ALEC Mission Has Lost Focus

We are currently watching the implosion of the RepubliCONS at a national level as the Tea Party factions tears the party apart.

One thing any group needs is cohesion and cooperation among its members.
Another thing any group needs is a purpose and mission that is coherent and consistent.

Those things are not happening for the RepubliCONS at the national level and ALEC may be beginning to experience the same thing.

This entry is just one example - other examples include ALEC members who are at each others throats - like Cantor and Boehner - - - or Enzi and Cheney - - there's more, lots more.
But it isn't just one on one battles that erupting inside ALEC - there may be the start of a mission / purpose backlash against ALEC by its own members, as ALEC repeatedly vacillates on what it's public mission will really be - flip-flopping on a regular basis, on which  of the ALEC pushed legislation it supports or no longer supports, based on the tone of the press.  Mixed messages to members does not build cohesion or cooperation.

One example  - ALECs 
Equal State’s Enfranchisement Act,
to eviscerate the 17th Amendment.

November 24, 2013

ALEC's assault on the 17th Amendment

The conservative business group ALEC, meanwhile, also wants to undermine the 17th Amendment through what it calls the "Equal State's Enfranchisement Act:"

In an agenda for a December meeting posted on ALEC’s website, one of the items up for review is language for a bill, called the Equal State’s Enfranchisement Act, that would allow state legislatures to add a candidate’s name to the ballot for a U.S. senate seat, along with the names of those nominated by voters.

And there was no announcement prior to the meeting that ALEC had removed this vile legislation from its agenda.

ALEC published it as an agenda item - it was worth time at an ALEC meeting to introduce this legislation an discuss this legislation.

November 26, 2013

And ALEC didn't remove it from the agenda – the internal discussions went ahead as planned with the TaskForce Director stating:

    ALEC Director of International and Federal Relations Karla Jones insists that the proposed model legislation is not a step toward getting rid of the 17th Amendment.

    “Actually, the people on my task force that support it see it more as a way to preserve the good parts of the 17th Amendment,” Jones said. “Because the reason that the 17th Amendment came into being, there were states that weren’t being represented with senators, because state legislatures weren’t sending in their nominees. So it’s a way to preserve that, while at the same time giving state legislatures a voice in the process, which the constitutional founders originally thought they should have. [The] state legislatures have been cut out of that process, unlike what the founders originally intended. So it’s … sort of a compromise measure, where you preserve the positive aspects of the 17th Amendment, while having the state legislatures have the role that the Constitution originally intended.”

ALEC published it  

and

ALEC discussed it in detail before the December meeting in Washington DC
and
ALEC included it in the December agenda as a legitimate item for ALEC member discussion.

But

wait a minute

ALEC is like Minnesota weather – just give it a minute and everything can and will change.

It just takes a minute before the ALEC home office pulls the rug out from under the compliant ALEC legislators.

January 19, 2014

Wilhelm Meierling, senior director for public affairs of ALEC, said the leaked documents were draft proposals introduced during the organization's August 2013 meeting.

"It was not adopted. It does not exist," he said. "... We're a volunteer-led, volunteer-driven organization. When the volunteers say this isn't the way we're going ... it gets shot down, and it did."

He said just because there is draft legislation doesn't mean ALEC supports it.

Before the December meeting, he said a liberal news source saw that one piece of draft policy was about the U.S. Constitution's 17th Amendment, which established the direct election of United States senators. Before it was adopted in 1913, senators were elected by the state legislatures.

Meierling said the draft proposal was introduced by an ALEC member.

And that member could have been ALECer Frank Niceley.
And if it was Niceley, the bill he brought to ALEC was crap - ALEC knew it was crap and they had their lawyers re-write it for the December meeting.
Cause you see - the bill proposed at the ALEC meeting looks nothing like the amateur bill written by Niceley.

"We're a volunteer-led, volunteer-driven organization, and if a legislator wants to have a discussion about something, they make that proposal and then the discussion takes place," he said. "The reality is that was a draft working document. We had our meeting, and it was not advanced out of committee. After it wasn't advanced out of committee, the board also said any resolution on the 17th Amendment has to do with elections, and we don't do elections."

