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Monday, April 16, 2012

Eloquence of Message - on ALEC

Sometimes you just have to listen to the eloquence of others  – just think about it and let it fuel your focus.

The snips below are not meant to represent the only eloquent orators in todays public arena, they are just snips and examples.

Point in case, Lisa Graves of CMD has had an amazing and consistent, on-going message that has been on-point ever since the beginning.  She is a tireless advocate for the citizens of the US - working hard every day since last August to protect our democracy and our representative government of, by, and for the people - by making sure that what is reported to the American public on this topic is true and correct.  She is truly amazing.

But, back to my point... the snips below are the ones that are actually on the web to copy and paste - without having to download videos and audio files.  They are quick and easy reads and I hope they will help to motivate you and give you focus, when the day is long and you need about four days worth of sleep, just to catch up.

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The public is fed up with big pharmaceutical companies pursuing profit over the interests of the average American. ALEC’s pro-corporate agenda to limit voting rights, undermine our public schools, assault collective bargaining and weaken laws protecting our environment is in diametric opposition to the public interest,” said Bob Edgar, president of Common Cause. “This is neither good business nor responsible corporate citizenship.”

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Rashad Robinson, director of ColorofChange.org, a civil rights organization in the coalition, says they are trying to put ALEC's corporate members on the spot.

"They'll be making a choice, that they're going to stand with an organization that works to suppress the vote and support shoot-first legislation, and they won't be able to do that in private," he says.

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"The clear and simple message was that you can't come for black folks' money by day and try to take away our vote by night," said Rashad Robinson, director of ColorOfChange.

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"I think that the reason why ALEC has been so successful is because it does its work behind the scenes; it's not really a public-facing company," said Robinson. "To the extent that these companies benefit from having a relationship with a behind-the-scenes vehicle, it's important that corporations that want to associate are no longer able to do it behind the scenes."

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For these corporations who have sponsored ALEC, they have done it behind closed doors,” said Rashad Robinson, executive director of ColorOfChange, a black civil rights organization based in New York. “If a light is being shone on ALEC and their relationships are no longer private and they have to answer for it publicly, does it still work?”


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Applauding Kraft's decision to bail, Color of Change Executive Director Rashad Robinson said, "Kraft's announcement is proof that as more corporations come to understand what they are supporting through membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council, they don't want to be associated. We continue to call on all major corporations to stop supporting voter suppression through ALEC and our members are prepared to hold accountable companies that continue to participate in ALEC."

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My Emphasis on this one…
"Today, ALEC issued a statement in response to the efforts of our members and allies. We know that ALEC's discriminatory voter ID law was designed to intimidate, dissuade, and block voters from participating in our democracy. But of course ALEC doesn't want to talk about their role in voter suppression, or in spreading the deadly 'kill at will' laws that have prevented justice for Trayvon Martin and continue to endanger communities across the country. These policies are not pro-business, they are anti-American.

"Our members are engaging in the free marketplace of ideas, using their power as consumers, and reaching out to corporations to ask that they stop funding ALEC. If companies want to continue funding ALEC's dangerous agenda, they must do it in the light of day. ALEC's activities can no longer take place behind closed doors and outside the public view.


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