Template:ALEC News

ALEC News

A Trump Nation in an ALEC Land The first post-presidential American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) meeting last week in Washington, D.C. made clear that starry-eyed conservative state legislators had visions of more power dancing in their heads. Corporations were giddy thinking about the tax giveaways and incentive packages (think the $7 million Trump/Pence tax giveaways to Carrier to keep less than one-half of its jobs in that state) surely coming their way. Even keynote speaker Carly Fiorina this morning seemed hopeful, seemingly forgetful of Trump's former abuse. Certainly, Trump wasn't the first choice of most ALEC members. Many other Republican presidential hopefuls had come to kiss the ALEC ring over the course of the Republican presidential primary. ALEC prince Scott Walker came before he fell off the presidential cliff. Kellyanne Conway appeared before ALEC in July, then a mere pollster. She (correctly) identified the mood of the electorate (very angry), and said that only a "change agent" like Trump could prevail. Even Mike Pence showed up to ALEC, but still no Trump. The ALEC audience was Trump wary. Read the rest of this item here. Hypocrisy and Trumpism on the Agenda as ALEC Meets in Washington, D.C. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and its offshoot the American City and County Exchange (ACCE) are meeting in Washington, D.C., this week to strategize on how to advance a far-right agenda under a Trump presidency. Trump Transition leader, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, is an ALEC booster. Not surprisingly the Trump team has been picking many with Koch and ALEC ties to fill key positions in government including Koch Congressman Mike Pompeo, school privatizer and ALEC funder Betsy DeVos, and South Carolina Governor and ALEC stalwart Nikki Halley. Read the rest of this item here. Progressive Policies Win at the Ballot Box Ballot measures across the country passed on November 8th highlighting the fact that progressive values still resonate with the U.S. electorate. Gains were made even in the face of industry deception and big dollar ad campaigns. In a victory for climate activists and solar energy, Floridians voted down Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment which would have made it hard for people with solar panels to sell energy back to the grid. Leaked audio showed that Florida utilities and their allies sought to deceive the public into believing that Amendment 1 was pro-solar. Read the rest of this item here.