"we don't do elections."

"we don't do elections."

But he said that didn't stop liberal news sources and blogs from saying that ALEC wants to get rid of the 17th Amendment.

ALEC published it  

and

ALEC discussed it in detail before the December meeting in Washington DC.

and
ALEC included it in the December agenda as a legitimate item for ALEC member discussion

and
ALEC discussed it at the December ALEC meeting

and

ALEC powers that be voted no at the December meeting

And it didn’t stop there.
01/23/2014 

ALEC Drops Proposed Legislation Chipping Away At The 17thAmendment

ALEC's International Relations Task Force and Federal Relations Working Group endorsed the "Equal State's Enfranchisement Act" in December, at the group's policy summit in Washington, D.C.

But ALEC spokeswoman Molly Fuhs said this week that ultimately, the policy was not adopted.

"The ALEC Board of Legislators determined the model policy not germane to ALEC's mission of free markets, limited government and federalism," she said. "ALEC does not work on issues related to campaigns or elections, and therefore this model policy was outside of ALEC's scope."

"ALEC does not work on issues related to campaigns or elections,

"ALEC does not work on issues related to campaigns or elections,

ALEC published it  

and

ALEC discussed it in detail before the December meeting in Washington DC.

and
ALEC included it in the December agenda as a legitimate item for ALEC member discussion

and
ALEC discussed it at the December ALEC meeting

and

ALEC powers that be voted no at the December meeting
and
ALEC PR repeated - twice -  in the month following the meeting that the ALEC powers that be voted no at the December meeting

BUT - 

February 05, 2014

Rethinking The 17th Amendment: An Old Idea Gets Fresh Opposition

 

A number of Republican politicians and are calling for repeal of the 17th Amendment. Ratified in 1913, it gave voters the power to elect U.S. senators directly.

Before that, senators were generally selected by state legislatures. Returning that authority to the states would give them much more sway in Washington, restoring their role as a check on federal expansion, repeal supporters say.

Enter ALECer Frank Nicely
Niceley introduced a much rougher version of the ALEC bill in Tennessee earlier in 2013.
It's a crappy bill - something that real part-time state legislator would write. 
It's a crappy bill - nothing like the refined ALEC copy/paste legislation introduced at the December ALEC meeting.

Indeed, the lineage of the 17th Amendment is something its critics hold against it. Frank Niceley, a Republican state senator in Tennessee, says 1913 was "an unlucky year for Americans," because it ushered in not only direct election of U.S. senators but the Federal Reserve and the income tax.

Niceley expects a vote next month on his bill to allow his state's Legislature to select the nominees of both major parties.

Now just a reminder from above:

ALEC Version

Equal State’s Enfranchisement Act, that would allow state legislatures to add a candidate’s name to the ballot

Niceley Version

bill to allow his state's Legislature to select the nominees of both major parties

but his bill is much more dangerous that ALEC's version and based on what I have found - he has made no attempt to refine/amend his bill. 

Coincidence?

Doubt it.

ALEC states:
“we don't do elections."

"ALEC does not work on issues related to campaigns or elections,

But IF that is true:
WHY did-

    ALEC published it  

    and

    ALEC discussed it in detail before the December meeting in Washington DC.

    and

    ALEC included it in the December agenda as a legitimate item for ALEC member discussion
    and
   ALEC discussed it at that meeting

    and

    ALEC powers that be voted no at the December meeting
    and
    ALEC repeated - twice -  in the month following the meeting
    that the ALEC powers that be voted no at the December meeting

It's actions don't support what ALEC states:
“we don't do elections."

"ALEC does not work on issues related to campaigns or elections,

And yet a rogue ALEC member will continue to push his version of this vile legislation - becausehecan
Vile legislation in Tennessee that will not be an promotable success - it will fail.

The extremist ultraconservative American Legislative Exchange Council is confused and has lost control of its purpose and mission.