Yesterday when I was reading the amazing comments on my 3/28 diary, I thought to myself – there has to be more that can come out of this – this is just the beginning – there can be more.
Although I may have written this diary – I can not take credit for the content. I want to thank every single person who commented to my 3/28 diary because it is you who is the inspiration for this entry – without you, this would have never happened. Thank you, thank you, thank you
Two comments focused me on what the future could bring.:
So ALEC exists. So where's the counter-ALEC group? Answer: it doesn't exist. The focus should instead be on how to create organizations to counter ALEC.
But the hivemind has spoken, so I suppose now I'll be accused of defending their actions because I refuse clutch my pearls and retire to the fainting couch.
Just how do you people ever expect to wield any political influence if you insist on sitting at the kiddie table?
I really didn’t’ see either one of these comments as negative. I interpreted them from my point of view over the last couple weeks – a shrill voice in the back of my head screaming – “What can we do?” “Is there anything we can do?” “Why isn’t someone telling me what I can do?” “Why isn’t someone doing something?” That voice has been too loud and too persistent lately. Reading the documented critical thinking left as comments on my 3/28 diary quieted the voice long enough for me to initiate an alternative thought process, a new train of thought, a focus that was necessary to begin to formulate the answers to all those questions.
It was the KOS community and their comments that started to answer the questions. It is their thoughtful comments, their willingness to share their sources and their information that make this diary possible.
No more fainting couches for us – because we can counter ALEC by putting our boots to the ground and our pens to paper. I am confident that we have the talents needed and the dedication to make this happen.
Boots to the Ground
In addition to their state level meetings, ALEC has the following national events planned. We need to be there to meet and greet their members.
April 28 - 29 Cincinnati, Ohio Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Spring
Task Force Summit (On 3/28 people were planning to go!)
Aug 3 – 6 New Orleans 38th Marriott New Orleans Annual Meeting
Dec 1 – 3 Washington DC Grand Hyatt Washington
States & NATION Policy Summit
Scheduled State Meetings
April 12: Colorado
This will involve careful planning. This will require commitment. It will require on-going communication. It will require reaching out to other groups to join us in this effort. A good source to start the planning is “The Action Planning Toolkit” at The Wellstone Action Center website. It’s not exactly what we need – but it’s a word document that can be revised to meet your planning needs (just do a “save as” and rename it, to change and work with it.)
We need people to volunteer to take the lead in each town – two or three people willing to work together to do the planning.
We need to reach out to other people from different groups – progressives, environmentalists, union members, teachers and on and on and on.
We need really good slogans for signs.
We need an on-going peaceful presence throughout the event.
We need to know if permits are needed, how to get the permits and how long it take to get them?
We need someone at the event ready to talk to the media, when they come and ask why you are there. We need the 60 second sound bite that wakes up America, but doesn’t scare them.
The Institute of Humane Studies came up multiple times in the comments. Another option for boots on the ground is to infiltrate the Institute for Humane Studies (if you can stand it – without getting physically ill) and slow down their weekend indoctrinations. Weekend Seminars- “There is no cost to attend. All educational materials, books, meals, and snacks are provided at the seminar. Participants must arrange their own lodging for most seminars. Limited housing options may be available.” If we’re stealing all the talking points on weekends, their folks won’t have the latest talking points – we will.
Another “Boots to the Ground” option Every legislator who is affiliated with ALEC comes up for re-election. We need to identify who they are and make sure they do no get re-elected. Do like they did in Michigan – go to town meetings, ask them “Are you a member of ALEC – the American Legislative Exchange Council?” Ask every single candidate – they have to answer or try to answer and a room full of people will hear you ask the question and wonder, why? Lets bring them out, state by state … district by district, council by council and transport them into the sunlight!
No more fainting couches for us – because we can counter ALEC by putting our boots to the ground. I am confident that we have the talents needed and the dedication to make this happen.
Pens to Paper
In every state – across the nation – in the name of democracy.
There are a lot of us that can’t afford to be “boots on the ground”; there are some of us who physically can’t be “boots on the ground”. So we are the pens to paper (or in today’s model – our keys to the keyboard).
