Another take on ALEC’s attractiveness to Republican legislators

by David Safier

In the Political Animal, Ed Kilgore added an important insight to Krugman's column about ALEC. Basically, Kilgore said ALEC-created legislation is catnip for Republican state legislators looking to make a name for themselves in conservative circles.

[I]f you are, say, a freshman legislator elevated to office by the 2010 conservative landslide (or back in the day, by the 1994 landslide, or the mini-landslide of 2002), or by term limits, and want to make a mark really fast, you can attend a posh ALEC event (basically paid for by sponsoring lobbyists) and come home with a package of draft bills, press releases, talking points, letters to your colleagues, supporting “research”—pretty much everything you need— and quickly get yourself marked as a serious-minded conservative solon.

Kilgore says legislators, especially freshmen, have an uphill battle creating bills because they don't have staff to help them. But I think his central point makes sense, staff or no. Proposing ALEC legislation is the equivalent of using talking points from the national party's email or from the Rush Limbaugh show. Without putting out any thought or effort, legislators can "write" tough conservative bills and move to the front of the line for media attention and reelection cred, just like they can spout the talking point of the day and sound like they know what they're talking about.