John, you’ve probably already seen my emails alerting you to a major threat to our democracy: ALEC. But if you haven’t, here’s a quick recap:
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is an extremist group of lobbyists funded by mega donors and big corporations like UPS working to ram far-right legislation through state legislatures.
ALEC’s funding is nearly endless, and its power comes from operating behind closed doors, outside of the public eye.
So why should you care about ALEC, especially when there’s so many other pressing issues fighting for your attention?
ALEC threatens nearly every other cause you and I care about. Are you worried about gun violence? ALEC is responsible for extreme “Stand Your Ground” gun legislation. What about the environment and climate change? ALEC plays a major role in giving handouts to polluting companies. Healthcare? ALEC blocked the Affordable Care Act at the state level.
You see, ALEC isn’t some obscure lobbying group that has no effect on your day to day life. Millions of Americans are living under unfair laws literally written by ALEC’s corporate supporters. And that means that stopping ALEC means fighting for the other worthy causes you care about.
Here’s how we’re stopping ALEC – and standing up for the other causes that matter to us.
Major companies don’t want to be publicly associated with ALEC’s overwhelmingly unpopular and 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, people’s action groups like Common Cause have exposed ALEC for what it is – and put MAJOR pressure on companies to cut ties with them.
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 a sweeping exodus from ALEC’s toxic brand.
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.
John, I’m hoping to ramp up our strategy to STOP ALEC in the new year. But I’m not going to lie, this is going to be an uphill battle. We’re up against some of the wealthiest donors and corporations.
But I know that with you by my side, we can win.
Can I count on you to rush a contribution to Common Cause right now and help STOP ALEC for good?
Thank you for your support,
Viki Harrison, Director of Constitutional Convention & Protect Dissent Program
and the team at Common Cause
