Thursday, July 14, 2011
Arkansas Politics Reshaping the legislature
Posted by Max Brantley on Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 6:27 AM
Gov. Mike Beebe put out a state Senate map yesterday and the deeper analysis by the Democrat-Gazette shows about what you'd expect. Some particular deference is shown to favored Democrats, but less sensitivity to Republican senators. The map won't create incumbent matchups and the guaranteed losses such districts would produce, but in any number of places Republican senators would find themselves with significant new territory, sometimes with population centers that could shift electoral balance of power.
Here's the thing though: There's no obvious indication that the new districts would produce numbers more favorable to Democrats. We might get different Republicans, but still Republicans.
What does that mean? It means you MUST read The Nation's important new expose on the American Legislative Exchange Council. This is the legislative meeting group of choice for Republicans and some Democrats. It is a thoroughly ideological outfit established by the Koch boys and other millionaire conservative corporatists to impose their destroy-government theology on state governments.
From ALEC comes the cookie-cutter model legislation that sprouted up like noxious weeds in the last Arkansas legislative session from the hands of the young Republicans.
* Making it hard for college students, minorities and older people to vote with voter ID bills and such? ALEC has it.
* Starving public schools? ALEC has a plan.
* Koch influence. You got it baby.
* Sabotaging universal health care? ALEC is showing Arkansas legislators the way.
* A war on taxes and labor unions? ALEC has the templates (see Wisconsin for implementation).
The Nation has gotten access to ALEC's secret archive of model legislation that is spoonfed to eager Arkansas Republicans and others. It is not a collaborative process.
Founded in 1973 by Paul Weyrich and other conservative activists frustrated by recent electoral setbacks, ALEC is a critical arm of the right-wing network of policy shops that, with infusions of corporate cash, has evolved to shape American politics. Inspired by Milton Friedman’s call for conservatives to “develop alternatives to existing policies [and] keep them alive and available,” ALEC’s model legislation reflects long-term goals: downsizing government, removing regulations on corporations and making it harder to hold the economically and politically powerful to account. Corporate donors retain veto power over the language, which is developed by the secretive task forces. The task forces cover issues from education to health policy. ALEC’s priorities for the 2011 session included bills to privatize education, break unions, deregulate major industries, pass voter ID laws and more. In states across the country they succeeded, with stacks of new laws signed by GOP governors like Ohio’s John Kasich and Wisconsin’s Scott Walker, both ALEC alums.
NOTED: A couple of ALEC acolytes — Republican Sens. Missy Irvin and Jason Rapert — are among those who'd find themselves with much different territory to defend in 2012 under the Beebe map.
PS — I noted originally that some Dems have thrown in with ALEC, too. Notable currently is Linda Collins Smith of Pocahontas, ALEC's current state leader, who's a nominal Democrat but generally votes like a Republican and is believed to be a certain party switcher if she's re-elected and circumstances look right for her. She ran as a Democrat originally because of the Democratic proclivities of her district. She should have primary opposition in 2012.
Speaking of Arkansas Redistricting, American Legislative Exchange Council
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Common Cause asks state probes of ALEC
May 11, 2012With the American Legislative Exchange Council currently meeting in Charlotte with legislative stooges on plotting new corporate-agenda state legislation, Common Cause has called on state attorney generals to investigate ALEC for its compliance with tax and lobbying laws. /more/
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ALEC revealed
May 6, 2012The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the corporately funded legislation factory for compliant conservative state legislators, continues to draw overdue scrutiny. /more/
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Inside ALEC: Corporate puppeteer of state legislators UPDATE
April 22, 2012More today from the New York Times on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the corporate lobby that masquerades as an educational group. /more/
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Another corporation ends support of ALEC
April 19, 2012The Color of Change, a political group activated by legislation to suppress minority votes through ID laws, says another corporate sponsor has forsaken the American Legislative Exchange Council, supplier of corporate and other rightwing legislation to state stooges. /more/
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More unflattering attention for ALEC
April 17, 2012The American Legislative Exchange Council is at last getting some of the unflattering attention it deserves. /more/
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Lobbyists: We must keep slopping the hogs
April 7, 2012An article with Arkansas relevance appears in today's New York Times about Washington lobbyists, who are howling about an Obama administration effort to limit the practice of lobbyists throwing lavish soirees for federal workers who oversee rules and regulations of high importance to clients of the lobbyists. /more/
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Democrats target corporate support of ALEC
April 5, 2012The Democratic Party is mobilizing, at last, against the American Legislative Exchange Council, a thinly veiled lobby and bill-writing machine for corporate America (Koch bros., particulary) and, primarily, Republican politicians. /more/
- More »
Comments (15)
Showing 1-15 of 15
And, of course, marching in lockstep goosestep is Senator Mitch McConnell. We must rewrite the Constitution because "elections" haven't "worked."
