The Rats Are Abandoning the Bad Ship ALEC

ALECSAUROUS

If a business took part in a lobbying scheme where they corrupted state laws tailoring them to fatten their bottom line while keeping the public in the dark, would this be considered an aspect of the "free market" at work, or would it be blatant corruption?

Today giant corporations just like Walmart, Koch Industries, Pfizer and State Farm insurance are doing just that, and standing in line behind them are corporations galore doing the same thing all under the guise of the American Legislation Exchange Counsel, or ALEC, a fraudulent group of corporate loving conservatives who write laws bent on creating a corporate climate where corporations are working behind the scene to pass laws that serve them, and serve them well.

This is where the term fascism gets bandied about--a climate where corporations, not the public dictate policies and laws that benefit them at the expense of you. Corporations are not people, and business has no business drafting laws.

This week the group known as Common Cause have filed a whistle blower complaint against ALEC with the IRS- stating that not only has ALEC been evading federal taxes for years by calling itself a non-profit organization by masquerading as a charity, but ALEC has been misleading the IRS and the American public about the truth behind its shady activities.

From the complaint;

We're asking the IRS to end this charade, cancel Alec's tax exemption, collect years of unpaid taxes and "impose necessary penalties". The complaint includes Alec memos, emails, "issue alerts", "talking points" and draft press releases touting Alec's "model" bills. Lawmakers introduce Alec's legislation, which often is drafted for them by corporate lobbyists, without disclosing its Alec lineage; and they accept Alec's backroom coaching to guide it to passage

"Alec boasts about how frequently its bills are introduced in state legislatures to show its influence over the legislative process," the complaint notes. In one annual scorecard, Alec's executive director, Samuel Brunelli, told corporate backers that, with a success rate higher than 20%, "Alec is a good investment. Nowhere else can you get a return that high."

ALEC has been operating in the dark for some time now, it wasn't until the infamous "Stand Your Ground" gun law drew attention to ALECs shenanigans, they are also behind the voter ID laws floating around the country, and are behind the whole for profit prison system. ALEC specializes in investing millions of dollars to wine and dine elected officials at posh resorts where it writes and refines their legislation through so-called "task forces" where its business cronies wield a veto power while hiding in the background and pushing the finished bill to passage. When their mission is accomplished they then "reward" corrupt legislators with campaign contributions to the tune of $400m from 2000 - 2010. After doing this ALEC then pretends to call itself a charity and claims a tax exemption. What a scam.

Now that ALEC has been exposed, many corporations and crooked politicians are bailing like rats off of a sinking ship. It seems everyone connected with ALEC has discovered they are covered in a controversial stink, and are now fleeing like cockroaches.

ALEC's leaders are crying foul accusing Common Cause and other critics of attacking free speech and say those critics are just trying to deny them a business seat at the table where public policy is made. Since ALEC has conducted all of its shady deals behind the public eye, all Common Cause is doing is making sure their corruption sees the light of day. The days of backroom deals and sweet-talking , bribing elected officials with campaign donations, and playing the charity game are soon to be over for ALEC.

After the death of Trayvon Martin - ALEC took a lot of heat for writing the Stand Your Ground law. With the help of Color of Change and other outraged organizations petitions went flying to pressure corporations to leave ALEC or else suffer the consequences of a boycott. So far 13 major corporations have pulled out of ALEC.

If we don't fight back, we all lose.

Here's a list of some of ALECS political servants.

Just more evidence that we are the change we are looking for.

We haven't lost the fight - but still have a long way to go to restore fairness and transparency in our weakened democracy.


Score one for the good guys.

ickenittle