ALEC Exposed: Center For Media and Democracy Details ALEC's Industry-Friendly Legislation Machine

[GoLeft TV]

From DeSmogBlog - http://desmogblog.com/alec-exposed-center-media-and-democracy-details-alec-s-industry-friendly-legislation-machine

The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) has launched a new website, ALECExposed.org, to help consumers understand more about the secretive business group that is helping craft industry-friendly legislation. CMD has obtained more than 800 model bills that were crafted by ALEC for state governments across the country. From a CMD press release:

At an extravagant hotel gilded just before the Great Depression, corporate executives from the tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds, State Farm Insurance, and other corporations were joined by their "task force" co-chairs -- all Republican state legislators -- to approve “model” legislation. They jointly head task forces of what is called the “American Legislative Exchange Council” (ALEC).

There, as the Center for Media and Democracy has learned, these corporate-politician committees secretly voted on bills to rewrite numerous state laws. According to the documents we have posted to ALEC Exposed, corporations vote as equals with elected politicians on these bills. These task forces target legal rules that reach into almost every area of American life: worker and consumer rights, education, the rights of Americans injured or killed by corporations, taxes, health care, immigration, and the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink.

The Center obtained copies of more than 800 model bills approved by companies through ALEC meetings, after one of the thousands of people with access shared them, and a whistleblower provided a copy to the Center. Those bills, which the Center has analyzed and marked-up, are now available at ALEC Exposed.

Before getting into the nuts and bolts of ALEC, it’s important to understand where they came from. ALEC was founded by conservative operative Paul Weyrich. After receiving a healthy dose of cash from conservative Joseph Coors to create the Heritage Foundation, Weyrich decided that a normal think tank like Heritage wasn’t enough to turn congress into a pro-business, anti-consumer organization. Heritage served as Weyrich’s machine to help develop and pass out talking points, but Heritage could only provide words – words that could easily be ignored. Weyrich knew that in order to make these words become actions, he would need the money to be able to convince Congress to vote how he and his corporate allies wanted them to. To do this, he would have to merge business and politics, literally. This merging gave birth to ALEC.

Full story is here - http://desmogblog.com/alec-exposed-center-media-and-democracy-details-alec-s-industry-friendly-legislation-machine

[checks-n-balances]

1. k&r

:kick:

[USuncutMN]

2. Call out ALEC members in MN legislature (or your state)

http://usuncutmn.blogspot.com/2011/07/call-out-alec-members-in-mn-leg-now-or.html


http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=230317733668739

The American Legislative Exchange Council is responsible for the MN shutdown crisis. This is an organization dedicated to (to put it delicately) keeping the rich rich and the corporatocracy going. In other words, screwing those of us on the bottom!!

We know that the ALEC chair for MN is Mary Liffmeyer.

Her phone number is - Mary Kiffmeyer, 1-800-920-5875.

And we know about these members being spotted at an ALEC "DO" in Minnesota:

GOP incumbents spotted at the ALEC conference at Bandana Square on March 4, 2011:
Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, co-coordinator (16B – Big Lake) 651-296-4237 H 763-263-3876
Rep. Matt Dean, co-coordinator (52B – Dellwood)p W651-296-3018
Sen. Warren Limmer (32 – Maple Grove) W 651-296-2159 H 763-493-9646
Sen. Gen Olson (33 – Minnetrista)W651 296-1282 H952-472-3306

The following are admitted ALEC members in Minnesota; (some 37 others are listed but maybe someone paid their membership . and that would prove very interesting, eh?)


Sen. Mike Parry (R) - 651 296 9457
Sen. John Sterling Howe (R) 651 296 4264, (c) 651 278 4693
Sen. Chris Gerlach (R) 651 296 4120 (majority whip)
Rep. Paul Anderson (R) 651 296 4317 (h) 320 239 2726
Rep. Mike Benson (R) 651 296 4378, (h) 507 993 1250
Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R) 651 296 2273, (h) 507 843 3711
Rep. Sondra Erickson (R) 651 296 6746
Rep. Joyce Peppin (R) 651 296 7806 (h) 763 428 4626
Rep. Linda Runbeck (R) 651 296 2907 (h) 763 784 8822
Rep. Ron Shimanski (R) 651 296 1534, (h) 320 0112

Notice any pattern? Kind of contradicts ALEC's claim to be bi-partisan.

