ALEC Ties Bring Down British Defense Secretary, Threaten Prime Minister David Cameron

[midnight]

Last edited Sun Oct 21, 2012, 11:36 PM - Edit history (1)

This is old news, but I was not aware of this....

"British Defense Secretary Liam Fox has stepped down in the midst of an escalating scandal tied to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The ALEC connections have led opposition party leaders and the British press to question whether British Prime Minister David Cameron has been "allowing a secret rightwing agenda to flourish at the heart of the Conservative party."

Fox, Atlantic Bridge, and ALEC

Last week, the Center for Media and Democracy reported on the escalating political scandal involving allegations that Fox's friend and former flatmate, Adam Werrity, had been profiting off of their relationship. Werrity had been handing out business cards embossed with Parliament's logo that described him as an "adviser" to Fox, and businessmen had gone through Werrity to arrange meetings with the defense minister. Lobbying firms and charities tied to Werrity, in turn, would receive payments from some of those same individuals and special interests. As the Fox-Werrity scandal unfolded, it emerged that Werrity had been using Fox's taxpayer-funded office as the official headquarters of a "charity" Fox had founded in 1997 called "Atlantic Bridge."

In 2001, the American Legislative Exchange Council set up a sister charity by the same name, which led to a surge in Atlantic Bridge funding and activities.

The Guardian stated that, as a result of the ties to ALEC, "It is hard to escape the conclusion that in the space of five years the Atlantic Bridge went from a small, Tory-leaning charity, dispensing freedom medals in the name of Thatcher, to an influential networking club linking most of the cabinet to powerful business interests, neocons and Tea Party enthusiasts."

http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/10/11080/alec-ties-bring-down-british-defense-secretary-threaten-prime-minister-david-came

[HooptieWagon]

1. Sweet!

Anything that shines a light on the cockroaches is good.

[amborin]

2. great news!

[NBachers]

3. If only ALEC connections would bring down politicians on this side of the pond

[midnight]

9. Here is an article that shows Karl Rove involved in this Atlantic Bridge relationship.

"But in 2007 the Atlantic Bridge's relationship with big business entered a new realm, one that threatens to pose uncomfortable questions for Cameron and his party. The organisation signed a special partnership with the American Legislative Council (Alec), whose motto is "Limited government, free markets, federalism".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/oct/15/liam-fox-atlantic-bridge?intcmp=239

[Angry Dragon]

4. Is ALEC a terrorist organization??

[HooptieWagon]

6. Basically, yes.

[craigmatic]

5. It'd be nice if this gets bigger but Cameron is a slippery one and if the phone hacking thing didn't

bring him down this might not either.

[brooklynite]

7. Um, this story is a year old...

I think we can reasonably assume it didn't threaten Cameron.

[midnight]

8. True, but did you know about it? I didn't.. What about our prison legislation via privatization.

“The most innovative criminal justice policies being proposed today are those that utilize the private sector to perform corrections functions. Streets and neighborhoods are made safer when we rely on the private sector to supervise defendants, and Jerry has been instrumental in helping ALEC members implement such successful policies in their states,” says ALEC Executive Director Ron Scheberle. “We recognize him and thank him for his efforts.”
ALEC is the nation’s largest bipartisan membership organization of state legislators. Included among its members are 31 Speakers, 37 Presidents and Senate Pro Tems, 25 Senate Majority and Minority Leaders, and 38 House Majority and Minority Leaders.
Watson received the award at ALEC’s 37th Annual Meeting in San Diego, California on August 4-8. Watson has chaired numerous board committees and served as ALEC’s Private Enterprise Board Chairman 2006-2008. Today he is the Board’s Chairman Emeritus. His participation in this organization began through his position as Senior Legal Counsel for The American Bail Coalition. ABC is comprised of the nation’s bail surety insurance companies. Watson serves as the Chief Legal Officer of AIA, the nation’s largest and oldest underwriters of bail insurance.
About AIA
The AIA family of companies has been partnering with agents across the country for over a century. Formed in 2003 as an alliance of the surety bail industry’s leading companies, Allegheny Casualty, International Fidelity and Associated Bond (AIA), utilize a unique “service- focused” approach to management, that provides its family of agents with the knowledge, tools and commitment they need to grow their business and succeed. With over 150 years of combined experience, AIA has become the overwhelming industry leader in agent service, national coverage, bail bonds written and number of agents.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/08/prweb4434154.htm