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Friday, August 31, 2012

ALEC Economic Policy– leads to poverty

Economic policies of the American Legislative Exchange Council  – lead to increased poverty.

Another recap of the Iowa Policy Report – but these folks don’t hold back.  Finally - someone not using polite phrases when talking abou the horrendous policies of ALEC.
They call out the American Legislative Exchange Council for all the nastiness it really is!!

(my emphasis)
States that followed recommendations made by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) were more likely to experience increased poverty rates and falling income

The Iowa Policy Project reviewed past state rankings and found that the better a state did on ALEC’s ranking in 2007, the bigger the increase in poverty and the bigger the decrease in median family income in subsequent years.

States that follow this path risk economic stagnation.

This is a reason why
ALEC members at the state and federal level
MUST NOT be elected or re-elected!!!!

Romney / Koch Handshake - Buddies Going Back a Ways.

The Romney / Koch - Secret Handshake - We are buddies tap on the shoulder!!!!

This morning I was watching Democracy Now when they showed Romney entering and shaking hands with David Koch in the NY delegation - shot only by Democracy now.

Per Democracy Now - people watching Romney's entrance didn't get to see that - because the cameras (of all stations) went to two, boob laden bimbos (my interpretation) when Romney got close to the NY delegation.

Watch just the first couple of minutes of the video you will see see Romney sucking Koch.  (Oops, forgot the words "up to" - oh well, too late, I already typed the period.)
>>>>WATCH IT HERE<<<<
The Romney-Koch Handshake: Network TV 
Misses Revealing Moment Between Nominee & Billionaire at RNC


Anyhow -
This morning, Amy Goodman honestly seemed a little surprised at the warm welcome that Mittens gave to David Koch.  Goodman said something to the effect (I can't find it now) that David Koch had initially been a Gingrich supporter and she honestly seemed perplexed of about the Mittens/Koch lovefest on the RNC floor.  And as I said - I can't find that video now - hopefully you will trust me that she seemed perplexed.


BUT  ... 
A while ago I posted this entry, which shows that Romney and David Koch have been buds for a long time!!!:


11/13/2010 – from the NY Times
Over the summer, Mr. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, invited top bundlers of campaign checks from key states to his vacation home in New Hampshire on several occasions to help firm up their commitments. Mr. Romney has already lined up an array of prominent supporters, including a billionaire, David Koch, who has donated heavily to conservative causes over the years, and Robert Wood Johnson IV, the billionaire owner of the New York Jets and one of the party’s most coveted fund-raisers.  (source)



August 16, 2010 – From Politico
Romney in the Hamptons with David Koch

Mitt Romney had a major fundraiser event in the Hamptons yesterday at the home of mega-businessman David Koch and his wife, I'm told by several sources.

About 150 people attended, I'm told, and the host list was a wide array of Republican donors — including Lew Eisenberg, Woody Johnson, former McCain 2008 backer Wayne Berman, Related Companies' Stephen Ross, and financier Donald Marron.

It's an impressive group of bigwigs for Romney, who's aggressively raising for his PAC.

From Wiki
he is a front-runner for the Republican nomination in the 2012 presidential election.

And that's what I wrote about Romney and #Koch about a year ago!

Will Wisconsin/America - Send ALEC to DC????


Tommy Thompson a suckup to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the 1%.

Some bits and pieces - my emphasis throughout

More than 30 years ago, a small group of state legislators and conservative policy advocates met in Chicago to implement a vision:

At that meeting, in September 1973, state legislators, including then Illinois State Rep. Henry Hyde, conservative activist Paul Weyrich, and Lou Barnett, a veteran of then Gov. Ronald Reagan’s 1968 presidential campaign, together with a handful of others, launched the American Legislative Exchange Council. Among those who were involved with ALEC in its formative years were: Robert Kasten and Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin; John Engler of Michigan; Terry Branstad of Iowa, and John Kasich of Ohio, all of whom moved on to become governors or members of Congress. Congressional members who were active during this same period included Senators John Buckley of New York and Jesse Helms of North Carolina, and Congressmen Phil Crane of Illinois and Jack Kemp of New York.


Decades ago, ALEC targeted Wisconsin as a test case for their agenda. Tommy Thompson, who served as a state legislator from 1966-1987 and then as governor for a record 14 years, was an early ALEC member and supporter. "Myself, I always loved going to these meetings because I always found new ideas. Then I'd take them back to Wisconsin, disguise them a little bit, and declare that 'It's mine,'" he told an ALEC conference in 2002.

