An article today from Lisa Graves at the Center for Media and Democracy informs in May 2012,
PRWeek reported ALEC had...
..."hired the notorious global PR firm Edelman. Edelman is the firm of choice for big tobacco, big oil, and big pharma, all key sponsors of ALEC. ALEC also held a special meeting asking right-wing bloggers, such as the Breitbart operation,for help in "a very aggressive campaign to really spread the word about what we actually do," as CMD has reported.
In today's article, Graves stated, an "aggressive campaign" is clearly underway:
"The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) sent a message to hundreds of legislators across the country attacking the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), the creator of ALECexposed.org. Among other things ALEC claimed, "CMD is an attack-dog, not a watch-dog."
The error-filled missive, which was intended to buck up the ALEC faithful as more and more corporations flee the organization, has us here at CMD pondering the old adage, "First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. And then they want to attack you and then you win..."
In this attack they have singled out journalist Beau Hodai for special attention in the memo sent out by ALEC, referring readers to an article published by The Washington Free Beacon (WFB), the online publication of the self-proclaimed "conservative advocacy group" the Center for American Freedom:
"In that piece, recent college grad CJ Ciaramella focuses on Beau Hodai, a freelance reporter who has written for the Center for Media and Democracy, In These Times, Prison Legal News, Extra! (a publication of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), and the investigative news publication he founded, DBA Press...
"...Notably, the WFB attack job does not find any material errors in any of Beau's extensively documented reports on ALEC, but focuses on misdemeanor court records. It dwells on the fact that his legal first name is Mohamad. Beau has been nicknamed "Beau" since birth. (It is worth noting that "CJ" is not Ciaramella's legal first name but the nickname he uses instead of 'Carl.')"
You should read this important article by Lisa Graves
here...
If you were previously unaware...Beau Hodai has been instrumental in writing important articles on ALEC's activities, such as last year's "Publicopoly"
Mr. Hodai has pursued the release of public records involving ALEC from several states. He generously made the documents acquired available to everyone through DBA press. Common Cause, VLTP, CMD and "citizen journalists" have all been given access to the wealth of research and FOIA products used by Mr. Hodai. All of us fighting ALEC and the legislative corruption left in their wake are indebted to Beau for all of his hard work that has made ours easier.
It appears the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is tiring of losing legislative and corporate members and support due to exposure of their ultra-conservative activities.
For years bloggers, citizen journalists at Daily Kos, PFAW, Think Progress and even foreign news services have reported on various activities and actions of ALEC. Until 2011 those reports and mentions of ALEC were rare, sporadic and lacked any real depth about the organization. This was because while many were concerned about the activities of this registered U.S. charity's involvement in crafting and supporting partisan legislation, they had few facts and little documentation to work with.
Concerned citizen journalists at Daily Kos worked for a couple of years developing facts and documenting activities of ALEC. In April of last year student activists from Cincinnati and many of the DK writers worked to plan and implement a protest and rally at ALEC's Spring Summit held in that city. By anyone's measurement the event held on April 29th could best be described as a "small but enthusiastic" event with Teach-Ins to educate Ohioans about ALEC and report on their activities. There were speakers, a rally at Fountain Square and a couple of hundred of us marched around the hotel where ALEC's corporate and legislative members were meeting to determine new laws they wanted imposed upon Americans.
ALEC members strolled through the rally, laughing and shaking their heads at such foolishness aimed at them. Many smirked, asking; "ALEC? Alec who...Baldwin?" Legislative members came out of the hotel during the march, attempting to speak with marchers and inform that "they" were not the ones supporting SB 1070 style legislation, or in favor of attacking collective bargaining...while around the corner at another entrance to the Hilton Netherland Plaza hotel corporate members laughed and pointed at marchers passing by, shaking their heads at the futile protest while they smoked their cigarettes and cigars, holding drinks in their hands.
Though all of this took place in view of the Cincinnati Enquirer's windows, not one word about the protest march was reported in the Gannett owned paper. To the ALEC contingent and their supporters, the rally, march and teach-ins were nothing more than a minor inconvenience and served to fill them with a sense of pride that their power and influence were so vast - and opposition to both so small.
That all changed after the CMD and Nation Magazine went public with documents and materials turned over to a protest organizer in Cincinnati by a whistleblower associated with ALEC. As the site "ALEC Exposed" went up in July 2011 with public access to all of the "model bills" in ALEC's arsenal, the Nation and CMD published several articles detailing the model legislation disseminated by ALEC to every state and chronicled the impact that legislation had upon various segments of our society.
Now more than a year later after larger protests and marches were held at subsequent ALEC events held in New Orleans, Phoenixand Charlotte, ALEC, their members and sponsors no longer feel invincible - nor are they laughing at the antics of a small, ineffective protest contingent. Thirty eight U.S. multi-national corporations and four Non-Profits have severed ties with ALEC as has more than seventy state legislators. Once their activities hidden away behind closed doors of plush resorts and hotels became public, lawmakers, corporations and their lobbyists have tried to scurry from the spotlights exposing their work advancing a hidden, pro-corporate, neo-conservative agenda.
As ALEC's member and sponsor bases diminish so does the income derived from membership dues, fees for influential seats upon their task forces, financial support for their meetings at plush resorts. Another reduction is the power and influence wielded by ALEC in state Houses and Senates across America. With the resignation of each legislative member, ALEC loses a vote in support of their model legislation sent out to states...loses a lobbying voice for their agenda. These were votes and support they previously could count upon to advance any initiative sought by their multi-national corporate benefactors.
As you'll read in the PRWatch article, ALEC has called upon conservative bloggers and media outlets to help them fight back and stop the bleeding of memberships through resignation. Of late they've hired the PR firm to help ALEC try and defend themselves against the continuous leaking of their activities and reporting by CMD, Common Cause, People For the American Way, VLTP, Color of Change, Daily Kos and several more organizations. Their first job has been to try and make it appear that their detractors are directed and funded by "partisan" leftists such as George Soros, that journalists reporting on them are lacking in credibility and it's all a left-wing plot...while playing down the actual fact that Charles and David Koch's money and influence guide ALEC from a seat bought by them on ALEC's Private Enterprise Board.
ALEC continues to claim they do not lobby and all of their activities are "legally allowed" under existing laws. What many fail to realize is that with fully 1/3 of all state lawmakers holding membership in ALEC, one hundred alumni in Congress and unlimited corporate funding, this cabal has implemented recent changes to existing lobbying and campaign finance laws through amendments and where necessary, crafted new laws and worked to pass them nationwide; think about the Citizen's United case when considering this.
They have in effect, made their activities "legal" through their legislative actions. In South Carolina and Indiana they have already gotten legislation passed exempting their activities from state prohibitions against lobbying.
I have a suggestion for ALEC and their members: "If you stop lying, spreading propaganda, working to suppress voters and to eradicate public education...the media attention will go away, some of your sponsors will return and everyone involved on both sides can get back to restoring America to truly being a "Land of the Free..."
Just sayin'.....
It is actions such as this all of us are trying to put a stop to - and reverse the cabal's successes.