SiX Could Be The Answer To ALEC
Politico has an interesting article up which details the efforts in the liberal political donor camp to come up with something to combat the influence of the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. The new liberal counterpart will be named the State Innovation Exchange, or "SiX." Creative capitalization seems to be their first innovation.
But I shouldn't get snarky about their branding, because the basic idea is a good one: counterbalance the impressive inroads Republicans have made in state legislatures. ALEC has an excellent record of accomplishments, from getting laws passed (voter suppression and "Stand Your Ground" legislation, to name two ALEC issues) to providing support (read: campaign money) for state-level legislators.
ALEC has largely been operating in a liberal vacuum. Their model is to take money from big businesses and then use it to not only help conservatives get elected at their state level but also provide them with ready-made boilerplate legislation for ALEC's pet issues after they do get elected. Just fill in a few blanks (like "name of state") and an inexperienced lawmaker can easily create a bill ready to introduce into their state legislature.
From the Politico story:
SiX's goal is an ambitious one: to compete with a well-financed network of conservative groups -- including the American Legislative Exchange Council -- that for years have dominated state policy battles, advancing pro-business, anti-regulation bills in state after state.
SiX ultimately plans to raise as much as $10 million a year to boost progressive state lawmakers and their causes -- partly by drafting model legislation in state capitols to increase environmental protections, expand voting rights, and raise the minimum wage -- while also using bare-knuckle tactics like opposition research and video tracking to derail Republicans and their initiatives.
"Progressives are looking around to figure out where to go to push back, and there has not been a vehicle to do that at the state level -- it's the biggest missing piece in the progressive infrastructure," said Nick Rathod, a career Democratic operative who started and will run SiX.
Rathod is right. It'll be interesting to see how successful he is in his attempts to build a liberal ALEC, but it's hard not to wish him well in the effort. The idea has been tried a few times before in the last couple of years, but never with the level of funding Rathod hopes to get. One of these previous attempts actually had a much better name, as branding goes: the American Legislative and Issue Campaign Exchange, which translates to "ALICE" (to counter ALEC). But, again, I shouldn't get snarky, because the new organization will create one snappy moniker when it forms its own political action committee, to be known (of course) as "SiX PAC." Now that's a pretty memorable name!
Democrats have been getting pretty thoroughly trounced at the state level, at least beyond blue-state bastions. It's a basic fact that the United States Senate is still in play politically in each election -- but the House is pretty much guaranteed to remain Republican until 2022. This is a direct result of Republican success at the state level, where they were able to gerrymander House districts during the 2010 redistricting process. If Democrats have any hope at all of changing this underlying dynamic, it will have to involve taking over state governments before 2020.
Republicans weren't just big winners in the national Congress last week, they also did surprisingly well in picking up governorships and statehouses. Democrats need to fight back at this level a lot better than they've been doing, and a national progressive group dedicated to helping win those fights could indeed make a difference. Most of the successful union-busting and voter suppression efforts are currently coming out of statehouses, not Washington DC. Progressives need to fight back to defend voting rights and the right to collectively bargain, but they also need to push their own issues forward as well.
Providing campaign help for state-level candidates, in the political world, is the equivalent of buying wholesale rather than retail. It's cheaper for each individual item, but you've got to buy a lot of them. State-level races are nowhere near as expensive as national races, but there are thousands of statehouse seats to consider, to put this somewhat more delicately.
Aside from helping good progressive candidates get elected, SiX can use ALEC's playbook once they are in office. Drafting legislation is tough, so it's a lot easier to have a boilerplate bill to, say, increase ballot access to all. Using boilerplate also allows for nationalizing the idea behind the law -- for instance, call such a bill the "Right To Vote Act" in the same way the "Stand Your Ground" label was used by ALEC to introduce almost-identical laws in multiple states.
