A kinder, gentler political climate?

[TexasTowelie]

Is something happening out there? Has a subtle shift occurred in political discourse? Dallas talk radio host Mark Davis is off the air, writes the Star-Telegram‘s Bud Kennedy. Apparently, WBAP, the station on which he has appeared for the past eighteen years, has been bought by Cumulus Media. Redstate.com is waging a bring back Mark Davis campaign, but there are no new developments. Meanwhile, Time magazine writes that four corporate sponsors (Coca-Cola, Kraft, Imtuit, and McDonald’s) have withdrawn their financial support for ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, which has played a huge role in disseminating conservative legislation, most notably voter ID laws. Guess who is ALEC’s biggest champion in Texas, and the immediate Past Chairman of ALEC’s Board of Directors? Former speaker Tom Craddick. ALEC’s role in drafting model laws on subjects near and dear to conservatives has had an major impact nationally in getting such laws adopted by state legislatures. ALEC is sort of a one-stop shopping site for these bills, which can be obtained off the rack, like ready-to-wear clothing.

From the Time article (no link available):

What may have seemed like an obscure bit of corporate priority shifting quickly became a hot button. By the end of last week, the news had made the front page of social-media hive mind Reddit, whose users enjoy earnest, libertarian-leaning encomiums to open government almost as much as they like posting cat pictures. “It is time for a call to action,” the post began. “ALEC has been exposed.”

The high-profile departures from ALEC were not set in motion nor fully explained by just a few days of public scrutiny. For the past four months, liberal advocacy groups, unions and activist investors have been reaching out to major corporations, asking them to further disclose their activity with ALEC or drop membership altogether. Things boiled over last week, but the underlying issues had been simmering for much longer.

ALEC, a tax-exempt group operating under the 501(c)3 section of the IRS code, bills itself as “a nonpartisan membership association for conservative state lawmakers” interested in “limited government, free markets, federalism and individual liberty.” It convenes policy task forces and drafts model bills that can be introduced in state legislatures nationwide. For a modest membership fee, conservative legislators gain access to the group’s resources. Think of ALEC’s prepackaged and prelawyered legislation as Swanson TV dinners: all you need is a majority vote to reheat it, and it’s ready to serve. The result: similarly flavored bills in statehouses across the country.

More at http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/burkablog/

[white cloud]

2. could never stand Mark Davis

Dallas talk radio host Mark Davis is off the air, writes the Star-Telegram‘s Bud Kennedy. Apparently, WBAP, the station on which he has appeared for the past eighteen years, has been bought by Cumulus Media.