements, similar to Arizona’s ‘Papers Please’ Law.

That is certainly where I would want to send my kid to summer camp! I want my kids to learn how to disenfranchise voters, privatize prisons, rid the country of unions, do away with clean air and water and strip education of funding. In fact, I want my kids to learn how to be a corporate lobbyist; then they can make the laws that America needs. Maybe ALEC will offer an activity that teaches the kids how to buy a Congressman! That’s one that I don’t want them to miss! Better yet, maybe they will offer a session or two on “How To Become A Beloved Governor Just Like Scott Walker”!
While Your State Legislators Get A Scholarship, Their Kids Get Indoctrinated!

While ALEC has offered scholarships to your state lawmakers which consists of a $1900 gift, the idea of “Kiddie Congress” is perhaps even better! Maybe next year, a class in Koch-cloning will be offered!

I have reviewed the agenda and schedule. Most of it sounds inocuous enough, with the exception of the first 2 to 4 hours of each morning, which is designated as: Kid’s Congress Camp.  It is the only time that the schedule DOES NOT provide a description of the activities offered. Why not? What goes on during that time?

Further, in the release of liability and registration form, it states:
“ACCENT on Children’s Arrangements, Inc. will provide exciting children’s programs for the ALEC 2011 annual meeting. The children and young adults in the program will be entertained and cared for all day with activities tailored to meet their needs. Please note that these programs are for children only. Parents and/or caretakers are not allowed to accompany the child(ren) in the Activity Center or the off-site Youth Tours. American Legislative Exchange Council can offer parents a safe and secure, child-pleasing and educational experience for their children.”

No description AND parents cannot be on-site? Just sayin’!

Perhaps the most exciting part of this Koch-sponsored Kiddie Congress is the designation that is given to the kids! How fun!  Per the registration form:

The children will be divided into groups for different age-appropriate activities. This is for the safety and security of the children:
Junior Representatives (ages 6 months – 6 years)
Representatives (ages 7 – 12 years)
Senators (ages 13 – 17 years)

I hope that the kids have fun!  Perhaps from this group, ALEC will find its ‘Future Lobbyists for America”.  That way we can all look forward to decades of more legislation that is designed to prevent people from voting, take away collective bargaining rights and pensions from employees, weaken environmental regulations, etc.

[Editor's Note: We will be posting an occasional series from contributor Jillian Barclay covering some of the shadowy individuals and organizations behind the conservative movement.  Last week, we featured a post from Jillian on Grover Norquist, and today we are featuring a piece about the American Legislative Exchange Council ("ALEC"), which works to draft conservative legislation that is then introduced in state legislatures throughout the country.

The term Smart Alec is quite fitting for ALEC.  The phrase derives from a mid-19th century con artist named Alec Hoag who worked with his wife to scam money and jewelry from hundreds of men in Manhattan.  Alec's wife would pose as a prostitute, and Alec would steal her "customers'" belongings while they were distracted. The couple avoided arrest by bribing two local police officers.   Given the impact that ALEC's legislative proposals have on every day Americans, the dishonest ways in which ALEC sells its policies, and the level of virtually bribery that occurs in our political system, the use of the phrase "Smart Alec" to describe ALEC seems especially appropriate.]

(By Jillian Barclay, cross-posted at HubPages)

When Wisconsin has a new law that destroys collective bargaining, how does that same law almost instantaneously show up in ten other statehouses? When Florida presents anti-abortion legislation, why are 25 other states doing the same thing at the same time? When Michigan decides that it is a good idea to privatize, well, everything, why do other state legislatures follow suit so quickly? For years, I thought this was just dumb luck or even some kind of political ESP, or maybe even some sort of wild conspiracy theory, but then thought I was being foolish! How could states be reading from the same playbook? Could it be possible that there was a conspiracy? No! More than likely, I concluded, it was dumb luck!

Not only is it not dumb luck, it is a well-orchestrated, well-financed, corporate conspiracy that has successfully infiltrated every state legislature in the United States. The legislation that you see repeated daily in states across the country is actually from a playbook brought to America by way of ALEC, a group that seeks to promote legislation that benefits corporations and robs consumers and the electorate.

ALEC is short for the American Legislative Exchange Council. It is a not-for-profit (aren’t they all?) organization designed to be a one-stop shopping experience for state legislators. The legislation offered by ALEC is usually always geared to the advancement of corporate interests and the laws are actually written by corporate lobbyists. Shocked? No? Nothing shocks me anymore, either.  ALEC has its grubby hands in every single legislative body in this country. They are so blatantly outrageous that their website shows each legislator chairperson that handles and promotes “friendly” corporate laws. The legislative contact for each state is also the legislative sell-out.

ALEC was founded in 1973 by Paul Weyrich, who also helped found the Heritage Foundation and the Moral Majority. It has been reported that the major funders are the Koch Foundation, Exxon Mobil, the Coors family and several other ultra right-wing corporate interests. Their list of board members are from AT&T, Wal-Mart, Johnson & Johnson, State Farm, Bayer, Coca-Cola, etc.

Legislative and exchange are the key words for this non-profit, because that is precisely what they do. The lobbyists write the legislation that they would like to see passed and then, through the elected representatives in each state, personalize it for each state and pass it around. It really is an exchange. ALEC’s website will let you know the names of the legislators from your state that ‘work’ with them to promote ALEC’s product.