We blissfully go about the political business of voting, mostly without knowing much about how our government actually works locally and nationally. Superficial political theatrics catch and hold our attention. Meanwhile the corruption of government remains purposely and secretly below our radar.
For example how many know who is the next person in line to step in if the governor dies or is incapacitated. That person is Sen. Michael D. Thibodeau (ME R-23), President of the Maine Senate.
So, what’s the big deal about that?
The big deal is that he is a member of a secretive organization that has the power to corrupt and is corrupting our system of government. (Corrupt: To ruin utterly in character or quality: e.g.... was corrupted by power.)
That secretive and corruptive organization is the American Legislative Exchange Council, ALEC. ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that.
Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wish lists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills.
As of December 2013, ALEC had more than 85 members of Congress and 14 sitting or former governors who were considered "alumni".
The majority of ALEC's legislative members belong to the Republican Party. It also has approximately 300 corporate, foundation, and other private-sector members.
The criticism among media outlets and political opponents was that ALEC was secretly subverting democratic institutions to further the aims of its corporate benefactors.
Critics sometimes argue that by adopting ALEC's model bills without disclosure, state officials are handing off the duty of doing their own work to a business-centered lobby.
There are many model bills handed to our legislators by ALEC that are not in the interest of the people.
For example, in 2013, ALEC planned legislation that would weaken state clean energy regulations and penalize homeowners who install their own solar panels and redistribute the electricity back into the grid, which ALEC has described as "free riders" because they do not pay for the infrastructure costs of recirculating their generated power.
There is so much more. Follow these links for a full awakening to the corruption in our government.
http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/What_is_ALEC%3F
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Legislative_Exchange_Council
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_American_Legislative_Exchange_Council
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/ALEC_Politicians