If you've been horrified by the state Republican Party's witch-hunt-like attempt to intimidate and harass a UW-Madison history professor who dared to write on his personal blog, no less about the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), get ready for more horrors.
Because ALEC isn't going away, and state Republicans are more than willing to go work on behalf of ALEC in the state Legislature. They just don't want you to know the true source of their anti-consumer legislation.
Just last week, in fact, the state chair of ALEC, state Rep. Robin Vos (R-Racine), and Sen. Joe Liebham (R-Sheboygan) were circulating a bill that would amend the state Constitution so that no law could be passed that requires residents to buy health insurance.
Sound familiar?
I'd be willing to bet that this is ALEC's Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act, aka corporate-written legislation intended to boost its bottom line.
ALEC, for those who aren't familiar with this pro-free market group, allows legislators from all over the country to mix and mingle with corporations, then sit down together to write so-called "model legislation" that can be introduced in state legislatures nationwide. In this way, corporations can skirt lobbying rules by saying that they're just participating in an organization devoted to "limited government, free markets and federalism." The business-written bills just sort of pop up on their own, I guess.
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ALEC's Private Enterprise Board just happens to be loaded with some of the most conservative corporations in the countryKoch Industries, AT&T, Wal-Mart, ExxonMobil, GlaxoSmithKline. Membership has its privileges, I guess.
ALEC's most infamous "victory" was its private corrections business-written legislation that would result inguess what?higher prison populations. But you may know it by its proper name, Arizona Senate Bill 1070, the race-baiting "show-us-your-papers" bill.
Wisconsin's had a few ALEC bills turned into law and more bills will definitely be on its way.
Like Vos and Liebham's health care amendment. Like Don Pridemore's "show us your papers" bill. Like the Fitzgeralds' plans to turn Wisconsin into a right-to-work state.
In fact, Wisconsin seems to be following ALEC's 8-step plan to push back against "ObamaCare." [See page 6, here.]
So there's plenty that Republicans and ALEC don't want you to know. And that's why their attack on Professor Cronon is so awful and un-American.
