Showing posts with label ALEC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ALEC. Show all posts
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Thursday, June 21, 2012
BREAKING: Dell Becomes 21st Company To Drop ALEC | ThinkProgress
BREAKING: Dell Becomes 21st Company To Drop ALEC | ThinkProgress: "
Computer technology giant Dell has decided to drop its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council, a right-wing corporate front group behind the spread of voter suppression laws and Stand You Ground legislation. According to a letter from Dell’s Principal Social Strategist obtained by ThinkProgress, the company has decided not to renew its membership. Dell is the 21st group to end its relationship with ALEC, but some large corporations remain in the fold, including State Farm and AT&T."
'via Blog this'
Computer technology giant Dell has decided to drop its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council, a right-wing corporate front group behind the spread of voter suppression laws and Stand You Ground legislation. According to a letter from Dell’s Principal Social Strategist obtained by ThinkProgress, the company has decided not to renew its membership. Dell is the 21st group to end its relationship with ALEC, but some large corporations remain in the fold, including State Farm and AT&T."
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Thursday, May 31, 2012
Daily Kos: Walmart quits ALEC
Daily Kos: Walmart quits ALEC:
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'via Blog this'
Ouch. For the American Legislative Council (ALEC), that is.
(Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's No. 1 retailer and the biggest seller of firearms in the United States, is dropping out of a U.S. conservative advocacy group that has been a lightning rod over voting and gun laws.That's a big fucking deal. A statement like that, so specific and so public in condemning ALEC's far-right efforts, coming from Walmart, will do serious damage to the organization. With a defection this big, it wouldn't be terribly surprising to see ALEC have to restructure and become something else. It's not realistic to think that these people, and the Koch funding that fuels them, will go away entirely, but ALEC as an entity might have reached the end of its tether.
Wal-Mart said late Wednesday it is suspending membership in the American Legislative Council (ALEC), which the retailer joined in 1993. [...]"Previously, we expressed our concerns about ALEC's decision to weigh in on issues that stray from its core mission 'to advance the Jeffersonian principles of free markets,'" Maggie Sans, Wal-Mart vice president of public affairs and government relations, said in a May 30 letter addressed to ALEC's national chairman and executive director."We feel that the divide between these activities and our purpose as a business has become too wide. To that end, we are suspending our membership in ALEC."
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Amazon.com Becomes The Eighteenth Group To Drop ALEC | ThinkProgress
Amazon.com Becomes The Eighteenth Group To Drop ALEC | ThinkProgress:
"According to an email ThinkProgress received from the Center for Media and Democracy, one of the leaders of a progressive campaign to push corporations and other funders to break with the American Legislative Exchange Council, online retail giant Amazon.com just announced that it will part ways with ALEC. In the wake of this campaign, ALEC eliminated a task force that pushed voter suppression laws and the so-called “Stand Your Ground” laws that played a significant role in the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin shooting, but the conservative group remains committed to other priorities such as repealing minimum wage laws, eliminating capital gains and estate taxes, and blocking safeguards that protect children from eating rat poison.
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Number 18 see you
"According to an email ThinkProgress received from the Center for Media and Democracy, one of the leaders of a progressive campaign to push corporations and other funders to break with the American Legislative Exchange Council, online retail giant Amazon.com just announced that it will part ways with ALEC. In the wake of this campaign, ALEC eliminated a task force that pushed voter suppression laws and the so-called “Stand Your Ground” laws that played a significant role in the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin shooting, but the conservative group remains committed to other priorities such as repealing minimum wage laws, eliminating capital gains and estate taxes, and blocking safeguards that protect children from eating rat poison.
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'via Blog this'
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Uncovering the Other ALECs
Uncovering the Other ALECs: "Taxpayer"
'via Blog this'
Taxpayer-subsidized stealth lobbyists: Lobbyists who circumvent normal lobbying regulations and procedures to advance the corporate agenda in statehouses nationwide on the taxpayer dime.