Purists will argue against the idea, for various reasons. The first comes from the decriers of money in politics, who will doubtlessly denounce SiX as just another way elections will be influenced by big-money donors. This is, at heart, a politically suicidal case to make. Sure, we can all denounce Citizens United until we're blue in the face, but the law is what it now is, and to ignore the way politics is currently being played is to lose -- lose winnable races, and lose on all your agenda items. See: last Tuesday, for more detail. Money in politics is not a good thing in the abstract, but it is a devastating thing for your side when all the money goes to the other guys. Foregoing money for purist reasons is to disarm before the battle begins. At least SiX will be making its donors public, something that ALEC never has done.
Others might argue that money is better spent on national elections, but this just perpetuates the problem of getting resoundingly beaten at the state level in election after election. You've got to have a "farm team" of legislators to do the nuts-and-bolts state legislating that creates the atmosphere for national action by Congress. Start in the easy states -- the ones Democrats still control, like California. Push ideas like mandatory paid sick leave (something California has already passed) in other friendly Democratic states. Then use the media buzz generated to push for the idea in red states, and at the national level.
ALEC has shown -- painfully, for progressives -- how successful their model can be in getting state laws passed. We've seen a whole raft of laws from red states over the past few decades which have pushed conservative ideology hard. Some might call the opposition's tactics evil or morally wrong, but this argument is misdirected. ALEC uses boilerplate laws as a tool to achieve its goals. You can disagree with the goals all you want, but you've got to at least admit that their method is working wonders for them. The method itself isn't right or wrong, it is merely a tool. A tool which can be used for other goals -- progressive ones. The tool itself is neutral, and should only be measured by its success.
Which is why I'm hoping SiX can make a go of it at the state level. National Democrats have been ignoring this layer of government for too long, and the citizens of the affected states have paid a heavy price for this neglect. An organization dedicated to leveling the playing fields (all 50 of them) strikes me as a very good idea indeed. It is far too early to predict how successful SiX can be at countering conservatives in the statehouses, but it's not too early to wish them all the success they can manage to achieve. If they can make some solid gains by 2020, it could mean the difference between the possibility of Democrats ever retaking the House and resigning ourselves to Speaker Boehner for another decade. That is a worthy goal, and one worth fighting for.
-- Chris Weigant
Cross-posted at The Huffington Post
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
Aside from helping good progressive candidates get elected, SiX can use ALEC's playbook once they are in office.
In other words...
"Your good and your evil use the same methods to achieve the same goals."
-Yarnek, STAR TREK, The Savage Curtain
Purists will argue against the idea, for various reasons. The first comes from the decriers of money in politics, who will doubtlessly denounce SiX as just another way elections will be influenced by big-money donors. This is, at heart, a politically suicidal case to make. Sure, we can all denounce Citizens United until we're blue in the face, but the law is what it now is, and to ignore the way politics is currently being played is to lose -- lose winnable races, and lose on all your agenda items. See: last Tuesday, for more detail. Money in politics is not a good thing in the abstract, but it is a devastating thing for your side when all the money goes to the other guys. Foregoing money for purist reasons is to disarm before the battle begins.
So, pragmatism wins out over principle..
Hay, don't get me wrong. I am completely on board with it.. I wholeheartedly support the ide...
It does explain, though, why I believe that the Democrat Party is the Hypocrite Party...
At least SiX will be making its donors public, something that ALEC never has done.
yea, so they say.. I am sure ALEC made the same claim at it's inception as well... Let's face it. "Transparency" is another issue that makes the Democrat Party, the Hypocrite Party...
ALEC has shown -- painfully, for progressives -- how successful their model can be in getting state laws passed. We've seen a whole raft of laws from red states over the past few decades which have pushed conservative ideology hard. Some might call the opposition's tactics evil or morally wrong, but this argument is misdirected. ALEC uses boilerplate laws as a tool to achieve its goals. You can disagree with the goals all you want, but you've got to at least admit that their method is working wonders for them. The method itself isn't right or wrong, it is merely a tool. A tool which can be used for other goals -- progressive ones. The tool itself is neutral, and should only be measured by its success.
Like "Talking Points"... :D
The Left tried sooo very hard to discredit "Talking Points" because they were sooo very effective..
Then the Left adopted the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" mentality and now there are Left Wing talking points all around us...
Yet ANOTHER example of why the Democrat Party is the Hypocrite Party..
