General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMerck leaves ALEC; DC headquarters of ALEC put up for sale.
http://www.nationofchange.org/alec-s-membership-dropping-flies-1347715368With controversial and sometimes shady dealings being taking place between lobbyists and congress, big corporations are starting to pick up on the dangers of being associated with polarized lobbying bodies. The New Jersey News reports that the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, lost the membership of another multi-billion dollar corporation yesterday:
Global pharmaceutical maker Merck & Co. said today it is leaving the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council which drafts model bills that are replicated in state legislatures across the country because of budget constraints and policy priorities.
Lobbyists are only as powerful as the special interests on whose behalf they are lobbying. Take away the special interest, and all youre left with is a group of people whose power amounts to the same as the rest of ours; in order to make your voice heard, you cast a vote. Instead, ALEC has been writing their own legislation and pushing it hard through Congress. When that legislation conflicts with the will of the people, its simply bad business for ALECs members. The result?
More than three dozen companies have left ALEC this year, including Amazon.com, McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Kraft.
This is bad news for ALEC, but good news for anyone looking for some prime real estate within the D.C. city limitsthe headquarters for ALEC is on the market.
Kolesar
(31,182 posts)WW2 Victory in Europe reference
rfranklin
(13,200 posts)They were only doing the bidding of those who financed them but were unfortunate enough to get caught doing it.
on edit: pyrrhic was not quite the right word...I have not given up all hope of someday ridding our government of corporate corruption.
valerief
(53,235 posts)King_Klonopin
(1,305 posts)corrupt, corporo-fascist organization with an innocuous-sounding name
like: The Society of Citizens United for Marshmallows (SCUM)
They bought our airwaves, the labor force, the banks, and the government
without even a peep of objection from an apathetic nation. They're like
cockroaches -- they're not dead, they just moved to another apartment.
winstars
(4,214 posts)eridani
(51,907 posts)rgbecker
(4,806 posts)eridani
(51,907 posts)rgbecker
(4,806 posts)I'm feeling very small.
Demeter
(85,373 posts)in all its manifestations. Participatory democracy within our grasp, evolving before our eyes (and NOT on television, either!)
Skidmore
(37,364 posts)These things never just disappear. They regroup under a different name. Remember PNAC? Blackwater?
eridani
(51,907 posts)--should lead to the discovery of the new name and its quick spread all over the intertubes.
Zorra
(27,670 posts)It really works!!!
Occupy Wall Street Protests ALEC In What Activists Call Largest Coordinated Occupy Event This Year
Since a wave of nationwide evictions effectively ended the movement's tent-city phase three months ago, Occupy activists have been trying to regain momentum. It's unclear whether today's event lived up to those expectations, but its organizers presented it as an important step forward.
nanabugg
(2,198 posts)get concurrence from the rest of the bastards. They will only devolve to something we don't recognize.
Odin2005
(53,521 posts)SoapBox
(18,791 posts)they need to be tracked and followed...they will strike again.
BumRushDaShow
(127,331 posts)Next!
Blue Owl
(49,939 posts)n/t