Culture | September 09, 2011 | 35 comments

ALEC- the secret corporate organization buying policy in your government

source: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ALEC_Corporations

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JanforGore
ALEC is not a lobby; it is not a front group. It is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, behind closed doors, corporations hand state legislators the changes to the law they desire that directly benefit their bottom line. Along with legislators, corporations have membership in ALEC. Corporations sit on all nine ALEC task forces and vote with legislators to approve “model” bills. They have their own corporate governing board which meets jointly with the legislative board. (ALEC says that corporations do not vote on the board.) They fund almost all of ALEC's operations. Participating legislators, overwhelmingly conservative Republicans, then bring those proposals home and introduce them in statehouses across the land as their own brilliant ideas and important public policy innovations—without disclosing that corporations crafted and voted on the bills. ALEC boasts that it has over 1,000 of these bills introduced by legislative members every year, with one in every five of them enacted into law. ALEC describes itself as a “unique,” “unparalleled” and “unmatched” organization. It might be right. It is as if a state legislature had been reconstituted, yet corporations had pushed the people out the door. Learn more at ALECexposed.org.

This article contains the names of for-profit corporations, law firms and governmental groups that are known to be, or have been, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) members or supporters. For corporate trade groups involved with ALEC, see the list here. For think tanks and other non-profit groups involved with ALEC, see the list here.

This is a partial list. You can add to it, if you cite your source.

Those groups known to be currently involved with ALEC, as of July 2011, appear in bold.

More at the link

Also see:

http://alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed
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35 comments // ALEC- the secret corporate organization buying policy in your government

  • VoyagerFilms
  • JanforGore
  • LiberalSaviour
    • +4
      LiberalSaviour  
    • Image

    • For 30 years it has been a continuous onslaught of throwing far right radical pasta against the wall of the American people to see what sticks.

      Any issue that could be constructed as a wedge issue has been used
      Any means that could be used legislatively has been
      Any amount of money that could be injected into the plan has been donated.

      Citizen United has opened the floodgates.
      ----------------------------------------------------

      The underlying fact of the SCOTUS decision is that now it is all out in the open. Republican governors are instituting policies that are attacking social law that has been decided for decades all in an effort to wear down groups monetarily, time and effort wise.

      The second plan of attack is to marginalize the electorate by implementing voter and electoral roadblocks everywhere possible. With low % numbers , republicans regain and keep '' control '' ( Wisconsin was a valient effort , but they still remained control with a fraction of the money they have in reserve )

      Finally eluding to money -- that is what the stakes are all about . An investment in people that will do their bidding and the avalanche of negative ads against any and all competitors that threaten :

      - little to no regulations
      - little to no taxation
      - little to no competition in a supposed open and free marketplace ( tilted )

      This election ( 12' ) will be the final chance for the American people to either wake up or be lulled to sleep by the advertising lullibies from the right.

      Time to wake up from the nightmare and VOTE DEM.

    • 9 months ago
  • jacksonN
  • JanforGore
  • aj727b
    • 0
      aj727b  
    • LiberalSaviour:

      They want pure market when it comes to allowing workers to be forced to take less money, fewer benefits, and worse conditions. They also want no-bid contracts for themselves so they don't face those same market forces. They are fools, hypocrites, and/or greedy crooks disguised as ideologues.

    • 9 months ago
  • faye59
    • +2
      faye59  

    • I was disturbed to see some Democrats on that list , but am not surprised. That's why the Presidents agenda has been stalled. They may as well change parties,because they vote Republican anyway.

    • 9 months ago
  • Leen61
    • +3
      Leen61  

    • Thanks for posting this, Jan. ALEC needs so much exposure. They have their dirty hands in everything and they are a big part of this country's problems.

    • 9 months ago
  • JanforGore
  • Fishinflick
    • +3
      Fishinflick  

    • Now we're getting to heart of the matter. NY only has 3 members I never heard of. But it's good to know. I will spend some time on this link. Thanks!

    • 9 months ago
  • JanforGore
  • ozzone
  • JanforGore
  • ozzone
  • Anonmaly
    • +5
      Anonmaly  

    • It was no secret the government was being bought out through lobbyists...

      But it's nice to see some direct linkage, nice post...

    • 9 months ago
  • WagonMaster
    • +4
      WagonMaster  
    • Image

    • Couple weeks ago I went on alecexposed.org and found out some really interesting, yet disturbing, information about who's a member from my own state's elected officials. Knowing the purpose of ALEC, it really pissed me off. I emailed those members just to let them know I knew they were ,in effect, working for the enemy. Lot of good thet did, but I feel better .

    • 9 months ago
  • ozzone
    • +5
      ozzone  
    • WagonMaster:

      I know it’s insidious. like some kind of parasite that’s slowly eating away at our vitality and we’re getting weaker and weaker but can’t figure out why.

      But despair not WagonMaster. Your comments like JanforGore's and all others who bring light into these dark corners of the human condition DO have a positive net gain over corruption. We just have to persevere and NEVER give up!

