ALEC is a naughty boy and really needs a spanking.

[theDoctorisIn]

That may be but how many of them are as successful at actually getting things voted on and passed?

Well, that's the thing. It's not a transparent process.

We don't know how successful any of these groups are. I only know the successes that I personally worked on, or for organizations that did.

An organization that I worked for wrote NY State's minimum wage laws and living wage laws.

So what you are saying is that the collection of car dealers, ex-athletes, lawyers and preachers we elect to office can't write a bill on their own? Not surprising.

Pretty much exactly what I'm saying.

 

[occupied]

Well, that's the thing. It's not a transparent process.

We don't know how successful any of these groups are. I only know the successes that I personally worked on, or for organizations that did.

An organization that I worked for wrote NY State's minimum wage laws and living wage laws.

So what you are saying is that the collection of car dealers, ex-athletes, lawyers and preachers we elect to office can't write a bill on their own? Not surprising.

Pretty much exactly what I'm saying.

Now I'm depressed, I liked being outraged better, this opaque method of lobbyist written bills has to change. Kind of points out the downside of voting out the incumbents and voting in people who do not even know the procedural rules of the legislative bodies they belong to much less how to actually make laws.

 

[theDoctorisIn]

So what you are saying is that the collection of car dealers, ex-athletes, lawyers and preachers we elect to office can't write a bill on their own? Not surprising.

Pretty much exactly what I'm saying.

Now I'm depressed, I liked being outraged better, this opaque method of lobbyist written bills has to change. Kind of points out the downside of voting out the incumbents and voting in people who do not even know the procedural rules of the legislative bodies they belong to much less how to actually make laws.

See, that's the whole thing. Politicians are too busy funding their re-election campaigns to actually learn how to properly write a law - not to mention you need countless hours and a law degree to write the legalese involved. We're such a litigious society that everything must be lawyer-proof - which just requires more lawyers.

This is the system we've built.

 

[Greenbeard]

See, that's the whole thing. Politicians are too busy funding their re-election campaigns to actually learn how to properly write a law - not to mention you need countless hours and a law degree to write the legalese involved.

The irony here is that the ACA--with some modifications during the legislative process--is the bill that came out of the Senate Finance Committee. Finance is the only committee that writes its legislation down in plain English, meaning that in it original form the bill was just very simple statements of what current law does and what policy changes the bill would make. After the markup was complete it was handed over to the legal staff to translate into the requisite legalise but it wasn't written to be opaque or confusing. I rather like Finance's convention.

Senate Finance health reform bill: The Chairman's 'Mark'

 

[Conservative]

In the interest of equal time and allowing the organization to defend itself....

ALEC – American Legislative Exchange Council | Limited Government · Free Markets · Federalism

I never heard of these guys before.

The mission of the American Legislative Exchange Council is…

… to advance the Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty, through a nonpartisan public-private partnership of America’s state legislators, members of the private sector, the federal government, and general public.

… to promote these principles by developing policies that ensure the powers of government are derived from, and assigned to, first the People, then the States, and finally, the Federal Government.

… to enlist state legislators from all parties and members of the private sector who share ALEC’s mission.

… to conduct a policy making program that unites members of the public and private sectors in a dynamic partnership to support research, policy development, and dissemination activities.

… to prepare the next generation of political leadership through educational programs that promote the principles of Jeffersonian democracy, which are necessary for a free society.

sounds ok to me.

 

[Conservative]

With nearly 2,000 members, ALEC is the nation’s largest nonpartisan, individual membership association of state legislators.

ALEC is one of America’s most dynamic public-private partnerships with nearly 300 corporate and private foundation members. ALEC provides its public and private sector members with a unique opportunity to work together to develop policies and programs that effectively promote the Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty.

again, sounds ok to me.

 

[occupied]

With nearly 2,000 members, ALEC is the nation’s largest nonpartisan, individual membership association of state legislators.

ALEC is one of America’s most dynamic public-private partnerships with nearly 300 corporate and private foundation members. ALEC provides its public and private sector members with a unique opportunity to work together to develop policies and programs that effectively promote the Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty.

again, sounds ok to me.

Sounds OK until you realize that most of the divisive and controversial bills introduced by republican legislatures were written by them for them, not us, them. Maybe you don't mind not knowing who writes republican legislation?

 

[Chris]

The American Legislative Exchange Counsel writes most of the bills that republicans vote for and most republican voters have no idea who they are. It's a little late to educate you now but this list of multinational corporations would like to thank America for so faithfully doing it's bidding.


EXPOSED: The Corporations Funding The Annual Meeting Of The Powerful Right-Wing Front Group ALEC | ThinkProgress

These are the guys pulling the Republicans strings.