ALEC

Over the past few weeks, more progressive elected officials are not just voting against ALEC inspired legislation that would privatize public services and make a few people very rich, they are calling it out by name and raising awareness of how ALEC serves as a vehicle to enact a corporate wish list into law in states across the country.

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton recently vetoed a set of ALEC-modeled tort-reform bills that originated from an “ALEC Boot Camp” for state legislators. Here’s his statement:

“Exactly who did the Republicans in the legislature listen to? Well, three of the four bills come right from this manual, Tort Reform Boot Camp, published by the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. This is the same group who reportedly provided legislators last week with all-expense paid trips to a posh Florida hotel for what they call an “education policy conference.” It is an extremely conservative group, funded largely by large corporations, big business associations, insurance companies and very wealthy individuals. I’ve found that Minnesotans do not want their laws written by the lobbyists of big corporations.

“Since these Republican bills so closely follow ALEC’s instructions on tort reform, and since ALEC’s opinion on these subjects are evidently more important to Republican legislators than mine, their fellow legislator’s or the Supreme Court’s, perhaps they would share with us all of the other ALEC boot camp manuals, so we can know in advance what to expect from them for the rest of this session. If Republicans want to continue to prove to Minnesotans that they are too extreme to lead, they should continue to throw ALEC’s ideology at us. If they want to begin to govern responsibly, and work collaboratively, pass real jobs legislation – and my three measures have not even been taken up – real jobs legislations that will put Minnesotans back to work, then I’m ready to work with them. And I’m waiting.”

Just last week, Wisconsin State Representative Mark Pocan (D) decided to take action as well. He joined ALEC to gain access to the bill templates, and then took to the floor to expose the origins of AB110, a bill that would damage the public education system by giving special taxpayer subsidies to private schools for special needs children.

“This is part of dismantling public education in Wisconsin, and Florida, and Ohio, and every single state it’s introduced in,” Pocan explained. “This bill doesn’t come from this body, this bill is an identical bill that’s been introduced brought by special interests by ALEC and introduced state by state by state.”

ALEC’s secret jig is up. The American people don’t want their laws to be written by corporations, and they’ve made their voices heard. Now, our elected representatives – that is, the ones who are actually representing us, not wealthy special interests – are taking a stand too. ALEC’s pro- corporate agenda can only advance if kept secret. Kudos to those elected officials with the courage to shine the spotlight on this undemocratic organization.

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) strategy of corporations enact favorable legislation at the state level across the country by wining and dining state legislators at fancy conferences and then presenting them with model bills to shepherd into law is well documented. Apparently, ALEC also sees value in currying favor at the federal level as well.

Common Cause’s Nick Surgey reports that ALEC gave a cash award of $1,350 to Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) in 2009 as part of their Thomas Jefferson Freedom Award, according to an investigation of ALEC’s tax filings. This presents a potential breach of ethics because House members are prohibited by law from receiving any cash gift.

While ALEC’s main focus is on pro-corporate state legislation, common cause notes that ALEC’s influence extends far into the realm of the federal government:

Although ALEC’s primary focus is in promoting corporate-friendly state legislation, the group also has a clear federal agenda. A 2005 ALEC document obtained by Common Cause outlines 42 distinct ALEC model bills that attempt to influence federal policy. Those bills include resolutions calling for lower corporate taxes and supporting construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. In effect, corporations working through ALEC are using state legislators to lobby Congress on their behalf. ALEC boasts of the 91 “ALEC alumni” currently serving in the US House, including both Eric Cantor (R-VA) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).

As Rep. Cantor graciously accepts his award in this 2009 video, it’s not difficult to imagine how flattery and cash gifts can go a long way in winning the favor of powerful people.

Rep. Cantor’s office subsequently released a statement denying that he took the cash and that the engraved bust he received was legal. This still doesn’t explain, as Common Cause notes, why ALEC considered the bust to be a cash gift on their tax filings, unless the value of the bust was high enough that disclosure was required.

Regardless, it smells fishy.

The recall process is finally over with, but the fight for middle class families continues.