"Speaking on the Senate floor this morning, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) offered what may be the most concise summary of conservative constitutionalism ever spoken — America must rewrite the Constitution to force conservative outcomes because we the people consistently elect lawmakers who disagree with McConnell."
http://www.truth-out.org/mitch-mcconnell-w…
like
dislike
Many years ago then-Speaker Bobby Hogue was a leader in ALEC only to be followed by then-Rep. Steve Faris.
I'm willing to believe that many of the TParty members, perhaps a majority, are decent if dim people who have been played for fools and used as tools. I'm not so willing to believe that about the politicians they elect.
What are the chances that the tools will look up and see the strings that tie them to their puppet-masters?
IT IS GOOD AND RIGHT FOR CORPORATIONS TO HAVE MORE RIGHTS THAN INDIVIDUALS.
CORPORATIONS EXIST TO CREATE PROFIT. PEOPLE EXIST TO WORK FOR THEM.
FINANCIAL CAPITAL IS ALWAYS SUPERIOR TO LABOR CAPITAL.
Well, grannie, Miller/Coors beer has found that when you starve the beast, it can cost you since they didn't get their license to sell their products in the state of Minnesota re-newed in time and they have now been told that they will have to pull all of their product (and they have 40% of that market) from the shelves since there is no one in state government deemed "essential" to process their paperwork. I think this may cost them more than their Chamber dues.
Grannie.......if I didn't know better, I would swear I have a conversation with you or one of your lady friends every time I go to the post office or grocery store here. You must hold seminars or something at the Senior Center for so many to be of the same mindset.
I AM MAINSTREAM ARKANSAS.
I AM YOUR BOSS, YOUR NEIGHBOR, YOUR PLUMBER, THE GUY DOWN THE STREET, THE LADY TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN, YOUR PREACHER, YOUR BROTHER-IN-LAW, YOUR LAWYER.
AND, YES, LINCOLN WAS A TRAITOR. FREEING THE SLAVES WAS GOVERNMENT REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH AND A VIOLATION OF OUR ABSOLUTE RIGHT TO PRIVATE PROPERTY.
Grannie, you are definitely the majority of the population in this little town and despite your genteel appearance, you scare the hell out of me.
Grannie morphs from time to time. I note most of its morphs happen on or close to a Full Moon following an eclipse.
Grannie is my Moon Childe and Arkansas has long been a Moon-State, like Iran.
Read All About It, Razorbabies!
"Koch Brothers, ALEC and Their Corporate Allies Plan to Privatize Government"
http://www.truth-out.org/publicopoly-expos…
Is it just me? Or is America under an all-fronts attack from right-wing Republicans?
ELWOOD KNOWS MORE ABOUT ME THAN I DO MYSELF.
MORE BROADLY, ELWOOD KNOWS MORE ABOUT ANY CONSERVATIVE THEN THEY DO THEMSELVES.
HE"S A BRIGHT YOUNG WHIPPERSNAPPER.
"A couple of ALEC acolytes — Republican [Sen.] Missy Irvin... are among those who'd find themselves with much different territory to defend in 2012 under the Beebe map." - Max
Different for her, maybe, but no less advantageous. Throwing Searcy & Cleburne Counties into the mix with her home county (Stone) almost assuredly locks Senate District 10 in the "R" column for the next decade. Whatever nominal Democratic candidate comes out of Stone (it's been known to happen) or Fulton -- it won't be from the other two -- won't have a chance. All the transplants from Mississippi that have relocated to that part of the Ozarks will see to that. Cleburne County votes will control that district.
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