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Taxpayer-subsidized stealth lobbyists: Lobbyists who circumvent normal lobbying regulations and procedures to advance the corporate agenda in statehouses nationwide on the taxpayer dime.
If Washington DC is the newVersailles, run by corporate overlords and their lobbyist-hired guns, then the 50 statehouses are its paternal twins. That is, while they look different in form, they share the same genetic function as avenues for the fulfillment of the corporate agenda.
The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) has made this abundantly clear through its ongoing ALEC Exposed project, bringing sunshine to the tax-deductible, statehouse-level influence-peddling efforts made by corporations through the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC has been described by CMD as a "corporate bill mill." (Full disclosure: Steve Horn is a former reporter and researcher at CMD. He was on the team that broke ALEC Exposed in the summer of 2011.)
ALEC, though, is not the only "corporate bill mill" playing this game.
"Taxpayer-subsidized stealth lobbyists" have upped the ante and skillfully advanced their agendas through bipartisan "trade associations" for state government officials - in particular, the Council of State Governments (CSG) whose multimillion-dollar budget is mostly funded by taxpayers. Through CSG and Friends, lobbyists exploit a well-tethered network of nonprofits representing state-level officials to advance the agenda of their corporate clientele.
"In a climate of stalled federal initiatives, and what I think is really unprecedented partisan battling and bickering, these state legislatures are really shaping the national policy environment," explained one such stealth lobbyist, Michael Behm, in an interview. "I really think they [states] are the real engines of government. And that's why the private sector is interested, quite frankly."
This, then, is part one of a four-party story about how the "real engines of government" work. First stop on the voyage: the CSG.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
The ALEC -- Teach for America Connection
The ALEC -- Teach for America Connection
Last summer, quite by accident, I met a group of about six young adults on the MAX here in Portland who were traveling from the airport to train for their new jobs. They were talking about having just finished their teaching jobs and how happy they were to be done with it. Being an unemployed teacher myself, I listened for a while and then struck up a conversation. They identified themselves as Teach for America corps members who had just completed their obligatory two year stints in the classroom. They were headed to the Stand for Children offices to be trained in writing education policy. Most had been hired to work as legislative assistants in state houses around the country. I asked a few probing questions about their education expertise, especially in policy. Turns our none of them had any education credentials. Some had worked on their masters degrees during teaching, but none had studied education or education policy. They really didn't get my point. The arrogance was palpable. I finally asked one of them point blank, "Don't you think you should have some education and experience before writing education policy?" They assured me that over the next two weeks (I think, anyway, short time) they would be trained to do it.
I hadn't thought about that encounter much since. But when I read Diane Ravitch's latest article in the Answer Sheet, Ravitch: A Primer on the Group Driving School Reform, it occurred to me that Stand for Children could be the conduit to the uniformity in education legislation using Teach for America "leaders" as the delivery system. Last summer ALEC was barely a blip on my radar so I hadn't make a connection back then.
Could Stand for Children be training former Teach for America corps members to write ALEC policy for state legislatures? I know Oregon legislators aren't savvy enough to develop language and coordinate ideas that mesh with those in other states, but their Teach for America, Stand for Children trained assistants may well be. With a little help from a persistent friend, this is what I found out.
Last summer, quite by accident, I met a group of about six young adults on the MAX here in Portland who were traveling from the airport to train for their new jobs. They were talking about having just finished their teaching jobs and how happy they were to be done with it. Being an unemployed teacher myself, I listened for a while and then struck up a conversation. They identified themselves as Teach for America corps members who had just completed their obligatory two year stints in the classroom. They were headed to the Stand for Children offices to be trained in writing education policy. Most had been hired to work as legislative assistants in state houses around the country. I asked a few probing questions about their education expertise, especially in policy. Turns our none of them had any education credentials. Some had worked on their masters degrees during teaching, but none had studied education or education policy. They really didn't get my point. The arrogance was palpable. I finally asked one of them point blank, "Don't you think you should have some education and experience before writing education policy?" They assured me that over the next two weeks (I think, anyway, short time) they would be trained to do it.
