Wisconsin's Chris Taylor: In ALEC's underworld, democracy is a burden
http://m.host.madison.com/news/opinion/column/rep-chris-taylor-in-alec-s-underworld-democracy-is-a/article_ba371f6f-f61c-5169-baa9-1b42f355ae5c.html
Rep. Chris Taylor: In ALEC's underworld, democracy is a burden
Entrance to the 40th anniversary conference of the American Legislative Exchange Council was tightly controlled. But I had become a member, paid the $575 registration fee, and produced the required identification. For two days in August, I submerged myself in the ALEC underworld. Though I had witnessed the ALEC agenda in our own state, from the attack on workers’ rights and gutting of fair employment laws to the promulgation of right-to-kill bills, I was simultaneously horrified and fascinated by the extent of ALEC’s infestation of American policy decisions.
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And after 40 years, ALEC is a well-oiled, effective machine. In the area of tort reform, 200 ALEC-inspired model bills have already limited corporate responsibility to injured people. In a workshop entitled “A Sensible Lawsuit System,” legislators were admonished to “take back” their power from the courts by limiting judicial power, stalling asbestos litigation until injured parties die, and shielding corporations from liability for defective products.
Privatizing education is also a top ALEC priority. According to the Center for Media and Democracy, in 2013, there were 139 ALEC bills to fund private and religious schools with taxpayer money introduced throughout the nation. At the Education Task Force meeting, Scott Jensen, a pro-voucher lobbyist for the American Federation for Children and former Wisconsin Assembly speaker, boasted that with 20 states now funding some form of private school K-12 vouchers, the question is when states will adopt private voucher schemes, not if.
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ALEC has another Achilles' heel. An ALEC think tank member solicited my opinion on a convoluted constitutional amendment strategy to require congressional approval of federal regulations. I replied that I didn’t think this issue would inspire the American people to amend the U.S. Constitution. He stated with Republican domination in so many states, and corporate money that would surely flow, the consent of the people is not needed. In ALEC nation, people are irrelevant and democracy a burden, which is exactly what ALEC model bills reflect.
Thank you Chris, for entering the belly of the beast on our behalf.
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