ALEC - Very Important Threat To US Liberties Exposed!

[Peter Lemkin]

Well worth reading the pdf report on ALEC [in the post just above]. All good...here is an interesting sample from it:

"Q.E.D.: ALEC, Koch and the GOP
While ALEC claims to be a non-partisan public-private legislative partnership, free of loyalties to any single party or interest, the reality of the organization is similar to that of an aspen grove. Ostensibly, an aspen grove is comprised of many densely clustered individual trees. However, an inspection below the soil reveals that each tree is in fact an offshoot of one large root network-- each tree a manifestation of the same organism. Such is the relationship between ALEC and much of its think tank/"public policy foundation" membership.
ALEC, as an organization, has received significant funding from the Charles Koch Foundation and one of its member (and therefore "donor") organizations is the Cato Institute. According to Cato incorporation documents, the organization was initially incorporated as an offshoot of the Charles Koch Foundation in 1974. David Koch is currently a director of Cato.
A prominent ALEC member think tank, the Reason Foundation (a "libertarian" public policy institute devoted to promoting privatization of governmental functions) is funded in part by the Charles Koch Foundation. David Koch is also a Reason director. Michael Flynn, Reason's current director of government affairs, served as ALEC director of policy and legislative activities/strategic initiatives for several years, ending in 2003.
The Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF, a prominent contributor to the ALEC/Koch public policy network-- initially incorporated as Citizens for a Sound Economy Educational Foundation), is
funded largely by the Charles Koch Foundation and Koch Industries (whose capital is derived primarily from chemical manufacturing and energy production, as well as from diversified holdings in a number of other corporations).
David Koch is the chairman of AFPF, serving on the board alongside Koch Industries Executive Vice President Richard Fink. Fink also serves as president of the Charles Koch Foundation and is executive vice president of the Mercatus Center, yet another Koch-funded right-wing ALEC public policy member.
In 2003, AFPF spawned two more right-wing public policy foundations: Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and FreedomWorks.
From the AFPF/Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE) rib which formed FreedomWorks was cut AFPF Chief Economist Wayne Brough (who today is FreedomWorks vice president of research and chief economist), and former AFPF/CSE Vice President Matt Kibbe (currently president of both FreedomWorks and the FreedomWorks Foundation).
As noted in AFPF 2003 tax records, the group paid $429,583 in "consulting" fees to former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX) through FreedomWorks. Armey had left the House in January of that year. This AFPF expenditure was essentially Armey's first year salary as chairman of FreedomWorks.
From January, 2009 through the November, 2010 midterm elections, FreedomWorks and AFP were instrumental in creating the false populist "Tea Party" movement. Through the orchestration of scores of national tax day protests, conventions and constant mainstream media coverage, FreedomWorks, AFP and other Koch-funded ALEC-member public policy groups (such as the National Taxpayers Union, currently headed by former ALEC executive director Duane Parde) were largely instrumental in ushering in unprecedented Republican legislative majorities nationwide.
And this track record is just what makes ALEC's constant assertions of non-partisanship so laughable.
To illustrate: according to District of Columbia incorporation papers filed for what is today FreedomWorks, the organization had undergone a series of name changes and mergers prior to reaching its current incarnation-- initially being incorporated as "Foundation for Freedom and Capitalism" (FFC) in 1987. The last stage of the organization's growth prior to becoming FreedomWorks was "Citizens for the Environment," (formerly "Taxpayer Action League") incorporated in 1995 by former AFPF/CSE president Paul Beckner.
According to these documents, one of FFC's founding directors was influential GOP strategist/lobbyist extraordinaire Ed Gillespie.
Gillespie served as an aide to House Majority Leader Armey (1995-2003) following the "Repulican Revolution" of 1994. As Communications and Policy Director of the House Republican Conference of 1994, Gillespie, along with such notables as Armey, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA, also very active in ALEC in recent years) and Grover Norquist (head of Americans for Tax Reform, also active in ALEC), is credited as being one of the authors of the 1994 GOP "Contract with America."
Following his time in House leadership, Gillespie served as press secretary to the failed presidential bid (1999) of current Ohio Governor John Kasich ®. Kasich, during his time in the Ohio Senate (1978¬
1982) is credited by ALEC as being one of the more active public sector members during the organization's "formative years" (ALEC was founded in 1973).
It should be noted that one of Kasich's first actions as governor of Ohio in 2011 was the unveiling of a plan to sell off and privatize a significant portion of Ohio's correctional infrastructure-- a course of action near and dear to both ALEC and its private prison industry donors. Significantly, Ohio's SB 5, sponsored by ALEC member Sen. Shannon Jones (R-Springboro), eliminated public employee collective bargaining rights as they pertained to issues of privatization.
Following his time with Kasich, Gillespie went on to found, along with former Vice President Al Gore
(D) chief of staff John M. Quinn, the lobby firm of Quinn, Gillespie & Associates. The firm opened their doors in time to lobby for Enron (a former ALEC member corporation) in 2001 on issues of energy industry deregulation (another subject close to the hearts of the Koch network and ALEC). Shortly thereafter, Gillespie announced he would launch an organization dubbed "21st Century Energy Project"-- to include support from AFPF and CSE.
To be fair, Gillespie's lobbying activities on behalf of Enron/Koch energy interests were fairly limited (most likely curtailed by the demise of Enron) compared to lobbying performed on behalf of other clients such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Diageo (a prominent ALEC member corporation) and AT&T (longtime chair of the ALEC Private Enterprise Board).
Following a stint in 2003 as Republican National Committee chairman, Gillespie went on, in 2007, to serve as an advisor to President George W. Bush, replacing Karl Rove in the twilight of that administration.
At the outset of 2011, Gillespie served as chairman of an RNC transitional team appointed to usher in the sweeping Republican majorities nationwide-- made possible to such a large degree by AFP and FreedomWorks.
Quod erat demonstratum. "