Which is why I'm hoping SiX can make a go of it at the state level. National Democrats have been ignoring this layer of government for too long, and the citizens of the affected states have paid a heavy price for this neglect. An organization dedicated to leveling the playing fields (all 50 of them) strikes me as a very good idea indeed. It is far too early to predict how successful SiX can be at countering conservatives in the statehouses, but it's not too early to wish them all the success they can manage to achieve.
If history is any example, it will be a dismal failure..
It seems that every time the Left tries to create a Right Wing version of something in the Left it never gets off the ground..
Air America
MSNBC
Occupy
The list is endless...
The problem is that Joe & Jane SixPack don't buy into the Democrat agenda...
Which is why Right Wing talk radio is so successful and Air America bit the big one..
It's why Fox News dominates cable and MSNBC limps along..
It's why Occupy was a passing fad but the Tea Party actually AFFECTED politics..
By and Large, the Left are in their own little world and while it's a pretty world to visit, Joe and Jane Sixpack don't to live there...
Having said all that...
But, again, I shouldn't get snarky, because the new organization will create one snappy moniker when it forms its own political action committee, to be known (of course) as "SiX PAC."
It might be a success, just on the basis of THAT alone!!! :D
Michale
Voter suppression, voter schmopression..
It's Voter ID Laws, NOT Voter Suppression.. Suppression is just spin...
It could just easily be said as Anti-Voter Fraud laws or Vote Integrity laws..
Let's face it. I have proven beyond any doubt that the Left's cry of "THERE IS NO VOTE FRAUD" is utter and complete felgercarp..
I saids it befores and I'll says it agains..
The ONLY reason to be against Vote Integrity laws is to make it easier to cheat.
That's the ONLY logical and rational reason...
And, considering the Great Nuclear Shellacking Of 2014, it's becoming obvious that the ONLY way Democrats are going to win elections IS to cheat...
Which explains the upcoming Amnesty For Immigrant Criminals and the Left's hysterical stand against Vote Integrity laws...
It's a proven fact that immigrant criminals vote in our elections.. And it's a proven fact that the Left is aiding and abetting these criminal actions..
So, let's drop the pretense and the holier than thou "Oh my gods, think of the children!!!" mentality AKA Voter "suppression"...
It's not about suppression. It's about making easier to cheat..
It's that simple...
Michale
Allow me to clarify...
My tirade was against the Left in general and Democrat political leadership in particular..
I don't question ya'alls motives in any way, shape or form...
I fully believe that ya'all BELIEVE in what your Democrat leadership is telling you. I firmly believe that ya'all are being sincere and that ya'all really believe that it's about suppression..
But ya'all are being used by your Democrat leadership to further their own un-popular and bigoted agenda...
Just want to make sure that the distinction is understood...
Michale
Totally unrelated....
http://drudgereport.com/
I am going to have to swear off Drudge until the change their headline...
That robot is just freakin' me out!!!
:D
Michale
Excellent article, CW. I hadn't heard about these folks at all.
I hate to say it but I think corporations have won until the next giant collapse.
Here in Ohio the Democratic Party is in trouble.
All 3 of the major newspapers have a corporate/ conservative slant. Television and radio ... similarly.
We're likely going to see some changes on a scale like Kansas and it won't receive any media coverage (unless it's positive).
I wonder what would happen if the Ohio Democratic Party folded. Would people even care that there was no choice?
It's funny though. It hasn't lessened any of the rage. AM radio still whips up the nutters about the gub'ment. They don't seem to understand that they are the gub'ment. At least in Ohio.
-David
DAVID!!!!!
Yer alive!!!!!!
"Yer alive!!! And a horrible shot!!"
-Jim Carrey, DUMB AND DUMBER
:D
Michale
LOL ... indeed. Back from all the election B.S.
Awww, com'on! It was fun!!! :D
Michale
In some ways. I certainly learned a lot about GOTV.
It's so rigged here in Ohio though that I think the conservatives are actually plotting to figure out how to make it more fair.
I was, however, successful in my bet to pick all 16 candidates before the election. Unfortunately.
