When something monumental happens in our history many of us ask ourselves, “ How can I be a part of this? I want to be part of this.”
Today I am hoping that you will take the time to be part of the national movement that is currently happening in the United States in regards to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
This past week the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has gotten a lot of press that they wished had never happened. The expose on the Center for Media and Democracy with the drop of 800 pieces of legislation, followed by a series of articles in The Nation and the subsequent news coverage that has occurred because of those two events - has put ALEC in the hotseat.
You can bet almost everything that is important to you in your life that ALEC is communicating with their legislative members (both state and federal) on how they should handle the fallout from this and they are also communicating to their corporate members how to create a more positive spin out from these momentous events.
This is the most important time for you to take action. At this time, when ALEC members are questioning their memberships, this is the time to let your voice be heard.
Write A Letter
In a DKos diary of 5/12/11 Kossack OhDem1 requested that you send a letter to your state legislators and ask them if they are members of ALEC. This is important for two reasons. You can copy, paste and edit the letter from the diary. First, when you know that a legislator is a member of ALEC – you can focus your efforts on ensuring that that legislator is not re-elected to office. The evidence has been given to you this week, that ALEC legislators (state and federal) are no longer representing the people of this country – they are representing the ALEC corporations. For that reason alone, they should no longer have the pleasure of serving the public. The second reason is that you need to know if your legislator is an honest person. If they reply back to you that they are not an ALEC member and you find out that their response was a lie – you have another talking point about why they must not be re-elected - as we have no place for liars in public service.
Sign a Petition
In a June 24th DKos dairy, Kossack Sloan introduced a petition that you can sign. The test sample text of the petition may confuse you that the petition would go to Indiana – but it does not. By signing this online petition, you are notifying YOUR legislators and governor that you will not tolerate membership in ALEC.
Letters to the Editor
Take the time to connect the dots – ALEC legislators in your state, legislation ALEC members have introduced and the ALEC “Model Legislation” that is shown on the ALEC Exposed webpage and write letters to the editor regarding what you have found. Do not limit your letters to major newspapers – also include alternative newspapers and local newspapers. By exposing these ALEC facts and asking for the removal of these legislators from office you are starting a dialogue that will continue over the upcoming elections.
Educate Others About ALEC
Send emails to your friends and families about what happened this week. Include the links to the articles in The Nation and the ALEC Exposed webpages.
Boycott ALEC Corporate Members
Boycott ALEC corporate member’s products. Companies such as Coca Cola, AT&T, Kraft, WalMart and Koch Industries sit on the Board of ALEC. They are providing massive amounts of money to ALEC. Do not provide them (or their subsidiaries) with revenues to support the on-going existence of right wing organizations such as ALEC. Follow-up with an email telling them that you are boycotting them because of ALEC membership.
Protest ALEC
August 5 in New Orleans organization from across the United States will be coming together to protest ALEC’s interference in our democratic process. Please join them or donate funds to help make this event possible. Also, watch for protest notices for other ALEC meetings, such as the States and Nation Summit to be held in Phoenix November 29 – Dec 2 – a meeting where they indoctrinate new legislators in the “ALEC” way of governing.
Keep Informed
Your DKos group, Exposing ALEC is a great place to find current information on ALEC.
Now is your moment and you hold the power to take action to eliminate this radical right-wing extremist corporatist organization and their ALEC legislative members (state and federal) from our democratic process. I hope you will join us.
What did I miss? Please share your ideas.
For additional information on ALEC, please read this and this.