Koch Bros. money quietly funding ALEC drive for laws to disqualify voters

(via JMG)

The above documentary, should be watched in its entirety but if you haven't time, skip to the 12-minute mark to see the part about the insidious, well-funded and secretive organization known as ALEC.

The Kochs and their partners spent at least $40,000,000 in the 2010 US elections, helping to shift the balance of power in the House of Representatives towards right-wing tea party Republicans. It's been reported that to defeat president Barack Obama next year, the Kochs plan to raise and spend more than $200,000,000.

ALEC is another Koch-funded group that brings together corporate lobbyists and conservative legislators to draft model laws. It turns out the anti-union measures in both Wisconsin and Ohio reflect ALEC model legislation which the organization tries to keep under wraps. But a few months ago a whistleblower leaked more than 800 of ALEC's sample bills to the Center for Media and Democracy.

     Lisa Graves is its executive director.

"What happens here through ALEC is that these corporations are actually voting...preapproving these bills. Then these legislators go along with this system, introduce these bills in the state houses and don't tell the public at all that those bills were preapproved, prevoted on by corporations.

Voter ID laws passed this year in Wisconsin and four other states that make it harder for minorities, students and the elderly to vote were based on an ALEC bill.

Some state legislators, like Tom McMillin of Michigan, get VERY defensive when asked if they belong to ALEC.