Democracy

Outside Groups Push WI GOP to the Right in U.S. Senate Primary

Wisconsin's hotly-contested race to select its GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate is another battle between out-of-state Super PACs and Tea Party-associated nonprofits spending millions to convince election-weary voters to select their preferred candidate. The influx of outside spending is fueling a race to the right as candidates compete for the label of "true conservative." Here is a rundown of the groups spending big to influence Wisconsin's GOP primary.

Paul Ryan: Bankrolled by the Banksters, the Privatizers, and the Kochs

In the 14 years that Paul Ryan has been a Congressman from Southeastern Wisconsin, he has never had a challenger of any stature or a race of any significance. Janesville, his hometown and the heart of the district, has no TV stations and only a handful of small, scrappy newspapers. What an opportunity for a man of the people to take the highroad!

Group that Sustains ALEC's Voter Suppression Agenda Releases Sham "Study," to Acclaim from Right-Wing Media

A right-wing group that pledged to "continue the excellent work of the American Legislative Exchange Council" (ALEC) and promote voter ID has published a thinly-sourced blog post that purports to show people of color and the poor are actually helped by voter ID laws, an unsupported claim that is being hyped as a "study" by outlets like Fox News and the Daily Caller. More comprehensive research has demonstrated that these laws threaten to disenfranchise around 5 million people nationally, primarily people of color, students, and the poor.

"Now Tell Him He Reminds You of George Washington"

Cartoon by Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune, July 25, 2012The week the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) was in Salt Lake City for its 39th annual meeting, award winning cartoonist Pat Bagley produced this gem in Utah's largest newspaper, The Salt Lake Tribune. The cartoon "A Legislator Walks Into a Bar" aptly characterizes the relationship between legislators, mega-corporations, and ALEC. State Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI) has put it bit more gently describing ALEC as a "dating service" for politicians and corporations.

"Tobacco Can Cure Smoking" and other Highlights of ALEC's Annual Meeting in Salt Lake

State legislators attending this week's American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) meeting in Salt Lake City will be told they can advance ALEC's mission of "limited government and free enterprise" by letting "the free market reduce smoking-related diseases," according to an agenda obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy.

Mark Fiore on How a Bill Becomes a Law -- ALEC-Style

The brilliant Pulitzer-prize winning cartoonist, Mark Fiore, does it again with another cartoon video skewering the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The video focuses on how a bill becomes a law ALEC-style. Warning: this is not School House Rock. This is Fiore's second video on ALEC. Previously he shined a light on the NRA's Stand Your Ground" legislation implicated in the Trayvon Martin slaying that ALEC deemed a model bill and helped get it passed in over two dozen states. Many folks may remember the original School House Rock! version of how a bill becomes a law.

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