It is now apparent that Thompson was the enthusiastic frontman for a slew of ALEC ideas and legislation -- most famously "Welfare to Work" and "School Choice."


American Legislative Exchange Council's Thomas Jefferson Award 1991
1993 ALEC Annual Meeting
Award Description
Awarded annually to a nationally recognized public official who has distinguished himself in promoting the Jeffersonian principles of free enterprise, limited representative government,


thompson, as quoted in the 1998 ALEC Annual Meeting brochure
We have the new opportunity for the decade of the nineties to be our decade, and the twenty-first century to be the Jeffersonian century that he dreamed of self-enlightenment in educational reform, in opportunities for every man, woman and child in this country. And that, to note, is what ALEC stands for, and that is why this organization is growing so strong and can continue to be the dominant force for change in this country of ours. WISCONSIN GOVERNOR TOMMY THOMPSON, 1991
 

In 2002, Zueske gave the introduction for Thompson when he was the keynote speaker at ALEC’s Spring Task Force Summit.

Over thirty years of supporting/participating in ALEC.
He is probably a Legacy member = Lifetime member.
What makes you think he has changed the way he thinks in the last ten years after THIRTY YEARS of ALEC.

And he followed the path - given to many - because of their relatiosnship with ALEC Corporate Profit Sector members.

The private-public partnership kicks in and those who were supposed to be serving the public while in office - now get to make megabucks screwing the public for the private sector.

In January 2012,  the Journal Sentinel reported Thompson’s net worth has reached roughly $13 million, much of in the seven years since he left government and began a career as corporate consultant and advisor, executive, investor and speaker.

Thompson’s employment at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

MADISON-The Democratic Party of Wisconsin released video today showing Washington lobbyist Tommy Thompson Friday as he left a D.C. fundraiser at a right-wing power-broking firm, two days after his campaign announced it would continue to conceal from the public Thompson's wide-ranging lobbying and financial ties.

The fundraiser was at the BGR Group, a lobbying firm that represents several foreign governments involved in jobs losses in Wisconsin and has financial ties to Scott Walker Republicans.
BGR = Haley Barbour, Founding Partner of BGR Group,
Barbour = ALEC

The vidoe of him getting in his limo is a "private video"  I can't embed it - so here is the link

 “Myself, I always loved going to these meetings because I always found new ideas. Then I’d take them back to Washington disguise them a little bit, and declare that ‘It’s mine.’”




AMERICA
PLEASE DO NOT LET ALEC go to WASHINGTON

DIG YOUR CREDIT CARD OUT AND DONATE TO
A tireless leader 
Wisconsin can trust to fight for jobs and 
stand up for middle class families, workers and small business.

SUPPORT Tammy Baldwin

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Ron Paul Supporters - Is this what RNC democracy looks like?


First they stick the Ron Paul supporters in the nosebleed seat – including the Minnesota delegates
Read it


Then they put into place policies to silence Ron PaulSupporters
If supporters of Ron Paul hadn't been clear about it all up until now, perhaps now they'll get the message: the Republican Party wants absolutely nothing to do with them --- and they're not crazy about that whole "democratic process" thing either. In fact, they despise it.
Check out this entry on Brad Blog

THEN RNC Security confiscated ALL the Ron Paul signs

Ron Paul delegates on Wednesday accused convention security guards of confiscating their signs in support of the former presidential candidate in order to bolster the image of official nominee Mitt Romney.
Read about that >>>>HERE<<<<
 

Then the Ron Paul Supporters walked out
And check out this entry from the LA Times
Ron Paul supporters walk out of GOP convention

So my question to all Ron Paul Supporters across the US
How does it feel to be treated like a Democrat by your own party?
Is this what RNC democracy looks like?

ALEC - Puppets of the 1%


HuffPo – again this morning – great morning to read stuff that outs ALEC as part of the problem.
Another great article.

This time from Leo Gerard – love that guy!!

Without such a protection, Americans stand to lose their democracy. They'll be ruled instead by an aristocracy of 1 percenters.

In addition, the 1 percenters implemented a system to influence even those lawmakers who are not millionaires. It's called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Read it  >>>>HERE<<<<

ALEC - The KochRoach of State Legislatures



 (I added the picture and the emphasis)
I have to confess to being duped along with thousands of well-meaning present and former state legislators around the country by ALEC. The American Legislative Exchange Council sent me a slick, bound book loaded with draft legislative ideas when I served in the New York State Assembly

SNIP

I eventually found out that ALEC is like the house guest that never leaves.
SNIP

I encourage all legislators to learn from my mistake: The next time that ALEC booklet arrives in your office throw it in the recycling bin and save your $100 membership fee.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

GOP Fundraisers - Say FU to US During RNC

By Melanie Mason


August 29, 2012, 12:12 p.m.
TAMPA, Fla. -- Elite fundraisers for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign kicked off the second full day of the Republican convention aboard a luxury yacht flying the flag of the Cayman Islands.

