"United States of ALEC — A Follow-Up" - Moyers and Company

[Bill USA]

... after the Roberts Supreme Court, ALEC is perhaps the greatest challenge to our Democracy (as a system of government for, by and of the people rather than corporate lords and psycho-billionaires). Because the threat that ALEC represents to our democracy is so great, it's impossible to overestimate the importance of Moyers' continuing reporting on it. It is worth emailing, posting (FB, etc) and making sure everyone you know is aware of Moyers reports on the threat of ALEC


http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-united-states-of-alec-a-follow-up/

(video of show at site)

A national consortium of state politicians and powerful corporations, ALEC — the American Legislative Exchange Council — presents itself as a “nonpartisan public-private partnership”. But behind that mantra lies a vast network of corporate lobbying and political action aimed to increase corporate profits at public expense without public knowledge.

In state houses around the country, hundreds of pieces of boilerplate ALEC legislation are proposed or enacted that would, among other things, dilute collective bargaining rights, make it harder for some Americans to vote, and limit corporate liability for harm caused to consumers — each accomplished without the public ever knowing who’s behind it. Using interviews, documents, and field reporting, the episode explores ALEC’s self-serving machine at work, acting in a way one Wisconsin politician describes as “a corporate dating service for lonely legislators and corporate special interests.”

Former health care industry executive Wendell Potter says, “Even though I’d known of [ALEC] for a long time, I was astonished. Just about everything that I knew that the health insurance industry wanted out of any state lawmaker was included in that package of bills.”

Following up on a 2012 report, this update includes new examples of corporate influence on state legislation and lawmakers, the growing public protest against ALEC’s big business-serving agenda, and internal tactics ALEC is instituting to further shroud its actions and intentions.
(more)

for those who may want to quote from the show in their own posts here's The transcript


Dig Deeper...
Interactive Map: Is Your State Legislator a Member of ALEC?


Frequently asked Questions on ALEC

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Bill USA.