I hadn't thought about that encounter much since. But when I read Diane Ravitch's latest article in the Answer Sheet, Ravitch: A Primer on the Group Driving School Reform, it occurred to me that Stand for Children could be the conduit to the uniformity in education legislation using Teach for America "leaders" as the delivery system. Last summer ALEC was barely a blip on my radar so I hadn't make a connection back then.
Could Stand for Children be training former Teach for America corps members to write ALEC policy for state legislatures? I know Oregon legislators aren't savvy enough to develop language and coordinate ideas that mesh with those in other states, but their Teach for America, Stand for Children trained assistants may well be. With a little help from a persistent friend, this is what I found out.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
The Duracell bunny keep going and going until Proctor and Gamble pulls the plug on ALEC
Another victory for democracy.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
ALEC, a Tax-Exempt Group, Mixes Legislators and Lobbyists - NYTimes.com
ALEC, a Tax-Exempt Group, Mixes Legislators and Lobbyists - NYTimes.com:
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'via Blog this'
Desperate for new revenue, Ohio lawmakers introduced legislation last year that would make it easier to recover money from businesses that defraud the state.
It was quickly flagged at the Washington headquarters of the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, a business-backed group that views such “false claims” laws as encouraging frivolous lawsuits. ALEC’s membership includes not only corporations, but nearly 2,000 state legislators across the country — including dozens who would vote on the Ohio bill.
One of them, Bill Seitz, a prominent Republican state senator, wrote to a fellow senior lawmaker to relay ALEC’s concerns about “the recent upsurge” in false-claims legislation nationwide. “While this is understandable, as states are broke, the considered advice from our friends at ALEC was that such legislation is not well taken and should not be approved,” he said in a private memorandum.
The legislation was reworked to ease some of ALEC’s concerns, making it one of many bills the group has influenced by mobilizing its lawmaker members, a vast majority of them Republicans.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut's Owner Is The 12th Corporation To Drop ALEC | ThinkProgress
KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut's Owner Is The 12th Corporation To Drop ALEC | ThinkProgress:
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'via Blog this'
Yum foods goes yuck to Alec
Yum! Brands, the owner of fast food brands KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut told Color of Change that they will no longer support the American Legislative Exchange Council, the right-wing front group that, until recently, was a driving force behind state voter suppression and “stand your ground” gun laws. Yum!’s decision means a dozen corporations (plus the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) have now dropped the conservative group:
“Now we know that Yum! Brands has joined the 11 other companies that have announced in recent weeks that they’re no longer members of ALEC. These companies are McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Mars Inc., Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Kraft Foods, Intuit, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Reed Elsevier (owner of LexisNexis and publisher of science and health information), American Traffic Solutions and Arizona Public Service.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
ColorOfChange | ColorOfChange Applauds Blue Cross Blue Shield's Decision to End its Membership in ALEC
ColorOfChange | ColorOfChange Applauds Blue Cross Blue Shield's Decision to End its Membership in ALEC:
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"This week I spoke with an executive at Blue Cross Blue Shield who told me that the company did not renew its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council this year, and we followed up with the company to confirm they are no longer a member of ALEC. We applaud BCBS for ending its relationship with this shadowy DC organization that would rather have our law makers work for corporations than the people.
'via Blog this'
"This week I spoke with an executive at Blue Cross Blue Shield who told me that the company did not renew its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council this year, and we followed up with the company to confirm they are no longer a member of ALEC. We applaud BCBS for ending its relationship with this shadowy DC organization that would rather have our law makers work for corporations than the people.