ABC News reported on the Wednesday morning reception aboard the Cracker Bay, a 147-foot yacht owned by Florida real estate baron H. Gary Morse. It was described as an exclusive event for those who had raised at least $1 million for the campaign. According to ABC, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell was scheduled to speak and Romney family members, including the candidate’s brother Scott, were in attendance.

Lie, Cheat, Steal - The Republican Way to Win an Election


As I mentioned yesterday – over half the speakers yesterday at the RNC were linked to ALEC.
Well of course the WSJ would write about it and of course
ALEC Loved the WSJ  article today
Because it mentioned ALEC -       ooooo, ahhhhh
And mostly because it mentioned all the ALEC creepy governors.


from the Wall Street Journal today.
Wall Street Journal – owned by Newscorp
Newscorp – ALEC member


A crisis situation also provided opportunity. For all the talk of Washington rushing headlong toward a fiscal cliff, the states have already arrived there. Years of overspending and accounting gimmicks to paper over growing state pension and health costs have collided with the economic downturn and a sudden drop-off of federal stimulus funds.
Overspending and accounting gimmicks – done by REPUBLICAN governors and ALEC state legislators –while the public wasn’t looking – but they are looking now!!!  In Minnesota - we can't get a balanced budget, cause our ALEC led legislature won't work with the governor - they need a college course on the word compromise.   And it was our ALEC-esque governor Tim Pawlenty (Tee-Paw got to cozy up to the Waltons at an ALEC meeting) that left Minnesota 5 BILLION in the hole - FIVE BILLION!

Yep – get rid of those damn employee pensions and that pesky healthcare.  God knows it is the working people who are destroying this countries economy!  God knows those people getting ready to retire or who need medical coverage don’t need that!

And yeh – it’s only the workers of the state that caused the downturn – had nothing to do with ALEC Corporate Profit Sector members and the 1% who PAID NO STATE TAXES!  Blame it on the animals - the people who go out and bust their butts off - so  the Corporations and the 1% don't have to pay taxes.

"The fiscal reality hit the states sooner, and hard, because—unlike Washington—they have to balance their budgets," says Jonathan Williams, director of tax and fiscal policy at the American Legislative Exchange Council. "The problems were simply too big to ignore anymore, and it set the stage for reforms that not long ago weren't even on the table."
Since when have states balanced their budgets?  They can’t because ALEC members won’t allow them to raise taxes because of their beholden-ness  to tax god Grover Norquist whose American for Tax Reforms is an ALEC member (and introduces a boatload of ALEC “model” legislation EVERY YEAR’)

Weren't on the table?  or do you mean on the cutting block - or the butchers table or   ...  

Nowhere have the changes been more striking than in the budget and structural reforms enacted by Mr. Christie (who took office in 2010) and Mr. Walker (who hit the ground running in January 2011). Their high-profile wins over state legislatures and unions were the first signs of reformist Republican governors taking on the public entitlements that are crowding out more vital budget priorities.
Good 'ol Scottie - hit the ground running - if you have never read SB1 and SB2 enacted the first two days good 'ol Scottie got into office - you should.  It is the ALEC manifesto - All the members of the American Legislative Exchange Council must've been wetting themselves for a week.

Should read  “were the first signs of terrorist Republican governors”

By the way – what would the “vital budget priorities” be – more tax cuts for ALEC Corporate Sector members?  More tax cuts for the 1%?  Or, selling state assets to ALEC Corporate Profit Sector members?

LIE, LIE, LIE,

The Republicans CAN’T WIN
On the merit of their proposals or arguments

The Republicans CAN’T WIN
On their policies

The Republicans CAN’T WIN
On their platforms
 
The Republicans CAN’T WIN
On their past performance

The Republicans CAN’T WIN
On their abilities or capabilities

So Republicans have to
LIE, LIE, LIE,
LIE, LIE, LIE,
LIE, LIE, LIE,

AND THEN Republicans have to
CHEAT and STEAL
CHEAT and STEAL
CHEAT and STEAL
With ALEC Voter ID.

LIE  --  --  CHEAT  --  -- STEAL  --  -- 
The Republican way 
to win an election.