    • 9 months ago
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
  • ozzone
    • +1
      ozzone  
    • JanforGore:

      My wife and I did just that and we were thinking along those very same lines and not use the companies listed. We won’t, or at least we‘ll try really really hard. The scary thing is that damn near every company is in the list somewhere.

      Now that’s a bad state of affairs and shows so clearly that many Corporations, now legal entities AND ‘Persons’ thanks to SCOTUS and it’s conservative cabal, have only one loyalty and God, and that is the Almighty Dollar.

      Not country, not flag, though they may wrap themselves in it and sing Glory Glory Halleluiah, but PROFIT. MONEY. POWER.

      Pity that, because every single one of those people that spent all their energy for personal selfish gain will find, on the inhalation of their last breath in this life, that it was all for naught and in fact was to their detriment, as they will very soon find out. Their last exhalation will find them yearning with repentance but it will be to late. Pity that, and the waste of a life and all the good that could have been done. ‘Perseverance Furthers’ and so persevere we will.

    • 9 months ago
  • JanforGore
    • +1
      JanforGore  
    • ozzone:

      That's true. They also have subsidiaries they hide behind. They don't make it easy but the Internet is a good tool in finding that information. But also true is that these companies are now everywhere and you wind up really seeing a difference in the amount you buy. But you also realize that much of it you really didn't need but were just conditioned to live with as well. It is about the almighty dollar. But if you can be somewhat successful with it, it is a good way to fight this and maybe even save some money yourself in the process.

    • 9 months ago
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
    • +4
      JanforGore  

    • Corporate Board
      As of 2011:[1]

      CenterPoint 360, W. Preston Baldwin - Chairman
      Altria Group, Daniel Smith
      American Bail Coalition, William Carmichael, Jerry Watson
      AT&T, William Leahy
      Bayer Corp., Sandy Oliver
      Coca-Cola Company, Gene Rackley
      Diageo, Kenneth Lane
      Energy Future Holdings, Sano Blocker
      ExxonMobil Corporation, Randall Smith
      GlaxoSmithKline, John Del Giorno
      Intuit, Inc., Bernie McKay
      Johnson & Johnson, Don Bohn
      Koch Companies Public Sector, Mike Morgan
      Kraft Food, Inc., Derek Crawford
      Peabody Energy, Kelly Mader
      Pfizer Inc., Michael Hubert
      PhRMA, Jeff Bond
      Reed Elsevier, Inc., Teresa Jennings
      Reynolds American, David Powers
      Salt River Project, Russell Smoldon
      State Farm Insurance Co., Roland Spies
      United Parcel Service (UPS)[2], Richard McArdle
      Wal-Mart Stores, Maggie Sans

    • 9 months ago
  • JanforGore
    • +7
      JanforGore  

    • We need to be aware of ALEC and what it is. It is a direct danger to our democracy. But since they have gained more power through the bought USSC and act primarily in secret, it is hard to fight back. Unless of course we know the legislators involved with them and vote them out, or the corporations involved and boycott them. It is outrageous that corporations write legislation that their waterboy legislators then take up as their own bills in direct antithesis to their oaths. It is also fascism and it needs to be known and fought. It can only be fought however, by people having the knowledge they need to fight them. So pass this on please.

    • 9 months ago
  • ozzone
  • Vic_Romano
  • JanforGore
  • Vic_Romano
    • +3
      Vic_Romano  
    • JanforGore:

      When one looks at that many corporations, law firms and individuals; it's safe to say that no state is safe. But I'd say that rethug governors seem to be the nexus of collusion. But you really made me want to look into Jay Nixon's ties....

    • 9 months ago
  • DudleyDooleft
  • Vic_Romano
    • 0
      Vic_Romano  
    • DudleyDooleft:

      I know. I know. I just don't trust him. It's easy to see someone like Scott Walker or Chris Christie. But I'm not going to give our governor a free pass on this. We have to keep an eye on our elected officials.

    • 9 months ago
  • DudleyDooleft
    • 0
      DudleyDooleft  
    • Vic_Romano:

      What state do you live in? There are no ties to ALEC that I can find. To put Jay Nixon the Governor of Missouri, and damn fine Democrat, in with that sorry ass lot of governors is wrong and has no foundation in truth that he is one of them.

      Jan Brewer, Scott Walker, John Kasich these governors are the ALEC people, doesn't it show.

      I am a progressive democrat and supporter of Jay Nixon. He has done some things I didn't want to see him do, in relation to state jobs, sort of a "playing the hand he was dealt" thing, but he is far and away better than many of the politicians that we have to put up with today. We in Missouri are very lucky to have him watching over these sorry ass rethuglicans trying to do on the state level what they are doing across the country.

    • 9 months ago
  • Vic_Romano
  • DudleyDooleft
    • 0
      DudleyDooleft  
    • Vic_Romano:

      And I still don't understand your comment about him or your distrust of him. But, I guess it really isn't necessary that I understand that. It is your right to think and do as you please, for whatever reason. Have a good one Vic.

    • 9 months ago
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