"The ColorOfChange community is also happy to learn that Reed Elsevier (owner of LexisNexis and publisher of science and health information) left ALEC late last week, as did American Traffic Solutions and Arizona Public Service -- two Arizona-based companies. With Blue Cross Blue Shield's announcement yesterday, the number of companies that have decided to cut ties with ALEC grows to 11. The list also includes Mars Inc., Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Kraft Foods, Intuit, McDonald's and Wendy's.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Mars and other companies follow others out Alec's door. 9th And 10th Companies Drop ALEC | ThinkProgress
9th And 10th Companies Drop ALEC | ThinkProgress
Reed Elsevier — a personal information provider (of services such as Lexis-Nexis) — and American Traffic Solutions — a provider of traffic technology solutions — have become the 9th and 10th companies to drop ALEC.
Reed Elsevier stated that the campaign to highlight ALEC’s promotion of measures that disempower and disenfranchise minorities played a role in its decision. “We made the decision after considering the broad range of criticism being leveled at ALEC,” said a Reed Elsevier spokesman.
American Traffic Solutions spokesman Charles Territo said his group’s decision not to renew its membership with ALEC “was based on how best to allocate our resources.”
To recap, here is the list of companies that have dropped ALEC so far:
Reed Elsevier — a personal information provider (of services such as Lexis-Nexis) — and American Traffic Solutions — a provider of traffic technology solutions — have become the 9th and 10th companies to drop ALEC.
Reed Elsevier stated that the campaign to highlight ALEC’s promotion of measures that disempower and disenfranchise minorities played a role in its decision. “We made the decision after considering the broad range of criticism being leveled at ALEC,” said a Reed Elsevier spokesman.
American Traffic Solutions spokesman Charles Territo said his group’s decision not to renew its membership with ALEC “was based on how best to allocate our resources.”
To recap, here is the list of companies that have dropped ALEC so far:
Coca-Cola
PepsiCo
Kraft
Intuit
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Wendy’s
Mars, Inc.
Arizona Public Service
Reed Elsevier
American Traffic Solutions
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Hold the pickles, hold the letter part two: Wendy's out at Alec
LP - It appears that the whole fast food industry will soon be pro-democratic. It must be the new diet menu that sheds Alec.
McDonald's, it turns out, isn't the only fast-food giant to have cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council, the corporate-funded organization that writes up model bills for thousands of state lawmakers nationwide. Wendy's said on its official Twitter feed on Tuesday night that it, too, had left ALEC. "We decided late 2011 and never renewed this year. It didn't fit our business needs," the company tweeted. Wendy's is currently not a member of ALEC, it stressed.
Bob Bertini, a spokesman for Wendy's, confirmed the move. "The tweet is correct. Wendy’s is not a member of ALEC. Last year, we made the decision not to renew for 2012," he wrote in an email to Mother Jones.
Wendy's departure is arguably more significant than McDonald's given Wendy's past support for conservative and staunchly pro-industry causes. For instance, Wendy's International has funded the Center for Consumer Freedom, a phony grassroots group that fights regulation of the food and beverage industries. And Wendy's political action committee has given significantly more of its money in recent election cycles to Republican lawmakers than Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2012/04/wendys-alec-mcdonalds-pepsi-coca-cola
The new pro-democracy happy meal
McDonald's, it turns out, isn't the only fast-food giant to have cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council, the corporate-funded organization that writes up model bills for thousands of state lawmakers nationwide. Wendy's said on its official Twitter feed on Tuesday night that it, too, had left ALEC. "We decided late 2011 and never renewed this year. It didn't fit our business needs," the company tweeted. Wendy's is currently not a member of ALEC, it stressed.
Bob Bertini, a spokesman for Wendy's, confirmed the move. "The tweet is correct. Wendy’s is not a member of ALEC. Last year, we made the decision not to renew for 2012," he wrote in an email to Mother Jones.
Wendy's departure is arguably more significant than McDonald's given Wendy's past support for conservative and staunchly pro-industry causes. For instance, Wendy's International has funded the Center for Consumer Freedom, a phony grassroots group that fights regulation of the food and beverage industries. And Wendy's political action committee has given significantly more of its money in recent election cycles to Republican lawmakers than Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2012/04/wendys-alec-mcdonalds-pepsi-coca-cola
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