ALEC Members - Why Would You Want a Member List?

ALEC Members - Why Would You Want a Member List?

by 2old2care

Many of us were very excited this week when the Center for Media and Democracy released their expose on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).  Their site ALEC Exposed, not only contains a drop of approximately 800 pieces of ALEC legislation, but also includes a growing list of politicians that are members of ALEC.

For years many of us have been working to expose ALEC and their nefarious actions – now that is done! Yippee!  So the question begs to be asked – what's next?

What is next – we HAVE TO REMOVE all ALEC members from state and federal government.  It is our role to make sure that they don’t get re-elected.  Now is the time for “boots to the ground” to use the information we have compiled on ALEC members and legislations to prove to others that ALEC members MUST be removed from public service at any and all levels.

ALEC members are not serving the public – they are serving the corporations.  It does not matter how ALEC or their members spin this story over the next couple months it is important for you – to remember and to talk about the following fact -

When was the last time YOU got to sit with your legislator for two or three days and tell your legislator what YOUR needs are and help your legislator write legislation that benefited YOU.

Your ALEC legislator does this multiple times a year with corporations – so when push comes to shove – it is evident who your legislator is representing – the ALEC corporations.

In line with this thinking I want to share with you a post from Daily Kos, done in May of this year.  In retrospect this post was premature – but now it has amazing insight for future actions that need to be taken.

For your enjoyment  - - - - - from MnDem999 at Daily KOS

I’ve done a lot of research over the past 4 months trying to find out who are ALEC members.  I have visited blogs and diaries, searched ALEC documents, searched the web, search documents that have nothing to do with ALEC - but have names I recognize in them.  I spend hours and hours looking for ALEC member information.

And last night when I was updating my list of past and present ALEC members – I had to ask the question.

So what – what if people had a list – what does that accomplish? 

What would happen if people had a list - what will it accomplish? 

Does it really hurt ALEC if a list were available or would ALEC just go on – business as usual?

How would this information be used in a constructive way?

Having a list of names means nothing – it’s just a list of names.  It has no meaning.

The lists will always be incomplete – ‘cause the only place that has the full list is ALEC and new members join every session – every ALEC meeting.

It’s also important to acknowledge that other non-ALEC legislators KNOW who the members of ALEC are and yet they have chosen not to use that information in their campaigns.  So we have to ask the question, “Why not?”

One of the things I have found during my research is that in general ALEC members are embarrassed to acknowledge their membership in ALEC.

The ALEC member bios will show that they are a member of the NRA, the VFW, AARP, their place of worship, the PTO, the Legion, the “Y” – organizations that have little or nothing to do with their legislative work – nothing! But very seldom do they acknowledge that they belong to ALEC.

So my question to ALEC members is:

Hey, ALEC members – why don’t you mention ALEC?

    You don’t mention the organization that puts pre-written

       legislation in your grubby little hand just by visiting the

       ALEC “Members Only” webpage?

    You don’t mention the organization that reaffirms your

       commitment to free-market philosophy at the expense

       of representative government?

    You don’t mention your membership in an organization

       whose corporate sponsors wine and dine you at all

       the ALEC meetings and help you write

       legislation – legislation / government by the

       corporations and for the corporations?

Are you embarrassed to acknowledge

your relationship with ALEC?

I would be –

but then, I wouldn’t be a member of an organization

that in my opinion subverts democracy in the United States.

Well what would you do if you had a list?

Having a list of names means nothing – it’s just a list of names.  It has no meaning.

Would you confront them and ask them “Are you a Member of ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council?

  If they said yes – what would you do with that information?

  How would you educate people about what that means and why it’s

  an important question to ask?

  If they said, no.  How would you respond??

Would you write editorials about their membership in ALEC?

  If yes, how would you phrase it so people would understand what that means and

  why it’s important that they know that information?

Would you write about the ALEC member in a diary or a blog?  What would you write?  It has to be more than their name and that they are an ALEC member – some people already know that and don’t care.

If a journalist contacted you – what would you tell them?  What does it mean, can you provide proof, do you have local examples you can give them?

Would you tell others about the ALEC member? 

If yes, what would you tell them? 

How would you explain to them what being

an ALEC member means and if their response was 

‘That sounds okay, doesn’t

really seem like a big thing.”

Could you explain to them why being an ALEC

member is really important?

Would you have materials ready to give them,

to further educate them or

web pages that you could refer them to?

What would you do if you found out one of your favorite legislators was an ALEC member?  Would that make a difference?  Would it be okay for that legislator to be a member – because you like them?

It’s important to remember that other non-ALEC legislators KNOW who the members of ALEC are and yet they have chosen not to use that information in their campaigns.  How can we make a difference?

So we have to ask the question – as we move forward –

How can I make a difference? 

How can I share this information in a way that is meaningful and will

    truly make a difference in the next election?

The only way that we can be assured that ALEC will fold

is if they no longer have legislators as members –

which means that current ALEC members and

ALEC Alumni members in the US Congress

can not be re-elected.

THAT is the only reason to want to know a list of names.

But, elections take time -  this will be a long process - it won’t happen overnight – it will take time and energy. Are you in it for the long haul?

So what?  What if people had a list – what does that accomplish? 

What would happen if people had a list - what will it accomplish? 

Does it really hurt ALEC if a list were available?

How can that information be used in a constructive way?

What will I do with an ALEC member list?

Reposted from Daily Kos, MNDem999, 5/14/2011