Amazon becomes 18th company to split with ALEC

Here is a brief bio on ALEC from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALEC

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is an 501(c)(3) American charitable and educational organization, comprised of conservative thinkers, state legislators of both parties, businesses and foundations that exists for the purpose of drafting research, policy papers and model legislation to assist and influence state legislatures and promote free-market and conservative ideas.
According to the organization's website, members share a common belief that "government closest to the people" is "fundamentally more effective, more just, and a better guarantor of freedom than the distant, bloated federal government in Washington, D.C."
ALEC is perhaps best known for drafting model legislation on issues such as tax treatment of corporations, tightening voter identification rules, and promoting gun rights, that can be easily adopted by state legislators and introduced as legislation. ALEC also serves as a networking tool among state legislators, allowing them to research the handling and "best practices" of policy in other states.
ALEC currently has more than 2,000 legislative members representing all 50 states, amounting to nearly one-third of all sitting legislators^, as well as more than 85 members of Congress and 14 sitting or former governors who are considered "alumni"

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ARTICLE 

 Thursday, May 24, 2012

 By David Ferguson

Amazon.com, the massive online retailer, has become the 18th company to leave the controversial legislative group the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), according to Think Progress. In spite of pressure from right-wing websites like Michelle Malkin.com, Breitbart.com and Newsbusters, the company has joined other organizations like PepsiCo, State Farm Insurance and Yum! Brands, which have parted ways with ALEC, thanks in no small part to an awareness campaign by the advocacy group Color of Change.

Businesses associated with ALEC have decided in droves not to attempt to weather the political fallout of being identified as members of a group that backs voter suppression efforts and dubious gun laws like Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” ordinance.  ”Stand Your Ground,” a measure expanding the definition of justifiable force, is the law which has been cited by defense lawyers for George Zimmerman, Jr., the former neighborhood watch captain who shot and killed teenager Trayvon Martin in February.  In spite of the controversy, the law remains popular with voters.

As members began their exodus, ALEC announced that it would be eliminating its gun law and voter ID task force. Think Progress reports, however, that “the conservative group remains committed to other priorities such as repealing minimum wage laws, eliminating capital gains and estate taxes, and blocking safeguards that protect children from eating rat poison.”

Malkin’s plea to “conservative consumers” to “stand their ground” can be read almost as a tribute to the success of the progressive campaign against ALEC.  ”Color of Change’s corporate appeasers,” she wrote, “include McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Mars Inc., Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Kraft Foods, Intuit, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Reed Elsevier (owner of LexisNexis), American Traffic Solutions and Arizona Public Service. This week, Robinson also claimed that Yum Brands and Procter and Gamble had dropped their memberships as a result of “hundreds” of Color of Change phone calls.”

Since then, ALEC has also been abandoned by five Pennsylvania legislators, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Kaplan, and others, now including, of course, Amazon.


http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/05/24/amazon-becomes-18th-company-to-split-with-alec/

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Here is a brief bio on Color of Change from Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_of_Change

Color of Change is a grassroots organization that aims to strengthen the political voice of black America. It was formed after the events of Hurricane Katrina, a powerful storm that devastated much of the north-central Gulf Coast. Color of Change is a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation that engages in lobbying and public education. Color Of Change PAC is a Political Action Committee registered with the Federal Elections Commission.
Color of Change was co-founded in 2005 by James Rucker and Van Jones. Rucker had previously been Director of Grassroots Mobilization for MoveOn.org Political Action and MoveOn.org Civic Action (2003–2005). Van Jones is the founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and was executive director at the time. Van Jones left the organization several years later to move on to other pursuits, such as Green For All. Rashad Robinson is the Executive Director of Color of Change, having joined the organization in May 2011.
Color of Change emerged in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, creating campaigns to help the hurricane's survivors. Color of Change was a leading advocate of the Jena Six, helping that cause gain increased media, national, and international attention.
Color of Change utilizes the Internet, and specifically e-mail, as its main conduit for communicating with its members. Web 2.0 developments such as social networking sites also contributed to the organization's scope and public impact, particularly in the case of the Jena Six.


Comment: If you put these 3 segments together, what do you get? Political-correctness run amuck. fm