This all started when Wisconsin's governor Walker and the Republican legislature tried to ram through extremist legislation ending or reversing 50 years of collective bargaining rights. This after never having campaigned on that platform in the 2010 elections.

14 courageous Democrats fled the state to prevent quorum in the State Senate, delaying a vote on the measure, but the Republicans forced it through anyway. Then came more pieces of ALEC-supported, right-wing legislation, like a vote-suppressing voter ID law.

All of this activated voters and we beat back the Right Wing with two resounding victories for the Democrats in both of today’s State Senate races. Bob Wirch defeated Republican Jonathan Steitz with 58% to 42%. In the 12th District, Holperin, who won with 54% to challenger Kim Simac's 46%.

I went door-to-door to help get out the vote with PFAW's Political Director Randy Borntrager. Enthusiasm was high, with most we spoke to having already voted. Having met the voters who are affected by Walker's policies, we've come to realize even more how important it was to send this message in these elections, to show Walker that Wisconsinites won't sit back and let Republicans threaten their children's future. More importantly, though, it reminded us that the road beyond the elections is the most crucial one. We are thrilled to have been involved in the recall elections, but the fight doesn't stop here. The fight only stops when extreme Republicans can no longer jeopardize Wisconsinites' – and ALL Americans’ – futures for the benefit of their friends at big corporations.

Last night, voters sent a message to Scott Walker and his corporate, right-wing allies. They told him that Wisconsinites won’t sit back and let him attack working families to score political points. They told him they’re not going to swallow his misleading claims about wanting to balance the budget when he gives tax breaks to big corporations and the wealthiest individuals- while cutting funds for those that need them most. And most of all, they told him that his actions will have consequences. Four incumbent Republicans may have survived this election, but there’s no way they or Scott Walker slept soundly last night, knowing that when they betray the needs of their constituents, the people notice--even in the Republican-leaning districts we won last night.

To round up the results, four districts saw the Republican incumbent fend off their challengers: Luther Olsen in SD-14 (by only 2000 votes), Robert Cowles in SD-02, Sheila Harsdorf in SD-10 and Alberta Darling in SD-08. Two districts will see new Democratic State Senators: Jessica King in SD-18 and Jennifer Shilling in SD-32. That narrows the Republican majority to 17-16 in the State Senate, in the biggest win in Wisconsin recall history. We Are Wisconsin built an amazing field operation which will be crucial in future elections: with the capability to knock on over 90,000 doors on Election Day alone, the groundwork laid by their campaign is impressive enough even beside our two gains.

Today, I didn’t wake up feeling disappointed or hopeless because we didn’t take back the State Senate. I woke up thinking of the threat to collective bargaining rights in Ohio and extreme anti-choice legislation in Kansas; I woke up thinking of the corporate ALEC agenda being pushed across the country; and I woke up thinking of struggling Americans with no health insurance, couples without equal rights and millions of unemployed workers who need jobs.

Last night, we won two new seats for the Democrats in the Wisconsin State Senate and showed that the people have a voice. Next Tuesday, we’re working in SD 12 and 22 to defend Jim Holperin and Bob Wirch. I  don’t know about you, but we’re not done fighting yet.

