Many of the Few Democratic Legislators Belonging to ALEC Decide to QUIT

Democratic legislators are leaving ALEC even faster than corporations continue to do so.  While I predict they will be much slower to come to their senses and abandon such egregious corruption, I believe that the conservatives in the face of rising outrage at allowing out of state obscene special interest money sources to draft legislation, will find themselves in uncomfortable positions defending their actions to the living breathing not-special-interest constituents who elect them.  There comes a point where no amount of money will guarantee a conservative an election, when people are knowledgeable enough, and angry enough about what they know. 

The electorate should be angry - very angry.  We the people are getting the shaft while the big money that pays off our legislators gets richer, makes bigger profits, unfair, unequal and disproportionate profits at our expense.  Simply put, we do not like it when the party which promises transparency meets and drafts legislation in secret - often outside the state where it is passed.  We do not like our legislators being paid off, either directly or indirectly by entities competing with our interests and the service of our legislators.

Right wing culture war agendas are unwelcome, and unpopular.  In record breaking numbers, the legislation by the right is being undone or overturned, and those elected to government are being thrown out with deliberate haste.

I used to have respect for conservatives; I used to BE a conservative.  Now they are fact averse, anti-education, anti-science, and selling out to an unprecedented degree since the late 19th / earliest part of the 20th century to corrupt big money.  Their arrogance since the latter 20th century and the first decade of this century is unprecedented in my life time.

Here is the latest on the legislators leaving ALEC.  If the Corp-o-rats are the businesses, like Koch and WalMart (and others), and lobbyists for big money entities like the NRA interceded for gun manufacturers, then the legislators are the crew of the sinking ship, heading for the exits -- and the dinghys.

From the Nation:

Meet the 28 Lawmakers Who Have Quit ALEC This Month

Zaid Jilani

April 26, 2012

 

Editor's Note: This article was first published by RepublicReport.org.
 
The exodus of major corporations from the corporate front group American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has made headlines nationwide as the group’s agenda has been increasingly scrutinized by the general public.

But as these corporations have fled ALEC, there has also been one other little-noticed exodus from the group: that of legislators. SourceWatch and Keystone Progress have been tracking the defections of lawmakers. Here are 28 who have left so far:

- Sen. Nan Orrock (D-GA): “As a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council for several years, having joined ALEC with the primary goal of better understanding the corporate-dominated organization, I know first-hand that ALEC is not the innocuous organization it claims to be.” [4/17/12]
- Sen. Greg Cromer (R-LA): “‘It has been brought to my attention that there have been meetings and/or activities with ALEC staff members within the state of Louisiana that I have not been privy to,’ Cromer wrote in his resignation letter that went out as an email to key lawmakers and staffers.” [4/17/12]
- Sen. Mike Colona (D-MO): “‘Their agenda is radical and wrong for Missouri. I was a member and saw firsthand the sort of extreme legislation they push on state legislators around the country,’ Cromer said in a statement to the organization “Progress Missouri.” [4/12/12]
- Pennsylvania Reps. Kate Harper (R), Sandra Major (R), Mark Mustio (R), Harry Readshaw (D), and Sen. John Pippy (R) [4/26/12]
- Sen. George Muñoz (D-NM) [4/20/12]
- Rep. Ted Vick (D-SC): “Recent revelations concerning ALEC’s funding sources from radical elements have proven to be the final straw for me. ALEC has become too partisan and too extreme.” [4/24/12]
- Nebraska Senators Danielle Conrad (D), Tony Fulton (R), Health Mello (D), and Jeremy Norquist (D) [4/26/12]
- Texas Democratic Party Reps. Alma Allen, Armando Martinez, Dawnna Dukes, Hubert Vo, Harold Dutton, Chente, Quintanilla, Eddie Rodriguez, José Menéndez, Ruth Jones McClendon, Eric Johnson, Tracy King, Ryan Guillen [4/2012]
- Rep. Jennifer Selig (D-UT) [4/9/12]
- Rep. Kevin Van De Wege (D-WA): “My membership status is increasingly becoming a divisive issue this year, and I prefer to put my time and energy into efforts that unite our district rather than divide it.” [4/11/12]

We applaud these legislators for leaving the corporate front group, which has been responsible for pushing destructive special interest legislation, from climate change denial in schools, to anti-union and anti-consumer bills, to the controversial Voter ID and Stand Your Ground laws.

the ALEC money corp-o- ' Rat'