Obama's Huge Opportunity To Expose the Extremist Machine

Posted by David Sirota at 12:26 PM on June 25, 2007.

Two and a half years ago, I joined in what would become the successful efforts to create the Progressive States Network - an organization designed to both support progressive state legislators and fight back against right wing extremists that have used America's state legislators to manipulate public policy. As I had discovered during my years in politics, one of the most aggressive extremist groups that operates at the state level is called the American Legislative Exchange Council - or ALEC for short. It's a seemingly innocuous name, but as Progressive States detailed in one of its first reports - and as other terrific progressive organizations have detailed at length - ALEC is not an innocuous organization - it is arguably the most important legislative appendage of Big Money and right-wing interests in American politics. That's why U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) must reject ALEC's invitation for him to speak at its upcoming national conference.

Yes, you read that correctly: ALEC is trumpeting Obama's photo on the front of its website, saying the organization has either "confirmed" or "invited" him to address its big conference (it's not clear which is the case). Obama's photo is just above the announcement for a Capitol Hill event that will tell lawmakers that the popular and highly successful Children's Health Insurance Program is supposedly "bad for kids, families and taxpayers" - a not so surprising claim from ALEC, the organization that has used millions of dollars from corporate interests to wage state campaigns against minimum wage increases, union organizing rights, basic consumer protection laws, and environmental regulations.

Obama is a former state legislator, meaning that he understands the power and destructive agenda of ALEC. If he has not accepted ALEC's invitation, and ALEC is nonetheless using his notoriety to build an audience for its conference, Obama has a huge opportunity - a PR gift given to him by the Right. He could demand his photo be removed from ALEC's website and marketing materials, and issue a strong statement talking about how nefarious right-wing extremist groups like ALEC really are, both tactically and public policy-wise. He would create a significant moment for public education about the real forces that drive - and distort - our politics.

If Obama, on the other hand, has accepted ALEC's invitation, then that raises all sorts of questions about exactly why he would help legitimate an extremist group - and one he knows quite well from his time in the Illinois statehouse. He may try to say he's interested in speaking to all sorts of different groups - but remember, ALEC is not just any other group. As the Progressive States Network's press release notes, ALEC publicly brags about its mission using corporate cash to buy political access at the state level. This is a group that takes truckloads of cash from ExxonMobil to rail against proposals to stop oil industry price gouging and start regulating greenhouse gas emissions. It is a group that had a pharmaceutical industry lobbyist head its health policy task force. It is a group, in short, whose explicit purpose is to help Big Money wage a war against the progressive movement and middle class Americans at the state legislative level.

My guess is that Obama has not accepted ALEC's invitation, and if/when he comes out and rejects ALEC's efforts to use his celebrity for their own causes, the Progressive States Network - and the progressive movement in general - will be there to cheer him on. We need as many leaders as possible calling out the right-wing machine for what it is: An array of fringe extremist groups working to perpetuate the status quo on behalf of a small handful of ultra-wealthy elites. No presidential candidates - and certainly not those who see themselves as progressive leaders - should want anything to do with a group like ALEC.

UPDATE: Progressive States Applauds Sen. Obama For Rejecting Invitation From Extremist Group

ALEC Forced to Remove Obama's Picture from Promotional Material After Being Rebuffed by Sen. Obama and PSN

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama was commended by the Progressive States Network today for rejecting an invitation to speak at the summer conference of the extremist, corporate front group, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). A pictures of Obama, along with Presidential candidates Rudolph Guiliani, Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee, were featured on the front page of ALEC's website (www.alec.org) as"Invited and/or Confirmed Speakers"to help recruit state legislators to ALEC's conference. Earlier today, after the Progressive States Network alerted the campaign and the media to Obama's photo being used to promote the conference, it was immediately removed. Rudy Guliani and Fred Thompson are still listed as speakers for the conference.

"We applaud Sen. Obama for rejecting ALEC's efforts to use his notoriety for its own extremist agenda,"said Progressive States' Executive Director Joel Barkin. "How dare ALEC use the image of a great progressive leader like Senator Obama is such a dishonest way. As a state legislator and US Senator, Barack Obama has been a great leader on working family issues, health care and environment all issues ALEC has worked very hard to oppose. Sadly, this is very indicative of the deceptive ways in which ALEC works. Whether it is misleading talking points or legislation, ALEC has a long history of manipulating legislators to fit their very narrow interests. By refusing to speak at the ALEC conference, Senator Obama has sent a clear message to all national candidates - the ALEC agenda of greed and dishonesty is bad for our states and bad for our country."

ALEC was created in the 1970s by New Right leader Paul Weyrich and allied right-wing supporters in order to advance their agenda in statehouses across the country.In a report last year, Progressive States detailed ALEC's history of being funded by the oil industry to deny that global warming is a problem, by the telecommunications industry to fight local municipal wireless systems, by the pharmaceutical industry to fight prescription drug regulation, and by low-wage employers like Wal-Mart to oppose minimum wage and other labor protections.

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David Sirota is a veteran political strategist and author of Hostile Takeover, a New York Times bestseller about the corruption of both political parties.