ALEC - civil society fights back [View all]

[kristopher]

ALEC - civil society fights back
Ben Whitford 28th December 2013

Few groups have done more to further the US conservative agenda - and harm progressive causes - than the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. But as Ben Whitford reports, civil society is fighting back.

Virtually every piece of controversial, right-wing legislation passed by America's statehouses in recent years has borne ALEC's grubby fingerprints.
A shadowy but extraordinarily powerful legislation-mill and stealth-lobbying outfit, ALEC specialises in quietly shepherding right-wing legislation through America’s statehouses - a process that, until recently, went all but unnoticed by the national media.

In recent months, however, ALEC has found itself the subject of a great deal of unwanted attention. The Occupy protests helped draw attention to ALEC’s activities, while the killing of Florida teen Trayvon Martin led to scrutiny of ALEC’s role in pushing legislation designed to make it harder to prosecute fatal shootings.

The cloak of secrecy is lifted

Internal ALEC documents, meanwhile, have been obtained by PR Watch, the Guardian and others, giving campaigners a rare look at ALEC’s inner workings - and allowing progressives to begin formulating more effective strategies for fighting back.

That’s especially painful for ALEC’s supporters...

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2210057/alec_civil_society_fights_back.html