-David
It's so rigged here in Ohio though that I think the conservatives are actually plotting to figure out how to make it more fair.
It's called "Gaming The System" and, sadly, it's a fact of modern politics...
Republicans do it.. Democrats do it..
In the current election, Republicans did it better...
Once Democrats initiate their Amnesty For Criminals, they have a shot at doing it better...
Michale
It's called "Gaming The System" and, sadly, it's a fact of modern politics.
Hmmm ... in Ohio, it's a fact of a completely corrupt Republican party. If it is the case that it's "modern politics," shouldn't we fix the system?
Literally, it's so rigged in Ohio that the farce that we're a democracy isn't even holding up so well. Or, as someone I know said today "I miss pseudo democracy."
I mean ... what happens when Republicans establish one party rule?
Will Republicans still try to tell us we have a choice? Isn't there a point where the credibility of government-hating people in government collapses?
Or, do you think they'll just be able to manipulate people through corporate media and psyops?
-David
Hmmm ... in Ohio, it's a fact of a completely corrupt Republican party. If it is the case that it's "modern politics," shouldn't we fix the system?
Fix it so it favors Democrats?? :D
In Ohio, cheating favors the GOP...
After Obama does his Amnesty For Criminals crap, cheating will favor Democrats...
I really can't get worked up over Republicans gaming the system when Democrats do it as well..
Now, if you want to get worked up over BOTH Partys cheating, then I am with ya there..
But, to do that, you would have to go against the Democrat Party and I don't think you are prepared to do that..
Michale
No. Fix it so it favors no one.
I support voter ID. It really is an easy fix to draw competitive districts.
I support voter ID. It really is an easy fix to draw competitive districts.
Then you shouldn't have a problem with PHOTO ID...
A utility bill or a library card is not a legitimate ID..
Do you know how I know??
Trying getting on an Airplane with one.. :D
Michale
No. Fix it so it favors no one.
Agreed.. And implementing photo ID for voters is one step in that process...
Michale
And implementing photo ID for voters is one step in that process.
I don't. So long as it's not a tax on people (make it free) and it's easily available.
That is, the process for obtaining doesn't favor one side or the other.
And implementing photo ID for voters is one step in that process.
And non-gerrymandered districts is another.
Gentry Liberals and Black Americans were the two groups gathered together when Barack Obama had the opportunity to draw the new lines of his state Senate district after the 2000 census. He combined the heavily black South Side of Chicago with Gold Coast gentry liberals north of the Loop.
Together, they provided him with an overwhelmingly Democratic voter base and with access to the upper financial and intellectual reaches of the Democratic Party — and, in short time, the presidency of the United States.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/is-this-the-political-map-of-the-future/article/2556090
Like I said, David... Both Partys game the system to their advantage...
"... nature of the beast"
-Col Hadley, THE FINAL OPTION
If you want to condemn gaming of the system, then you have to condemn ALL gaming..
Else it's nothing but partisan politicking...
Michale
And implementing photo ID for voters is one step in that process.
And non-gerrymandered districts is another.
See #19....
But I'll meet you....
You support photo ID for voters and I'll oppose gerrymandering.. :D
Deal???
Michale
That is, the process for obtaining doesn't favor one side or the other.
Agreed..
A universally identical process whose ONLY goal and ONLY consideration is to get Photo IDs to voters.
A process that doesn't favor ANY specific group or interest, but rather just accomplishes the mission...
I'm down with that..
"I'm hip.. I'm with it.. dacka dacka dacka dacka"
-Dr Evil
:D
Michale
You support photo ID for voters and I'll oppose gerrymandering.
Deal. Now if only we were running the world ... heheh.
Btw, tried this place last night: http://rivertownbrewery.com/
Their Roebling Porter was unbelievable.
-David
Btw, tried this place last night: http://rivertownbrewery.com/
Their Roebling Porter was unbelievable.
Not one to experiment when it comes to beers.. :D
We were at a karaoke bar one night about 15 years ago... I got a pitcher of Samuel Adams because it was free...
Took a sip and almost died...
