Its a surreal touch at the lush, sprawling Westin Kierland Resort, where the air is scented with fragrant flowering bushes and the aromatic lotions of the spa.
But the protesters are at the gate, and inside, hundreds of state legislators from all over the U.S., their wives and entourages are meeting with corporate leaders for a three-day annual policy summit. Or, to their banner-bearing foes, a cradle of corporate profiteering at the expense of our communities.
Today only, blazons a sign hoisted by a silver-haired protester, Buy One Senator Get One Free!
The target of this anger is the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC a benign, user-friendly acronym that fits the friendly turf of Scottsdale, where the grass is always greener and everything is for your comfort and safety.
Im here to learn more about this increasingly muscular organization, formally an educational non-profit and one that shuns the L word, lobbyist. It puts state lawmakers together with representatives from some of the countrys most powerful corporations to advance their legislative agendas. And its the most influential organization the majority of Americans have never heard of.
ALEC - America
But the protesters are at the gate, and inside, hundreds of state legislators from all over the U.S., their wives and entourages are meeting with corporate leaders for a three-day annual policy summit. Or, to their banner-bearing foes, a cradle of corporate profiteering at the expense of our communities.
Today only, blazons a sign hoisted by a silver-haired protester, Buy One Senator Get One Free!
The target of this anger is the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC a benign, user-friendly acronym that fits the friendly turf of Scottsdale, where the grass is always greener and everything is for your comfort and safety.
Im here to learn more about this increasingly muscular organization, formally an educational non-profit and one that shuns the L word, lobbyist. It puts state lawmakers together with representatives from some of the countrys most powerful corporations to advance their legislative agendas. And its the most influential organization the majority of Americans have never heard of.
ALEC - America