Smart ALECs

2011-08-07 - byGary Pearce
A TAPster takes strong issue with the N&O’s reporting on the American Legislative Exchange Council, which is meeting this weekend in New Orleans.

“The N&O’s Under the Dome blog reached a distressing new low in public affairs reporting with its story on the American Legislative Exchange Council. The blog reports on allegations by a liberal watchdog group that ALEC brings together conservative legislators and business groups to draft legislation ‘behind closed doors.’ The watchdog group targeted ALEC because it’s closely tied with Republicans.

“Ignorant summer interns must be running the N&O now, because nobody with any political sense or knowledge would believe that legislators and corporate tycoons go to a summer conference, draft legislation that benefits businesses, and return to their states where the proposal is rubber-stamped by clueless state legislatures. It simply doesn’t work that way.
 
“Meanwhile, model legislation is developed in many different forums, including the National Conference of State Legislatures. The N&O’s crack team of ignorant summer interns failed to mention that former NC House Speaker Joe Hackney (liberal Democrat) has been an NCSL leader for many years and made sure corporate and lobbyist money could still be contributed to NCSL and other groups when NC’s ethics laws were strengthened under his leadership.
 
“The N&O’s lack of a critical eye on a bogus allegation wasted our time and reinforced the paper’s lack of balance and increasing irrelevance in the state’s public policy debate.”
 
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Gary Pearce

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Smart ALECs

2011-08-07/Gary Pearce
A TAPster takes strong issue with the N&O’s reporting on the American Legislative Exchange Council, which is meeting this weekend in New Orleans.

“The N&O’s Under the Dome blog reached a distressing new low in public affairs reporting with its story on the American Legislative Exchange Council. The blog reports on allegations by a liberal watchdog group that ALEC brings together conservative legislators and business groups to draft legislation ‘behind closed doors.’ The watchdog group targeted ALEC because it’s closely tied with Republicans.

“Ignorant summer interns must be running the N&O now, because nobody with any political sense or knowledge would believe that legislators and corporate tycoons go to a summer conference, draft legislation that benefits businesses, and return to their states where the proposal is rubber-stamped by clueless state legislatures. It simply doesn’t work that way.
 
“Meanwhile, model legislation is developed in many different forums, including the National Conference of State Legislatures. The N&O’s crack team of ignorant summer interns failed to mention that former NC House Speaker Joe Hackney (liberal Democrat) has been an NCSL leader for many years and made sure corporate and lobbyist money could still be contributed to NCSL and other groups when NC’s ethics laws were strengthened under his leadership.
 
“The N&O’s lack of a critical eye on a bogus allegation wasted our time and reinforced the paper’s lack of balance and increasing irrelevance in the state’s public policy debate.”
 
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Gary Pearce

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