Wisconsin Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch Defends ALEC on FOX

Wisconsin's Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch was on Fox News' morning show, "Fox & Friends" defending the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and discussing the historic nature of the upcoming recall elections. Kleefisch and Governor Scott Walker are both facing recall elections on June 5.

Boycotts are a "Real Sad Shame"

"I'm familiar with ALEC because my husband is a state legislator in Wisconsin and there are a lot of people, mostly on the other side, our opponents, who believe it is a group that by their mailings and by their phone calls and by their discussions with lawmakers, that they are somehow the great influencers in these minds of leaders who have been elected by the taxpayers in their states," Kleefisch said.

"That's a sad shame that folks don't believe that these elected leaders, these legislators from around the country can think independently. Think for themselves and for their constituents. So I think that this type of boycott is a real sad shame."

The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), identified dozens of bills with ALEC roots moving in Wisconsin. CMD along with Color of Change, Common Cause, People for the American Way, Progress Now and other groups have been asking ALEC corporate funders to drop their affiliations with the group. So far, 10 companies have confirmed that they are no longer members of the organization: McDonald's, Wendy's, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Intuit, Kraft Foods, Mars, the Arizona Public Service Company, American Traffic Solutions, and Reed Elsevier. Kleefisch fails to note that no one is calling for a boycott of the companies, they are simply putting pressure on the companies to drop their ties with ALEC, a "partnership" between corporations and legislators pursuing a radical right-wing agenda to advance voter suppression laws, anti-immigrant bills, and a radical expansion of gun rights including Florida-style "Stand Your Ground" gun laws.

"Eyes focused on Wisconsin" for Historic Recall

While Kleefisch is comfortable with out-of-state corporations and DC-based ALEC moving cookie-cutter "model" bills in the state like the co-called "Castle Doctrine" or Shoot First law, and voter ID bills that make it harder for American citizens to vote, she blames the recall and the historic Wisconsin protests on out-of-state unions.

Kleefisch warns Fox viewers: "Wisconsin is a harbinger, we are a canary in the coal mine, and we are sounding the alarm across this country right now that if we allow the big union bosses, this big special interest, to wrestle control of the steering wheel of our government and sometimes our economy in Wisconsin away from the taxpayers we are in serious jeopardy for not just our future and our livelihoods but also the futures and livelihoods of our kids. If it can happen in Wisconsin it can happen in any state in the country. We cannot allow one big special interest to take over our government. That is what we are looking at, that is what is at stake in these recall elections, and so we need your help."

As she spun the recall efforts as the plot of "big union bosses," the text under the story was a bit closer to the truth: "WI Poll: 54 percent support recall of Wisconsin Governor."