Lawrence O'Donnell and People for the American Way Expose ALEC

Source: People for the American Way

Introduction

When state legislators across the nation introduce similar or identical bills designed to boost corporate power and profits, reduce workers rights, limit corporate accountability for pollution, or restrict voting by minorities, odds are good that the legislation was not written by a state lawmaker but by corporate lobbyists working through the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC is a one-stop shop for corporations looking to identify friendly state legislators and work with them to get special-interest legislation introduced. It’s win-win for corporations, their lobbyists, and right-wing legislators. But the big losers are citizens whose rights and interests are sold off to the highest bidder.
Who Founded and Funds ALEC?

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) was founded in 1973 by Paul Weyrich, who helped build a nationwide right-wing political infrastructure following the reelection of Richard Nixon. In the same year, he helped establish the Heritage Foundation, now one of the most prominent right-wing policy institutes in the country. One year later, Weyrich founded the Committee for the Survival of a Free Congress, the predecessor of the Free Congress Foundation. In 1979, he co-founded and coined the Moral Majority with Jerry Falwell, and in 1981 he helped establish the ultraconservative Council on National Policy.

ALEC’s major funders include Exxon Mobil, the Scaife family (Allegheny Foundation and the Scaife Family Foundation), the Coors family (Castle Rock Foundation), Charles Koch (Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation and the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation), the Bradley family (The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation) and the Olin family (John M. Olin Foundation). These organizations consistently finance right-wing think tanks and political groups.

Read more: http://www.pfaw.org/rww-in-focus/alec-the-voice-of-corporate-special-interests-state-legislatures

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Lawrence O'Donnell had a spokesperson from People for the American Way on his show tonight to talk about their report about ALEC and how they are selling our democracy.

ALEC was a post-Nixon thing and Weyrich was a Grover Norquidst (or whatever is the pig's name) of his time.

It is pretty damned scary that these folks are still active.

This is Nixon-thought. The players are all the same.

But now they know just how fucking in-curious is the American Public and they know they can play us like a cheap trumpet.

Sonoman

revoke their status, now!

....do we having a trustworthy clearing-house for Progressive legislators/politicians? If not, we need one.

will ignore it. Right now its Arnie S., IME chief, in another world Ryan, and Newt.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3096434/#43070587

This was only the third time I'm aware of that ALEC was mentioned on MSNBC. Keith Olbermann had referred to it in January, and Rachel Maddow mentioned it a couple of months ago.

Lawrence said that he's just learned of ALEC. It was obvious that he was amazed to find out what ALEC's been doing and how long it's been active.

The long compilation topic on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has a reply linking to the transcript of KO's show where he mentioned it (reply 16). That was on January 4, when he was talking about the NY Times story on ALEC legislation being the model for anti-union legislation in a number of states.

Rachel talked about ALEC's model legislation designed to make it harder to vote, back on March 10. I posted a very brief mention of that at the time, in a separate topic

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x610562

but didn't link the compilation topic to that, and that topic posted on 3/10 doesn't link to the transcript, which you can find here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42031949/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/

I'll add that link to the compilation topic after posting this.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/underpants/93

THIS ARTICLE is a keeper it details the Four Sisters funding and the creation of the whole apparatus all stemming from Lewis Powell's 1971 memo to the US Chamber of Commerce.
http://hnn.us/articles/1244.html

http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.a...
Part Two: The Givers

While any number of foundations contribute to conservative political groups, five are worthy of particular examination: the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the Koch Family foundations, the John M. Olin Foundation, the Scaife Family foundations and the Adolph Coors Foundation.


Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
Koch Family Foundations
John M. Olin Foundation
Scaife Family Foundations
Adolph Coors Foundation
Other Major Foundations
Individual Donors


For instance lets take just one:


Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
http://www.dkosopedia.com/wiki/Lynde_and_H...

The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation is one of the preeminent funding sources for the far-right movement, and funds the majority of "think-tanks" and propaganda mills of the radical right. The foundation was started by Lynde and Harry Bradley.

Funding Source For:
American Enterprise Institute
American Spectator Educational Foundation
Cato Institute
Center for the Study of Popular Culture
Family Research Council
Federalist Society
Free Congress Foundation
Freedom House
George Mason University
George Mason University Foundation
Heritage Foundation
Hoover Institution
Hudson Institute
Independent Women's Forum
Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation
Institute on Religion and Democracy
Institute on Religion and Public Life
Landmark Legal Foundation
Madison Center for Educational Affairs
Manhattan Institute
Mountain States Legal Foundation
National Center for Policy Analysis
New Citizenship Project
Pacific Legal Foundation
Philanthropy Roundtable
Third Way Foundation which funds the Progressive Policy Institute (DLC)
Reason Foundation
Rockford Institute
Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation

Lawrence did a great job of informing us about this "shadow" group. :wow:

I've learned more about ALEC here than anywhere else.