In an Aug. 10 Associated Press story, “Jeb Bush on schools: yes to Common Core — Republican also pushes online options for students,” about Bush addressing the American Legislative Exchange Council, it was stated that ALEC is a “key behind-the-scenes policy resource for many Republican-led legislatures.”
The description was much too modest. It is an organization that writes “model legislation” behind closed doors and spoon-feeds it to legislators from all over the U.S. It is funded primarily by some of this country’s largest corporations and wealthy individuals for the purpose of furthering their agenda. Not surprisingly, it is an extreme right-wing agenda that seeks to destroy unions, depress wages, suppress voting rights, sabotage the Affordable Care Act, etc. Some of the state legislators who attend receive a free week’s vacation at an upscale resort hotel plus, one might presume, campaign contributions from these corporations. This smacks of corporate lobbying, which is not being reported as such.
This corrupt alliance has been exposed in the past year by an investigation by Bill Moyers. Google “Bill Moyers ALEC” for all the details, including a list of legislators named as members. I was not surprised to learn from Don Benton himself that he is a “proud member.”
Judy Bumbarger-Enright
VANCOUVER
