ProPublica’s step-by-step guide to understanding ALEC’s influence on your state laws

[madmusic]

http://vtdigger.org/2011/08/18/propublicas-step-by-step-guide-to-understanding-alecs-influence-on-your-state-laws/">ProPublica’s step-by-step guide to understanding ALEC’s influence on your state laws

For decades, a discreet nonprofit has brought together state legislators and corporate representatives to produce business-friendly “model” legislation. These “model” bills form the basis of hundreds of pieces of legislation each year, and they often end up as laws. As http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/a-discreet-nonprofit-brings-together-politicians-and-corporations-to-write-">media scrutiny of the nonprofit — the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC — has grown, ProPublica has built both a guide and a http://projects.propublica.org/alec-contributions/">searchable database so you can see for yourself how ALEC’s model bills make their way to statehouses.

snip

ALEC and its members favor “federalism and conservative public policy solutions,” and ALEC representatives tell reporters that its mission is fundamentally “educational.” ALEC spokeswoman Raegan Weber told the Los Angeles Times, “Legislators should hear from those the government intends to regulate.”

There's more, a lot more, at the links.

[PETRUS]

1. Interesting resource. Thanks. nt

[madmusic]

2. You're welcome. It appears to be the definitive resource for all things ALEC

It's even better than it appeared at first glance.

[WillyT]

3. K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

:hi:

:kick:

[madmusic]

5. You're welcome. Enjoy. nt

[defendandprotect]

4. If we don't have an actual power shift soon, Koch Bros. will own US -- !!!

[KoKo]

6. K&R! This needs more attention ...even though we are celebrating Ghadaffi's Death...we need to keep

up with what's going on "under our own TENT."

[cui bono]

7. Here's a link to something I found the other day followin gother links:

http://alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed

Haven't really gone through it yet but plan to since I need to learn more about ALEC.

Thanks for your link.

[madmusic]

8. Yes, that is excellent!

I was just reading a link from there that covers the conception and evolution of the vast right wing conspiracy in detail. Who'd a thunk it started with a Supreme Court justice?

From http://www.cjcj.org/files/The_American_Legislative_Exchange_Council.pdf">ALEC Report, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (2011)

One writer has noted that the term “think tank” is really a misnomer, saying “They don't think; they justify” (Source Watch, 2011).

Conservative think tanks have been successfully disseminating their message. The linguist George Lakoff has noted that:

Over the last 30 years their think tanks have made a heavy investment in ideas and in language. In 1970, <Supreme Court Justice> Lewis Powell wrote a fateful memo to the National Chamber of Commerce saying that all of our best students are becoming anti-business because of the Vietnam War, and that we needed to do something about it. Powell's agenda included getting wealthy conservatives to set up professorships, setting up institutes on and off campus where intellectuals would write books from a conservative business perspective, and setting up think tanks. He outlined the whole thing in 1970. They set up the Heritage Foundation in 1973, and the Manhattan Institute after that.