Take the action PsychoSavannah did – email the link to the ALEC webpage or links to multiple ALEC webpages to friends and relatives and ask them – are you aware this is happening? You could go further and ask: Can you believe our legislators are sitting down and negotiating legislation with corporation representatives from companies like Koch, Wal-Mart, Coors Brewing and 300 other companies? Here - look at the legislation they are proposing in our State, I found it on this webpage and Koch may have helped write that – is that okay with you? There’s a high probability we are paying for legislators to go to meetings with private companies for a whole weekend to write legislation for our state– that’s not okay with me, do you think that’s right? Include the ALEC webpage. You’re bright – I know you are! You could write a fantastic email that would get your relatives asking questions and saying, “No More – Not on my dime!”. Friends and relatives in every state, every district, every borough, every council.
One comment suggested that you use the “Tracking ALEC “model legislation through real legislatures” Item 1 – bullet point 1 tells you how to start to identify ALEC members. Item 1 – bullet 1 may not work in every state – but it’s better to try than not to try. If it doesn’t work, find a way to do an end run around the system in place to get the info you need (legally, of course) Item 1 – bullet point 2 helps you to identify the State Chairmen of ALEC in your state.
What can you do with those two pieces of information? You can write diaries and blogs. You can write editorials. You can bring those names and the information about ALEC to a newspaper that is willing to listen and maybe willing to write about it – it may not be your daily newspaper – but an article anywhere is better than no article anywhere.
Item number 2 and 3 on dbapress are for those of you who really like homework – who have the time to focus in and look at the minutiae of detail – many people can’t, so you are our hope with items 2 and 3. Once you’ve found what you are looking for, write diaries, editorials, write letters to your governor, your attorney general, your friends and family.
Read Inside ALEC, their monthly magazine so you can know their talking points and their legislative plans. If you know their talking points and their thinking behind the talking points, you are prepared to write rebuttals to “model legislation” that is brought before your state legislature.
Write a letter – or better yet start a letter writing campaign - to your governor, your house and senate majority leader (or their equivalents), state attorney general (and members of their staff) and to the state auditor – requesting that funding for any and all ALEC events and publications be ceased immediately. (After all, you are a conscientious fiscally responsible citizen. Let them know you want to get rid of waste in government spending)
Every time you find an indisputable example (like this article) where it appears that ALEC is attempting “to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before the U.S. Congress or in any state legislatures”, fill out this IRS form (your don’t have to sign it – just write anonymous) and request revocation of ALEC’s 501c3 status and staple the article as proof to the form.
Write letters to Stewart, Colbert, Maher, Schultz, Hartmann, Miller, Maddow – don’t email - write a letter and tell them we want more about ALEC. All of them will tell you – they get hundreds (thousand) of emails every day. Think about it - how often do they get a real honest to goodness letter – 10 minutes to write – 44 cents to mail – it’s a deal! We need mailing addresses – can someone help?
Who are our lawyers and accountants out there in the KOS community that can help us question the money paid for the trips, the flow of money between ALEC, legislators and possibly corporations, and the possibility of legal misconduct (all questions or comments in the 3/28 diary). Start your comment with – this is not legal advice and should not be construed as such, but someone I know suggested that blah, blah, blah – this is info we can use and want to know. Is this illegal lobbying? Are the trip costs really corporate gifts? Is there a way to get the 501c3 status – revoked, permanently? (Even if ALEC was only required to reform as a 527 –that’s more honest than what they are doing now.) We need as many talking points as we can get.
Remember, although you have first amendment rights – a KOS community comment cautions us all, it is very important to remember: “ALEC has a very active and aggressive legal team (they have hundreds of corporate lawyers as members), and they go after everybody” so choose your words wisely and make them gentler than you would like to.
And when you think you have written enough and talked enough and contacted enough people remember these two comments from my 3/28/11 diary
“I too had never previously heard of this group. And no wonder - I'm sure they want to fly low and under the radar, because their purpose seems to be to manipulate elected state legislatures to put corporate interests and profitability above those of their constituents.”
I was shocked that one of a (progressive democratic) legislator from this area was unfamiliar with them. The aide to my own (progressive Democratic) state aide said they get invitations every once in a while and toss them in the trash
No more fainting couches for us – because we can counter ALEC by putting our boots to the ground and our pens to paper. I am confident that we have the talents needed and the dedication to make this happen.
I started today – I have an interview on Friday with a newspaper (not a major paper – but it’s a paper) and we are going to talk about ALEC. They are intrigued and I’ll give it my best shot – wish me luck. Please join me on this journey.