Wisconsin Democrat who infiltrated ALEC: ‘They don’t want people involved in the political process’

[octoberlib]

Representative Chris Taylor is a Democrat elected to the Wisconsin legislature in 2011. Last week, she attended the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) annual conference in Chicago. Writing about her experience at The Progressive magazine’s website, she describes her experience inside the “ALEC universe” and writes: “ALEC members have been quietly working out of the public eye to develop their agenda so that when given the opportunity, they are ready to start creating an ALEC nation. That time has come. And they are ready.”

Riley: What were you impressed by?

Taylor: I was really impressed by their infrastructure. I mean, we would never duplicate something like this on the left because, first of all, we would never take instructions from corporations, but the coordination that they have between these policy think tanks, the money and the legislators, in terms of just driving an agenda, it’s incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m fascinated by it because I’ve never seen anything like it from the left. I was the public policy director at Planned Parenthood, so I’m very familiar with building infrastructure. We did a lot of that in the state of Wisconsin. But we have nothing that I know of on the national front that connects all these things.

*******************************************************************************************

Taylor: One guy I was talking to, who was from one of these right wing think tanks was saying we need to curb Obama’s reckless power with these administrative regulations, and he wanted a federal constitutional amendment saying Congress has to approve federal regulations. I said, I don’t think most people are going to want to amend the Constitution for that. I don’t think that ignites people. Maybe it does on the far right, but most people don’t really care about that. And he said, “Oh, well, you really don’t need people to do this. You just need control over the legislature and you need money, and we have both.”

That sentiment was underscored so many times to me, that they don’t want people involved in the political process, or in the policy process. And that seems to be the intent in a lot of ways: You have a think tank in every state and all they do is come up with these very, very regressive policies, you have corporations who are going to benefit so they fund it all, and then you have the legislators as your foot soldiers to carry out the tasks.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/08/16/wisconsin-democrat-who-infiltrated-alec-they-dont-want-people-involved-in-the-political-process/

[SleeplessinSoCal]

1. I think this is the most important information of the week.

I wish people would focus on it more. It explains so much about our local politics and why communities are being torn apart as they are on the national level.

How on earth do a relative handful of people, who prefer think tanks over people, see us willing to subjugate our lives to corporations and the likes of the Koch Bros?

It's a nightmare!!!

[octoberlib]

3. I totally agree. We're feeling the effects of it here in NC.

These people don't want a democracy. I think one of the Koch's even said that democracies are overrated.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

11. As are we in Costa Mesa. Our mayor is bullying everyone he possibly can with no concern.

I think they know how much power and money they have behind them. It's making people upset and ready to fight though. But it drains the energy and the coffers.

I wish people at DU would get off the NSA for a week or two and pay attention to what ALEC is doing to us.

[jaysunb]

15. +1 n/t

[freshwest]

13. It's national. We've fought them here, too. It's exhausting. And the legislators they convince at

these meetings.

And it's not just ALEC meetings, but at school boards, zoning and other municipal meetings as well as churches. They meet all year around and develop ties that profit some of them.

Go into the legislature to oppose their bills and find a solid wall, rude, dismissive and hostile to Democrats. I've seen dirty business done, outrageous things. To me they are fascists in the way they demand things. There is no reasoning with them.

Oppose them, and they will stop at nothing to shut you up. That's why I get so mad at fighting over stuff that doesn't change anything. As far as the article saying it would be hard to amend the Constitution - that is exactly what Ryan said they would do when they get enough red state legislatures.

It's not illegal. It's the way the thing is set up. The ERA did not pass because there were states whose legislatures did not want it and that power is in the states.

They intend to repeal the 14th and others. I've told people tthese guys are playing for keeps. That a defeatist attitude is not the way to get people to change things or resist this. One says they want people to listen and vote a certain way, for liberal causes. We only have one party to act on that.

I use the analogy of selling a car. If we tell people daily that our top of the line, PBO and all we did or tried, sucks, why would anyone listen to us when we tell them to vote for us?

It'd be like saying, 'Look how fine a model this is, but it doesn't run, is going to cost you a ton of money and you'll get nothing.' Who would buy that?

But the RW are the PR experts, they really do believe that they have something great. Just not for you, but they won't tell you that.

Whatever they can steal from the Commons, is gone for good and will never return. That is why they push privatization. While people fight over things farther away and less personal, the very ground under our feet is being stolen.

It's frightening.

[octoberlib]

16. It bothers me when I see articles or posts saying the Republican party is finished.

No, they're not. They're strong in the states and it's going to be hard to get them out due to gerrymandering. Complacency is dangerous. I've never seen such political tone deafness in my life as I have from the NC GOP. McCrory attended an event in a Charlotte suburb recently and was greeted by REPUBLICAN protestors. He just doesn't seem to give a shit.

[limpyhobbler]

2. Scary. We better all stick together if we want to stop ALEC.

[octoberlib]

4. Oh, definitely.

In NC we're even seeing Republicans showing up at Moral Mondays. They say " We're conservative , but these policies are just too extreme."

[msongs]

5. if a republican ran as a republican and governed like a democrat he/she would be blacklisted. the

democratic party stampede to right of center has just about squashed the liberal/progressive agenda that was the key component of democrats.

[octoberlib]

7. This too. Progressive think tanks can't compete because

they just don't have the funding.

[liberal_at_heart]

14. piling on the money is part of the problem. Democrats are accepting too much money.

We need to be getting money out of politics.

[octoberlib]

18. Campaign finance reform.

http://www.rootstrikers.org/ted_promo?splash=1

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. And the NSA will be the way to squash any resistance

[octoberlib]

8. This worries me. The Chief Information Officer for NC

was hired directly from Booz Allen Hamilton.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Yup. The connections are increasingly clearer

[snot]

10. Just want to repeat that for emphasis:

And he said, “Oh, well, you really don’t need {the} people to do this. You just need control over the legislature and you need money, and we have both.”

That sentiment was underscored so many times to me, that they don’t want {the} people involved in the political process, or in the policy process. And that seems to be the intent in a lot of ways: You have a think tank in every state and all they do is come up with these very, very regressive policies, you have corporations who are going to benefit so they fund it all, and then you have the legislators as your foot soldiers to carry out the tasks.

(Emphasis supplied.)

[octoberlib]

12. +1

[AppetiteForApathy]

17. And that's why I treat any and all elections as my post office treats my mailbox.

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays this voter from the completion of his duty as a voter.

[octoberlib]

19. I wish all Americans thought like this. nt

[SleeplessinSoCal]

20. I posted this link on my facebook page and considered the "promote" click.

But I don't want to give facebook money.

“Oh, well, you really don’t need people to do this. You just need control over the legislature and you need money, and we have both.”

Those words ought to stick in our minds for incentive. Plus, besides controlling the legislature in many states, they've been stacking the courts for decades. This is the issue to fight a revolution over - IMHO.

[Scuba]

21. Thank you Chris, for being our eyes and ears, and for all you do!