John, our most basic rights are under attack right now by a group you might not have heard of before: the American Legislative Exchange Council.
ALEC is an extremist lobbying group funded by mega-donors and wealthy corporations that work to ram ultra-conservative laws through state legislatures while drowning out the voice and will of the people.
And right now, ALEC is preparing for the 2023 legislative session. Here are just some of the horrors ALEC could turn into a reality if its left unchecked:
- Stifling the right to peaceful protest…
- Advancing a dangerous Article V Convention to radically reshape our Constitution…
- Radically dismantling LGBTQ+ rights…
- … and otherwise shredding our civil rights, voting rights, and every other right we hold dear.
I know this might sound extreme, but it’s not an over-exaggeration, John. ALEC truly is this bad, and it has the power and money to accomplish all of these things if we let it.
Here’s how: ALEC’s member companies 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.
Common Cause won’t let anyone strip away our rights. So we’ve come up with a strategy to stop ALEC: by exposing the popular, consumer-facing companies that support it.
You see, if there’s one thing big corporations care about, it’s their bottom line. And up until now, ALEC and its supporters were operating under the cover of darkness, away from the public eye. That meant that companies like AT&T could support ALEC without facing any consequences.
That is, until we came along and exposed these companies – and the atrocities they were funding – to the public.
Already, some of ALEC’s biggest funders – AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, and Pfizer – responded to our demands by canceling their ALEC membership. They’ve joined Google, Coca-Cola, and other major companies in an exodus from ALEC’s toxic brand.
John, our strategy to stop ALEC works. ALEC doesn’t have grassroots members and doesn’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.
Now, we’re strengthening our strategy to expose ALEC in the new year. But we urgently need to budget to ramp up our work, and be prepared for any outcomes.
I’m reaching out today to see if you can help fund our strategy and defend our rights from major corporations and corrupt mega-donors.
Will you chip in $3 or more today and help us pressure each corporate ALEC member, one-by-one, until they cut ties with this extremist lobby group?
Thank you for standing up for our rights,
Viki Harrison, Director of Constitutional Convention & Protect Dissent Program
and the team at Common Cause
