ALEC exposed, corporate sponsors begin to back out

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Now that the political agenda of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has been exposed by ALEC Exposed, companies that have been members and financial supporters of ALEC are having second thoughts about being associated with its radical agenda. BREAKING: Intuit Out of ALEC; Coke, Kraft, Pepsi, too, while Koch Stands Ground (Rebekah Wilce, PRWatch):

A stampede seems to be on the way as more and more groups break ties and dump ALEC. Intuit, Inc. (maker of Quicken and QuickBooks accounting software) told the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) that Intuit also decided not to renew its membership after it expired in 2011.

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Kraft Foods also announced that it won’t renew its membership in ALEC when it expires this spring, according to an email from Kraft Corporate Affairs Director Susan Davison. These announcements follow on the news that Coca-Cola and Pepsi are out.

I would dispute the "stampede" characterization. The "usual suspects" financing the radical right-wing agenda are staying put:

Other corporate board members are doubling down, most notably Koch Industries and Wal-Mart Stores. "Yes, we plan to continue our membership in and support of ALEC," Philip Ellender of Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC told Politico. Wal-Mart refused to withdraw its support of ALEC, claiming, "Our membership in any organization does not affirm our agreement with each policy created by the broader group."

At what Reuters has called "political risk," Pfizer, Reynolds American, Altria/Philip Morris and non-board ALEC member Procter & Gamble refuse to leave ALEC. Exxon Mobil and British alcohol firm Diageo (makers of Smirnoff products and Johnnie Walker whisky) declined to comment.

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Several other corporations that have served as ALEC leaders have been silent in the face of the growing controversy surrounding ALEC's agenda on guns, voting, and other matters. Other firms remaining on ALEC's corporate board are board chairman Centerpoint360, vice chairmen Bayer and GlaxoSmithKline, secretary Wal-Mart Stores; and Energy Future Holdings, Johnson & Johnson, PhRMA, the American Bail Coalition, Reed Elsevier, Inc. (publisher of Lexis-Nexis, among others), AT&T, coal giant Peabody Energy, UPS, Arizona's Salt River Project and, last but not least, State Farm Insurance Co. (PhRMA recently gave over $350,000 to the so-called ALEC "scholarship" fund to pay for trips for legislators to attend ALEC resort meetings where lobbyists and legislators vote as equals on ALEC task forces on these "model" bills.)

Public interest groups intend to keep the pressure on the corporate sponsors of ALEC:

CMD executive director Lisa Graves and leaders from other public interest groups including Color of Change (CoC), Common Cause and the NAACP attempted to deliver a letter asking the ALEC chairmen of its legislative and corporate boards to "fully disclose ALEC's financial relationship with all NRA entities, including any contributions, sponsorships, in-kind support or other support ALEC has received" last week.

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CMD launched a new set of petitions to all the corporations remaining on ALEC's corporate board last week in the wake of the tragic death of Trayvon Martin. Concerned citizens can click here to tell ALEC companies to stand down.

We'll see if this takes on a life of its own like the sponsors pulling out of the Rush Limbaugh show (some of whom have come crawling back now that the news media is no loger reporting on this story every day).

UPDATE: Bill in Portland Maine at Daily Kos makes an excellent point:

The Supreme Court says corporations are people. The Supreme Court also says that people can be strip-searched for any reason whatsoever. Therefore, corporations can now be strip-searched for any reason whatsoever. Let's start with…[Snaps on latex glove]…oh, how 'bout Koch Industries.