The NY Times just noticed that ALEC pressures businesses and corporations for cash then uses it to lobby for right-wing legislation. Up next, the NY Times will discover that water is wet.
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by John Cole| 23 Comments
This post is in: Our Failed Media Experiment
The NY Times just noticed that ALEC pressures businesses and corporations for cash then uses it to lobby for right-wing legislation. Up next, the NY Times will discover that water is wet.
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Matoko Borgia-Steeler
You never know – at some point they might even realize that there are no moderate Republicans with whom genuine compromises can be made. Indeed, they might realize that beneficial Grand Bargains are impossible with sociopaths. Who knows, perhaps “liberal” Patch Sulzberger might even try putting fact-based news into the NYT rather than badly written opinion pieces by semi-literate frauds like Douthat and Friedman.
joel hanes
If you live in Iowa, southern Minnesota, Wisconsin, or parts of Illinois you probably get your electric power from Alliant; maybe natural gas too.
Alliant is an ALEC member.
But they like to think of themselves as a progressive, public-spirited company (and they actually do some good environmental things).
Also, as a regulated public utility, they’re fairly sensitive to public opinion.
Write them and explain (politely) what you think of their support for ALEC’s right-wing legislative agenda.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
Someone may need to figure out a way to point out to them that water is wet before they’ll write about it, but this is a start. The fact that 3 more people will now know about ALEC is helpful.
jackmac
Masters of the Obvious, aren’t they?
Punchy
And he’s the most liberal of all the Baldwin brothers.
Hill Dweller
Apparently, they’ve also decided to find out about the real Obama, and be more fair to Romney.
Willard has some very powerful people backing him. Conversely, Wall Street and the oil/coal industry(arguably the two most powerful political players) hates Obama, despite him being far more accommodating than they’re willing to admit.
Some of the crazy coverage since Willard wrapped up the nomination, even in the ‘liberal’ press, makes me think Willard’s backers are calling in some favors and/or exerting some influence.
the Conster (f/k/a Cat Lady)
If the NY Times discovered that water was wet, they’d write that some say water is wet, but views differ.
Baud
I blame Obama.
JGabriel
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John Cole @ Top:
Better late than never. If this brings ALEC’s pervasive, and hitherto subterranean, influence to the attention of more people, then I’m glad NYT finally discovered it — at least it’s in time to make it part of the election/campaign conversation.
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kdaug
I’ll be your Johnny on the spot.
JGabriel
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NYT:
I don’t think anyone would argue that there’s anything new or very surprising about it. But just because something is neither new nor surprising doesn’t mean it hasn’t always been sinister.
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Suffern ACE
@JGabriel: The legislators arent gullible.
gogol's wife
@Matoko Borgia-Steeler:
I wouldn’t hold my breath. Especially since their Public Editor took them to task this morning for being so unfair to Willard and so biased in favor of Obama. Look for them to tack even farther to the right. Whatever liberal (or just plain objective) forces are still there are going to be sat on with extreme prejudice.
gaz
credit where credit is due. they’ve also written on employment practices regarding hiring of ex-convicts today.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/opinion/sunday/a-fair-shot-at-a-job.html?gwh=3313EADA72472EB0B9A33D7F02F408DC
It’s behind the paywall, so I haven’t actually read it, but in any case, I’m glad this issue is getting some attention. Good on the NYT
Hill Dweller
@gogol’s wife: Does the Public Editor give any examples of inaccuracies in their coverage of Willard?
Tyro
@JGabriel: Better late than never.
My theory is that ALEC as able to fly under the radar because previous to 2010, it was dealing with Republican legislators who had a modicum of intelligence. After the 2010 elections, the state legislatures (and ALEC) were flooded with a rogue’s gallery of drooling idiots who weren’t able to use their own cover sheets for ALEC-written legislation and lacked the good sense to only sponsor such legislation that wasn’t completely crazy. It became too hard to ignore ALEC once legislators started submitting bills mentioning ALEC in the text and trying to push through transparently idiotic laws.
Matoko Borgia-Steeler
@gogol’s wife:
How the sweet Hail Mary Ross Douthat fondling Andrew Sullivan’s bongstand rubbery fuck can they be unfair to Willard “I will not tell you what my policies are” Romney? How can you be unfair about someone who makes a Rorschach test look fact-packed and informative?
gogol's wife
@Hill Dweller:
They paid too much attention to Ann’s blind trust that invests in surveillance in China while Mitt pretends to be a big bad anti-China guy. Something like that. And they haven’t investigated Obama’s Super PACs! Or his Chicago operation (you know what that means).
blondie
@Suffern ACE: Some of them are. Others are corrupt. The remainder are ineffective.
becca
@Tyro: This is where inbreeding finally gets them.
Commish
With all the news of ALEC in the last couple of weeks, I didn’t know till reading the Times story that it’s a registered nonprofit charity.
Steeplejack
@gaz:
“Clean” link to that story.
gaz
@Steeplejack: thanks. It’s kind of lean, but I’m still glad they wrote on this.