ALEC In The News...

From J.D. Prose at the Beaver Caahn-tee Times:

We first told you about the innocuous-sounding American Legislative Exchange Council back in August when Keystone Progress exposed it as a front for right-wingers to get like-minded politicians to champion their dangerous cookie-cutter legislation.

Here's J.D.'s piece from August, 2011, on ALEC.

We first told you about ALEC a few months earlier, in June of 2011 - just sayin'.

Anyway, back to Prose from this week:

Most recently, though, ALEC popped up in media reports as the brains (for lack of a better term) behind the effort by several Right-Wing state legislatures to pass intrusive, insulting and medically unnecessary ultrasound requirements for women seeking LEGAL abortions.

Miraculously, some Pennsylvania legislators — Republicans and wayward Democrats — are coming to their senses (it is possible!) and distancing themselves from ALEC’s nonsense.

Keystone Progress said last week that 14 legislators, including GOP state Rep. Mark Mustio (of the ethnic baiting D. Raja ads), Democratic state Rep. Nick Kotik of Robinson, Pippy and even Turzai have publicly cut ties with ALEC.

Keystone Progress issued a press release on the 15 regarding what they're calling the "largest" exodus in the nation:

Fourteen Fifteen Pennsylvania legislators with ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) have publicly stated that they are no longer affiliated with the controversial corporate front group.  They join dozens of legislators across the country who are fleeing ALEC in response to public pressure from constituents.

ALEC is behind the efforts to pass bills that strip away union rights, scale back child labor laws, attack the regulation power of environmental agencies, suppress voter rights with strict identification requirements, eliminate the social safety net, and privatize public services. ALEC is not just another public policy organization, it is a corporate front group supporting some of the most radical and dangerous legislation in the nation.

The fourteen legislators come from both major parties, with eight Democrats and six Republicans separating from ALEC. All legislators listed as being affiliated with ALEC have documented ties, either publicly stating their prior affiliation or from public documents (Right to Know Law documents, DOS campaign finance reports, or PA Ethics filings).

Actually, by the time the Times published Prose, there's been one more - State Senator Stewart Greenleaf.

That makes 16.

JD points out, however, that there's still one name clinging to the shortening list:

Huh. Seems there’s one name missing. Let’s just go down the ... Heyyyyy, our main man Nutcalfe! He’s still on a list of 51 state legislators (available at keystoneprogress.org) sticking with ALEC’s 19th century agenda.

"Nutcalfe" is Prose's name for State Senator Daryl Metcalfe.

As if you couldn't figure that aht for yourself.