ALEC: Paying for Corporate Lobbying With Our Tax Dollars
My careful and objective analysis, based on 35 years in political life, is that ALEC is one of the sleaziest organizations in modern American political life. I know that sounds like a dramatic thing to say, but when more than 100 major corporations find it too embarrassing to be associated with you anymore, you know things have to be pretty bad. And what drives me crazy is that my tax dollars are subsidizing ALEC’s corporate lobbying. Check out this new video from a web-show called The Undercurrent that my organization, American Family Voices, sponsors. It’s a new investigative journalism collaboration called The Undercurrent: Uncovered with one of my very favorite organizations, the Center for Media and Democracy, and it features the IRS complaint against ALEC filed by CMD and good government watchdog Common Cause:
CMD is an expert on ALEC, having done a lot of investigation into them over the years. And there is no organization in American politics who knows more about money in politics and special interest lobbying than Common Cause, so I can say with a great deal of confidence that this complaint the video speaks to has a lot of merit. Look, I am not naïve: corporate special interest money will always find plenty of ways to influence legislators. Here’s the deal, though: you and I should not have to subsidize that special interest lobbying and influence peddling. The IRS needs to investigate ALEC and stop this sleazy charade now.