Plus, lots of freshmen legislators. We would "guess" the following are also members: Kurt Zellers, Amy Koch, Geoff Michel, maybe Tony Sutton himself. How about Abeler, Hann? Garofalo?

And how about them MN corporate sponsors ? We need to call out ADM and others eventually, too.

http://www.house.gov/repre​sentatives/

(1) Pick up the phone starting on Friday, July 15th.
(2) IF you're unable to reach your chosen ALEC member immediately, wait a few minutes or hours & try again.
(3) BE POLITE! BE POLITE! BE POLITE!
(4) Instead of attempting to change the mind of the person picking up the phone just leave a SIMPLE message:

"Stop threatening the future economic health of the people of Minnesota by refusing to tax the rich."
"I think the health of Minnesotans comes before politics"
"This country was built on compromise, STOP being an obstructionist & do the j-o-b voters elected you to do. Fulfill your oath of office. Represent the citizens not the corporations"
"Driving the poor, disabled, veterans, students, seniors off a financial cliff in order to WIN a victory against Mark Dayton and the citizens is UNACCEPTABLE & WRONG."

A rant against ALEC&Co by USuncut Minnesota on Shutdown day:
http://www.youtube.com/wat​ch?v=RiqBuTRMsvI&feature=f​eedf

They want to gut our State and our resources as quickly - and as cheaply - as they possibly can. Graft is at new heights in Minnesota. And who is hurt in the process matters not one whit to them. I have posted on ALEC abuse atwww.USuncutMN.blogspot.com for months - and it's easy to subscribe.

Now, we can nail them.

Write and ASK your legislators - are YOU in ALEC? Did you use taxpayer money to go to the events? Are you ever ashamed of your greed and politicking when ALEC policies hurt REAL people?
Ask your DFL legislators why they say NOTHING about this when they know what is up ..

It is important to realize that these ALEC "folks" caused trauma and hardship for THOUSANDS of Minnesotans and should all be RECALLED. Besides the lobbying money and perk$ they've taken, most accepted salaries during the shutdown. They do NOT pay tax on campaign funds, although we think that is INCOME. They stole democracy in our State -- and are aligned w/members probably in YOUR state.

http://dbapress.com/quick-​and-dirty/tracking-alec-mo​del-legislation-through-re​al-legislatures


This MN #liteson action that Dayton and the Democrats (DFL) have done on July 14th is disingenuous. Yesterday, the news about ALEC hit the airwaves and will continue to do so in days, weeks, months ahead. Lots of material and links appear on www.USuncut.blogspot.com about ALEC members and their corporate "sponsors". Increasingly we are posting about those willing to FIGHT BACK, at all levels, including filing law suits. We think MN Legislators who are in ALEC are GUILTY of nonfeasance and should be recalled, not Mark Dayton. But they have that next on their "goodies" list.

Koch Industries are watching this state. Boycott the Kochs who deeply fund ALEC.

Now it is up to us, We the People, to defeat them and their puppets as the media and politicos seem intent to play scared and not confront the real problem - a very deeply entrenched Conservative agenda in America's State houses.

hERE IS AN OLDIE, BUT GOODIE LIST OF SOME ALEC MEMBERS:
http://alecwatch.org/chapt​erthree.html

See also, among many fine links:
http://www.thenation.com/a​rticle/161973/alec-exposed​-koch-connection
http://www.dane101.com/cur​rent/2011/07/13/center_for​_media_and_democracy_drops​_alec_document_bomb

Tweet this !! Like this!! Share this!! It's up to US. Boycott Koch products!!

Remember 1929 - and the DELUSION of the Middle east potentates; it CAN happen here if the rich take our country !!

Write the media and ask why they don't cover this important story.

MN statute to recall MN ALEC members: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=211c&view=chapter