ALEC and the Corporate Assault on our Political System
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At a time when there is an ever-widening gap between the wealthy and the working class working poor, the impact of undue and outrageous corporate economic and political influence has never been more severe.
From the Citizens United decision results to Americans Elect to ALEC, the corporate assault on our political system seems to keep growing. And it is happening in our very back yard.
Here's our 3-part series on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) – an organization devoted to shady backroom dealing, where large corporations are buying the ability to write state laws and deliver them directly into the hands of state legislators.
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These groups are not just from out-of-state. They may not be homegrown or have a vested interest here but some of their contacts are here. The attacks don't have to be civil or accurate. They have to just demonstrate a connection of fear within the electorate. Whether from Karl Rove or Grover Norquist you can guarantee the discourse will not be civil in the debate on public policy. It is gotten so bad that we have folks from the right and the left quitting politics. They may cite it's about money and their need to support their families, but they are leaving because of the same uncivility of the current process.
It is now become acceptable to tell folks on the opposite side of the aisle to shut up when they have the floor. How disgraceful that our public discourse and debate cannot be done in a civil major and has centered upon self-serving interests from outside Oregon.
Shame on us for allowing them to get away with it.
I just wish the unions would figure out if campaign finance reform is good or bad.
AFL-CIO supported Citizens United with friend of the court supplemental briefs.
No unions supported the FEC in the Citizens United case.
Measure 47 (and 46) here in Oregon were opposed by most of the same public employee unions that supported all sorts of restrictions on the groundbreaking Oregon System of direct democracy. William U'Ren vs Kate Brown and Steve Novick.
The Democrats destroyed our state's restrictions on campaign and union donations.
So why is it bad when the feds stopped restricting campaign and union donations?
...here's the opening from an email i just got from sen. jeff merkley...more 'alec-type' stuff, right here in oregon...
"Dear Billy Don,
As we move closer to Election Day 2012, something remarkable has happened in Oregon.
Shadowy, out-of-state special interest groups led by Karl Rove have already dumped more than a quarter million dollars into Oregon attacking my friend, Congressman Kurt Schrader. It's unprecedented that the attacks have started so early and with so much money behind them here in our great state.
The attack ads get more vicious, desperate and deceitful every election cycle."