Is ALEC LYING About Membership Numbers?

From the meeting in Oklahoma this past May

How embarrassing!

“About 500 people, mostly lawmakers from across the country, are expected to converge next week in Oklahoma City for the spring meeting of an organization that promotes free-market and conservative ideas.”

ABOUT FIVE HUNDRED “PEOPLE”

NOT 500 legislative members of ALEC

500 PEOPLE

Let’s crunch some numbers on ALEC legislators:

2011– Before they started hiding the membership lists

Civil Justice Task Force  - 168 members

Commerce – 214 members

Communications and Technology – 181 members

Education – 181 members

Health and Human Services - 247 members

International Relations – 106 members

Public Safety and Elections – 151 members

Tax & Fiscal Policy – 228 members

168

214

181

181

247

106

151

228

1,476

Assume

50% are corporations (788)

25% of legislators serve on more than one task force (duplication) (225)

That means

553 ALEC members who are task force members

OOOOPS!!!!!!

ALEC BRAGS that they have 2,000+ legislative members

And yet only 500+ are task force members

AND

Only about 500+ PEOPLE will be at the meeting in Oklahoma City today and tomorrow.

That includes the ALEC profit sector members

500 legislators would ONLY be 25% of 2,000+ ALEC legislative members.

NOW – even if we are generous and say 300 of the 500 PEOPLE attending the meeting in OKC are ALEC legislative members – that would be ONLY 15% of ALEC legislators -

15% of the total ALEC members making legislative decisions for all ALEC members.

15% of the total ALEC members developing the nasty ALEC “model legislation” that is distributed across the United States

15% lousy percent

That is really embarrassing.

We’re not even talking a quorum here – unless they consider the quorum to be the ALEC Profit Sector members.

Do these 15% of all ALEC members represent the most extremist, ultra-conservative, right-wing members that the American Legislative Exchange Council has?

Pretty sad, so sad
 – when this meeting according to ALEC is to:

During the meeting, legislators will introduce and debate potential model policies that will have a positive impact on the American economy

They should say - During the meeting, only 15% of ALEC legislators will introduce and debate  ....

Pretty sad.
It's so sad - it's brahahahahahah funny!

Earlier this week Banz (ALEC-OK) wrote in an opinion piece:

Next week, hundreds of legislators from around the country will gather in Oklahoma City for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Spring Task Force meetings.

Should be

Next week, a couple of hundred of legislators from around the country will gather in Oklahoma City for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Spring Task Force meetings.

NOW
to the Chicago Meeting
the 40th Anniversary - big deal - 
of the extremist, right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council.

And the problem we encounter there - a stat from above.

ALEC BRAGS that they have 2,000+ legislative members

And yet only 500+ are task force members

NOW – even if we are generous and say 300 of the 500 PEOPLE attending the meeting in OKC are ALEC legislative members – that would be ONLY 15% of ALEC legislators -

Important to remember that.

Anyhow - last Tuesday - 8/6 the day before the ALEC Annual Meeting started Dick Durbin wrote a letter to all ALEC corporations (for profit, non-profit, trade association, lawyers, etc) inquiring if they were a member of ALEC at the time that ALEC was pushing Stand your Ground across the United States.  He did this in preparation of the US Senate hearings on Stand your Ground to start next month.

Durbin pi$$ed off every member of ALEC - how dare he ask for people to verify their membership.
ALEC is a secretive extremist right wing organization - they do not share member information with anyone - now or forevermore.

ALEC was pi$$ed.  They got the lawyers of ALEC corporate members (already at the meeting with briefcases of legislation) to write a rebuttal letter to ALEC - On August 8th - 2 days after Durbin made his request and 1 day before the ALEC Annual Meeting was over.

They only got 262 ALEC signatures on that letter to Durbin - at the meeting - while everyone was there - in the middle of the event.

You would think - YES, you would think that every ALEC legislative member in attendance at the meeting would have signed that letter.

Yet - they ONLY GOT 262 ALEC signatories on the letter - AT THE MEETING.

Were there only 262 ALECer willing to sign the letter of outrage to Durbin?
OR
Were there only 262 ALEC legislative members at the 40th Anniversary Meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council?

I think it was the latter.
I think ALEC is lying about the legislative membership numbers.

Between 225 - and 300 ALEC members at the May Meeting.
Between 262 to 300 ALEC members at the August meeting.

Total Revenues in 2011 for memberships/dues
TOTAL revenues for memberships/dues
$ 97,321
and that includes corporate memberships - cause there is no separate line items for legislators and a separate line for corporations  (remember corps pay between $2,500 and $25,000 to belong.)

ONE-TENTH of ALECs supposed members making decisions for ALEC.
225 - 300 ALEC members making decisions for the United States of America.

Is ALEC  LYING About Legislative Membership Numbers?