ALEC Teach-In presented by Colorado Common Cause
Denver, CO
Saturday July 15, 2017
Why now? ALEC is holding a meeting in Denver THIS WEEK and DeVos is speaking at the meeting.
What is ALEC?
ALEC has been around for 40 years. It operates in the shadows, not in public.
http://www.commoncause.org/press/press-releases/alec-in-denver-report.pdf
Description of ALEC from Sourcewatch:
“ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wish lists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC’s operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills.” (http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/ALEC_Politicians)
Another description of ALEC (from the Colorado Education Association:
What is ALEC? Led by corporate lobbyists and corporate-friendly politicians, the “American Legislative Exchange Council” introduces model bills into state legislatures across the country which relax environmental regulations, produce stricter voter identification laws, strip power from labor unions, loosen gun laws, and divert public tax dollars to private schools through vouchers and other schemes. ALEC pushes a corporate agenda that benefits those at the very top, while suppressing those in the middle and lower class, and people of color.