Dear John: For over a decade, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) has been exposing the Koch-backed American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) as it peddles hundreds of anti-labor, anti-teacher, anti-democracy, pro-corporate, and climate denial bills at the behest of corporate lobbyists and right-wing dark money groups. And we’re having an impact. CMD’s exposés have forced ALEC out of the shadows and earned widespread national coverage in numerous mainstream media outlets. More than 100 corporations have cut ties with ALEC since we launched ALEC Exposed in 2011. ALEC’s pay-to-play agenda has become even more extreme in recent years, as the group has embraced Trump’s Big Lie, coddled white nationalist extremists, jumped into bed with the religious right, and promoted sweeping abortion bans. |
This year, CMD revealed that: - Nearly 700 ALEC lawmakers have voted to make it illegal for pregnant people across the country to access an abortion. We provided a state-by-state breakdown of these 684 lawmakers so that you can look up whether your representative is an ALEC member who voted to ban abortion.
- ALEC’s push to deregulate guns has helped make the U.S. a leader in shootings. ALEC served as a front group of the National Rifle Association (NRA) for decades – working to repeal the federal ban on assault rifles, pushing controversial “stand your ground” laws, and churning out model bills to protect the gun industry from lawsuits and preempt local gun safety laws.
- ALEC has an actual price list for selling access to its legislative members. CMD obtained internal ALEC documents that spell out exactly how much it costs for special interests to buy access to push their wish lists at national conventions. Want to make a main stage presentation? That’ll cost you $60,000. But for a bargain price of just $50,000, you can sponsor a late-night reception for ALEC’s board members and “key legislative leaders'' over cocktails and cigars.
- ALEC keeps escalating its war on unions. Last summer, ALEC adopted a model bill to bar employers that voluntarily recognize unions from receiving state economic development incentives. And ALEC legislators sponsored the infamous Texas ‘Death Star” bill, designed to keep cities from adopting labor protections and a higher minimum wage.
- ALEC is trying to make dark money even darker by rolling back campaign finance and donor transparency requirements. Seventeen states have enacted broad anti-disclosure laws based on ALEC model bills since 2018.
ALEC is already gearing up for its next round of attacks on everything from public schools, labor unions, and renewable energy to personal rights, local democracy, and our Constitution.
It's more important now than ever to keep the heat on ALEC! So please help to shine a light on ALEC’s radical agenda and influence peddling in 2024! With your generous tax-deductible donation, CMD will continue to call out ALEC for collaborating with hate groups, religious extremists, big corporations, and organizations working to take away our rights. And, as an extra incentive... Thanks to a $50,000 match, your year-end gift will go twice as far!
Donate Here! Together we can fight to preserve our rights and secure a democracy we can all be proud of! Thank you for your support of CMD and all that you do,   Arn Pearson
Executive Director |