• Less than two weeks out from election day, a new Daily Kos/PPP poll shows a path to victory for the Democrats: Clark is ahead of Olsen by two points, and Nusbaum and Pasch are more than holding their own against Cowles (SD 02) and Darling (SD 08). This is especially good news in SD 08, confirming a trend seen in a previous poll. It seems that the once-confident Darling is slipping: One Wisconsin Now told Greg Sargent that Club for Growth sank $400,000 right after the previous poll came out.
• Early voting has begun, and (thanks to Walker’s ID law) will end earlier than in previous elections, on the Friday before Election Day. If you live in a recall district, make sure you vote at your local municipal clerk’s office.
• In news from the Republican candidates, Kim Simac, running against Jim Holperin in SD 12, has some questionable comments in her past. Also, Randy Hopper is in yet more hot water over his mistress’ lobbying gig.  
• Fred Clark faced Luther Olsen in a debate in Portage last night, with further debates scheduled tonight and tomorrow. There’s a short clip at that link.
• More for the unfortunately large file of voter disenfranchisement news in Wisconsin: Gov. Walker is planning on closing ten DMVs around the state, making it even more difficult for voters to obtain the photo ID needed to vote, although the DMV says the decision isn’t final yet. Currently, fewer than half the counties in Wisconsin meet the requirement that photo ID services be available for 20 hours a week. This video from We Party shows how difficult it can be to obtain a photo ID even when DMVs are open. At least one Democrat says the Governor is targeting DMVs in Democratic areas for closure; a Department of Transport official counters that “the changes were based on economics, not politics.” Even if this is true, if an office needs to be open to enable citizens to exercise their democratic rights, nothing should interfere with that- not political parties, not economics and certainly not the right-wing agenda of a Governor who puts ideology (and the wishes of his friends at ALEC) before the needs of Wisconsinites. Seriously, is there anything less American than interfering with people’s right to vote?
• Controversy surrounding the redistricting law continues. After the Senate approved the maps last week, Walker has signed a bill allowing the legislature to circumvent a law requiring them to wait until local governments have submitted their own maps. Criticism of the maps continues to mount, with even Alberta Darling distancing herself from the bill and recognizing that the courts may have to solve this one -- even though she voted for it. It might help if in future she didn’t vote for bills she thought could be unconstitutional, but that’s a small quibble.
• State Senate Republicans are finally moving on a bill to extend jobless benefits, although they are insisting on one more jab at the unemployed, making sure to include a one-week delay for benefits. Good work, Republicans, that’ll show ‘em. If their ideology makes them disapprove of unemployment benefits in principle, that’s one thing, but no one could reasonably say a one-week delay was going to motivate people to find work (as if that was the reason people are unemployed in this economy). It’s just a gratuitous kick in the teeth from the party that doesn’t care about the struggles of ordinary Americans.

Justin wrote earlier today about the trove of model legislation from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) that the Center for Media and Democracy released today. ALEC, which is funded largely by corporate interests, is a driving force behind a whole lot of state-level legislation that helps out big business at the expense of individual citizens – legislation that curtails workers’ rights, undercuts public education and other essential government services and, most importantly, and big tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy.

The agenda that ALEC helps to spread to state legislatures doesn’t just help give the group’s corporate funders a leg up – it also helps them keep American voters from wresting away any power they have in the electoral process.

The Nation’s John Nichols went through the ALEC legislation and found not only model Voter ID language – variations of which have been introduced in 33 states this year -- but various attempts to keep voters from imposing campaign finance limits:

Beyond barriers to voting, ALEC is also committed to building barriers to direct democracy. Horrified by the success of living-wage referendums and other projects that have allowed voters to enact protections for workers and regulations for businesses, ALEC’s corporate sponsors have pushed to toughen the rules for voter initiatives. “The legislative process should be the principal policy-making vehicle for developing state law,” declares one 2006 resolution, which specifically mentions concerns about state minimum wage laws, taxation and “the funding of other government programs and services.” ALEC’s Resolution to Reform the Ballot Initiatives Process recommends making it harder to qualify referendum language and suggests that proposals on fiscal issues should require supermajorities to become law.

ALEC is also determined to ensure that citizens do not have the final say on who is elected president, an agenda outlined in such documents as its Resolution in Support of the Electoral College and its ardent opposition to the National Popular Vote project (which it has warned would “nationalize elections and unravel Federalism”). A related resolution encourages state legislatures to formally complain that an interstate compact to defer to the popular will “would allow a candidate with a plurality—however small—to become President.” While ALEC worries about the candidate with the most votes winning, it has no problem with policies that increase the likelihood that the candidate with the most money and corporate support will prevail. Its 2009 Resolution Supporting Citizen Involvement in Elections bluntly “opposes all efforts to limit [citizen] involvement by limiting campaign contributions.” A resolution approved last year expresses support for the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling. ALEC even opposes moves to give shareholders a say in the expenditure of corporate funds on campaigning. At the same time, ALEC urges legislators to fight the “federal takeover” of state election procedures, objecting in particular to universal standards for voting procedures.