ALEC and SCOTUS

 

The public has come to know American Legislative Exchange Council simply as ALEC as in smart alek. It is the clever product of conservative skullduggery as it relates to politicizing our judicial system. Therefore, the story of ALEC starts with an examination of the Supreme Court. In any list of the worst decisions made by that body one has to include the Dread Scott decision of 1857, move on to the Bush V. Gore decision of Dec. 9, 2000 then go to the Citizens United decision of Jan, 2010.  Each one of these decisions has so blatantly favored a radical conservative point of view over legal considerations as to leave no doubt that raw politics played a major part in the decision. Of especial interest in this essay is the Citizens United decision; the connection between the decision, big money, and conservative social Darwinian policy is convoluted thus not succinct as Ayn Rand’s Virtues of Selfishness but carries the same message.

At the heart of the ALEC policy is the desire to circumvent the United States Congress with legislation that is too radical for passage in that body, that is to make our cherished democratic mechanism irrelevant. For a minimum amount of $25,000 an industrial giant can buy a seat at the table, but legislatures either state of federal can rub elbows with the very rich for nothing; I hasten to add that only paying members have veto power—the message is clear. Talk about a loaded gun.

They write legislation and distributing copies to low-level state legislators; of course the legislation is favorable to industry and to conservative social issues ranging from obtaining mineral rights in federal lands to bedroom crashing contraceptive issues. A suggested piece of legislation does not just end up on a legislator’s desk; a big campaign donation or a primary challenge that is the treat of a big donation to a potential challenger accompanies the boilerplate legislation. Thanks to the Robert’s court and their Citizens United Decision, all of this is well financed and done behind closed doors.

The real punch line is even more sinister. What ALEC is doing is enticing low-level state legislators to do their bidding. They know they certainly can find significant numbers of receptive targets among thousands of legislators to introduce their bills. They also know that conservative controls a few state legislatures and a few of them will pass their legislation—one wee bit at a time.  That is big “C” Conservatism at work, that is a States Right, and thanks to the Robert’s court, that is legal but it is not ethical. After the 2010 elections, it was more than just a few states, it was 25 states; in the mind of a conservative, they win a tie. Through ALEC, a few wealthy CEOs, positioned themselves to act in the place of the U.S. Congress and it is working.