Local Column: Our “Oh My” Legislature

The Legislature spent a several days fussing with a female legislator who thinks the best way for a woman to progress in the legislature is to “spread her legs.” She should have included the males compromising themselves for the special interests and lobbyists. Their votes are often for sale on legislative bills written and promoted by ALEC. Here’s what the Center for Media and Democracy says about ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council): “ALEC is a powerful (group). Through the secretive meetings of ALEC, corporate lobbyists and state legislators vote as equals on ‘model bills’ that often benefit the corporations’ bottom line at public expense. ALEC is a pay-to-play operation where corporations buy a seat and a vote on ‘task forces’ to advance their legislative wish lists. Participating legislators then bring those proposals home and introduce them in statehouses across the land as their own brilliant ideas; without disclosing that corporations crafted and voted on the bills. ALEC has over 1,000 of these bills introduced by legislative members every year, with one in every five of them enacted into law.”