I'll stick to the old tried and true Bud Light... :D
Michale
Just because it's funny.... :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jut657kfhrE
Michale
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jut657kfhrE
Alas, poor Adams, Schaffer, and Murkowski ... they served us well!
Alas, poor Adams, Schaffer, and Murkowski ... they served us well!
For a while, anyhow.. :D
Michale
Michale [1] -
I am sure ALEC made the same claim at it's inception
Um, no. ALEC never even tried to promise this, sorry. We'll see who is right.
As for "talking points," well, you know I've ALWAYS made the case that they're nothing more than a neutral tool, personally. So I'm not sure where that "hypocrite" thing is coming from...
You do raise a good point about the marketability of the left vs. the right. I can't argue with the examples you've given, I must admit. But there's always hope...
But I'm glad you see the drawing power of "SiX PAC"... heh....
:-)
[2] -
OK, so how does moving a polling place away from a college campus further that goal, and does not qualify as "an attempt at voter suppression"?
I mean, I've said before "Voter ID has at least a shred of justification, but how do restricting voters' ability to cast a ballot qualify?"
[4] -
Didn't see it. Was it as bad as the Fox football robot? [Shudder]
akadjian [5] -
Think Kasich is going to run? Just curious...
Michale [15] -
Should a state-issued student ID count? Just curious...
akadjian [17] -
Amen to that. No poll tax, hidden or otherwise. Make it free. Birth certificate copies should be free, and "Age of majority" cards should also be free from the state. That would remove a lot of the basic problem, right there.
Michale [19] -
Except here in California (liberal paradise, dontcha know), where we passed a voter initiative which dictated that redistricting would happen by neutral parties and software, to minimize any attempted gerrymandering. Of course, you'd be in favor of that being implemented in Florida, right?
Heh.
akadjian [22] -
Deal. Now if only we were running the world ..
Oh, now there's a scary thought...
Heh.
As for porters, well, they're a bit heavy for me these days. I mean, I went through an Anchor Steam phase, but got over it.
These days, I'm more into pale ales, truth be told...
But I do appreciate a more full-bodied quaff, now and again, even now.
:-)
Michale [23] -
Bud Light? [shudder]
Here's my one Canadian joke. You'll like it.
Q: "What is the difference between having sex in a canoe and American beer?"
A: "They're both fucking close to water."
Heh.
-CW
As for "talking points," well, you know I've ALWAYS made the case that they're nothing more than a neutral tool, personally. So I'm not sure where that "hypocrite" thing is coming from...
It wasn't directed at you. I would NEVER!! :D
Like "Talking Points"... :D
The Left tried sooo very hard to discredit "Talking Points" because they were sooo very effective..
Then the Left adopted the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" mentality and now there are Left Wing talking points all around us...
Yet ANOTHER example of why the Democrat Party is the Hypocrite Party..
It was directed at the totality of the Left.. :D
OK, so how does moving a polling place away from a college campus further that goal, and does not qualify as "an attempt at voter suppression"?
I would have to know the specifics before I could intelligently comment...
Didn't see it. Was it as bad as the Fox football robot? [Shudder]
Hay!! That robot is kewl!!! :D
Naw, it was this....
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/gif/2014/11/10/b7a6cea214329b3ed4f06488058dd4152b55d564.gif
How spooky is that!! :D
Should a state-issued student ID count? Just curious...
It depends on the process to obtain that student ID.. THAT is what's important.
If you just walk up to a registrar's desk and say, "I am so and so, can I have an ID??" then no...
But if the ID process is similar to the DMV to GET the student ID, then yes...
Except here in California (liberal paradise, dontcha know), where we passed a voter initiative which dictated that redistricting would happen by neutral parties and software, to minimize any attempted gerrymandering. Of course, you'd be in favor of that being implemented in Florida, right?
Abso-posit-loutly..
IF... If you are in favor of approved photo ID for voters..
Q: "What is the difference between having sex in a canoe and American beer?"
A: "They're both fucking close to water."
Now THAT was funny!! :D
Michale
A: "They're both fucking close to water."
Now THAT was funny!! :D
No, THAT'S the truth. :)