The bright light shone on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) by The Center for Media and Democracy's
ALEC Exposed efforts, as well as those by
Color of Change and allied progressive groups, has paid off. Today ALEC
announced that it is pulling back from some of the non-business related campaigns it's been pursuing.
“We are refocusing our commitment to free-market, limited government and pro-growth principles, and have made changes internally to reflect this renewed focus.
“We are eliminating the ALEC Public Safety and Elections task force that dealt with non-economic issues, and reinvesting these resources in the task forces that focus on the economy. The remaining budgetary and economic issues will be reassigned.
In the announcements from the organizations and corporations that have left ALEC (the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, McDonald's, Wendy's, Intuit, Mars, Kraft Foods, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo), the corporations have focused on the fact that they joined ALEC for business reasons, to lobby for more business-friendly laws and regulations. The reach into voter suppression and expanded gun rights had nothing to do with their interests. Exposing those efforts by ALEC was critical in waking those companies up to exactly what it was they were supporting, whether they were aware of it or not.
It's a huge accomplishment to get this organization to cry "uncle" on voter suppression and gun rights. But before we celebrate too much, remember that ALEC's efforts on jobs and the economy has been disastrous for working America, and will continue to be. They are, after all, just another product of the Koch brothers.
They will still be committed to crippling organized labor, to fighting environmental regulations, to privatizing education and prison systems, to fighting against consumer protection and safety net protections. The list is huge, and it will all fall under the rubric of "free-market, limited government and pro-growth principles."
This is a good win, but the fight against ALEC is far from over.
Check out Adam B's diary for more discussion.
11:35 AM PT: Via TomP Color of Change isn't buying it:
ALEC's latest statement is nothing more than a PR stunt aimed at diverting attention from its agenda, which has done serious damage to our communities. To simply say they are stopping non-economic work doesn't guarantee that ALEC will not continue to push laws that endanger African Americans and trample our voting rights. Shutting down one task force does not provide justice to the millions of Americans whose lives are impacted by these dangerous and discriminatory laws courtesy of ALEC and its corporate backers. It's clear that major corporations were in bed with an institution that has worked against basic American values such as the right to vote. Now that these companies are aware of what they've supported, what will they do about it? If ALEC's corporate supporters will not hold the institution accountable for the damage it has caused nationwide, then the ColorOfChange community will hold them accountable."