John, it seems like everyday I’m seeing a new story about a teen being gunned down over simple misunderstandings – from knocking on the wrong door, to pulling into the wrong driveway, to getting in the wrong car.
A simple mistake resulting in death, or lifelong injury.
And on the other side, a person with a gun, feeling emboldened by extreme “Stand Your Ground” gun laws and callously taking a life.
Meanwhile, the group behind these gun laws – ALEC – continues to operate behind closed doors, pushing more extreme legislation while being propped up by household names like UPS and State Farm Insurance.
ALEC is the acronym for the American Legislative Exchange Council – a group of corporate lobbyists, funded by big corporations and a handful of wealthy families working to ram far-right legislation through state legislatures.
ALEC is responsible for some of the most extreme ultra-conservative laws passed in the last decade. In addition to pushing extreme gun legislation, we have ALEC to thank for racially discriminatory strict voter photo ID laws, rollbacks of environmental protection, and blocking the Affordable Care Act at the state level.
As I write, ALEC is hard at work trying to push even more extreme legislation through states across the country. Stifling the right to peaceful protest. Advancing a dangerous Article V Constitutional Convention. Enacting more barriers to vote.
ALEC’s member corporations pay top dollar for direct access to state lawmakers – who allow lobbyists to write corporate dream legislation into ALEC “model bills.” Then, ALEC-backed legislators rush those bills through their state houses, churning out laws that enrich corporations and hurt the rest of us.
But John, we have a plan to stop ALEC – and it’s working. You see, major companies don’t want to be publicly associated with ALEC’s overwhelmingly unpopular, extreme agenda. And up until very recently, ALEC has been able to operate from the shadows – quietly pulling the strings to advance their right wing policies.
But in the past few years, peoples’ groups like Common Cause have exposed ALEC for what it is – and put MAJOR pressure on companies to cut ties with them.
Already, three of ALEC’s biggest funders, AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon, responded to our demands by canceling their ALEC membership. They joined Google, Coca-Cola, Pfizer, and other major companies in an unprecedented exodus from ALEC’s toxic brand.
Now, as we’re planning our strategy to STOP ALEC, I’m asking every Common Cause member to chip in – and make an ongoing investment in our plan that could shut them out for good.
How? By becoming a Guardian for Democracy – a special group of Common Cause members who have agreed to make a monthly contribution of $5, $10, or even $25 in support of our work.
We’re ready to pressure each ALEC corporate member, one-by-one, until they cut ties with this extreme right-wing lobby group – and step up to defend our civil rights, voting rights, and every other right you and I hold dear.
Your monthly support will make it possible to fund the sustained effort required to shut down ALEC for good. You see, because of our Guardians for Democracy members, we can plan and budget for long term efforts because we know we have funds we can count on month after month.
John, will you become part of this special group today? For a limited time only, we’ll send you a copy of Robert Reich’s book The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It to say thanks!
Sorry, I can't become a sustaining member at this time, but I’d still like to make a one-time gift to help where it’s needed most >>
I’ve seen it firsthand: Our strategy hits ALEC where it hurts. They don’t have grassroots members, and don’t represent anyone besides major corporations – so if we keep making clear to corporations and their customers what sort of extreme agenda they’re backing and the public disgust that goes along with it, ALEC loses its power.
AND… it’s clear they’re running scared. ALEC has threatened Common Cause and our coalition partners with legal action multiple times. But all we’re doing is putting ALEC’s extreme agenda out in the open and letting it speak for itself – which is a truth they can’t keep hiding from.
Despite all this, major companies like Anheuser-Busch continue to support ALEC. We need your help to expose their involvement and hold them accountable along with other companies that bankroll ALEC’s attacks on our democracy.
You can make a major difference right now – by becoming a Guardian for Democracy we can count on to help hold ALEC companies accountable >>
Thank you for your support,
Viki Harrison, Director of Constitutional Convention & Protect Dissent Program
and the team at Common Cause
