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Durbin ain’t the only one crossing a line here

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* Watchdog.org is run by the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity. The Franklin Center is not happy these days with Sen. Durbin…

U.S. Sen. Richard “Dick” Durbin has some questions for Watchdog’s parent organization, asking who we know, what we know, and when we knew it.

In a letter to the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, Durbin asks the nonprofit news organization whether it has given money to or ever been affiliated with the American Legislative Exchange Council, the model legislation think tank that liberals — and journalism experts like Durbin — love to hate.

“What is it he thinks he’s doing here?” asks Jason Stverak, president of the Franklin Center. “Does he think he has the authority to oversee state legislatures? Is it his job to tell citizens and groups what sort of policies they may advocate? What about tracking down all the members of that group?

“Why not just ask it: are we now or have we ever been members of the American Legislative Exchange Council?” […]

Watchdog intends to ask some questions of its own – specifically whether his letter was inspired by anti-ALEC activists meeting with the senator or his staff, and whether his staff coordinated the release of the letter with ALEC opponents.

* In a somewhat “straight” news story, the same Watchdog.org reporter actually asked about financial ties…

A Franklin Center board member does sit on ALEC’s board of directors, a fact noted on Franklin’s website. But to Durbin’s inquiries, Stverak otherwise responds: “It’s none of his business.”

* And then Illinois Watchdog.org ran a story about a big Chicago protest at yesterday’s ALEC opener…

The same old protestors showed up, but this time they were protesting a new boogeyman. And many among the Illinois demonstrators weren’t sure what it was.

A large crowd of union members and the professionally outraged (kids and older people bussed to the rally) marched to oppose The American Legislative Exchange Council, a group meeting this week at the Hilton Palmer House hotel.

ALEC brings local officials and business leaders together to discuss smaller government and freer markets. But to hear protestors on the street tell it, ALEC is responsible for not only conservative legislation, but all manner of evils.

It’s a free country, they can say what they want and payback can be brutal. Also, I agree with the Tribune that Durbin has crossed a line here. But, wow, that stuff sure is blatant for a supposedly “independent” news outlet. From Watchdog.org’s “About” page…

Our established investigative journalists and capitol news reporters across the country are doing what legacy journalism outlets prove unable to do: share information, dive deep into investigations, and provide the fourth estate that has begun to fade in recent decades. By enhancing communication between reporters and providing a forum for published journalism, Watchdog.org promotes a vibrant, well-informed electorate and a more transparent government. […]

Franklin Center is not responsible for the information that appears on the Watchdog.org sites.

* Anyway, from the AP coverage…

As meeting participants handed out awards and dined at a meal sponsored by the Texas Oil and Gas Association, picketers denouncing “corporate greed” paced the sidewalks and

The conservative organization’s 40th annual meeting comes as it is experiencing increased influence due to a growth in Republican-led legislatures and enhanced opposition from liberal-leaning groups that have successfully persuaded some corporations to drop their support of the council. Businesses provide the bulk of the financing for the association, and industry officials serve with lawmakers on closed-door, issue-oriented task forces that develop model legislation for states.

The organization has more than 600 current model bills spanning a full range of issues, from accountability in government to zoning regulations.

“ALEC is about helping public policymakers look at issues from all different sides — to gather information, to gather research,” said Republican Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, a former lawmaker who delivered the group’s keynote address Thursday after being honored with its Thomas Jefferson Freedom Award.

* Common Cause Illinois executive director Rey López-Calderón talked about ALEC in Illinois…

ALEC doesn’t publicly disclose its members, but López-Calderón named two Illinois legislators as key members of ALEC. One of them is Republican Sen. Kirk Dillard, who López-Calderón called one of the most active legislators in ALEC in the state. Another is Republican Rep. Renee Kosel, said López-Calderón.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 11:56 am

Comments

so the watchdog group that supports sharing infromation to aid in accurate reporting of government activites is overssen by a parent that runs a secret group which conceal information.

I wonder what alecs models legislation on disclosure of financial and government meetings is.

Basically they have elected government memebrs meeting at secret meetings to draft laws without the public benefiting from the discussions surrounding the creation and provisions in those model laws.

Nothing like a secret org to make me feel safer….

Comment by Ghost Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:09 pm
Dick Durbin is a perfect example of why there is a need for term limits.

Comment by Dan S, a Cubs fan Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:09 pm
ALEC outrage has always, always baffled me. You don’t like general right-wing lobbying? Okay well unelect people who listen to that sort of thing. Otherwise who cares.

Comment by Will Caskey Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:10 pm
The “watchdog” is complaining about a group that takes corporate cash secretly. It is very funny that any so-called media group wants to protect secret corporate cash donations.
BTW NO ONE has said stop the secret cash just tell the consumer when their money is funding whack job crusades

Comment by CircularFiringSquad Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:15 pm
For a few years, the Illinois version of the Franklin Center played it straight, getting newspapers, radio and TV to use their stuff. Then, in 2012, a switch went off and all the bias of their founders poured into their copy. Knowing two people who worked there, one who quit the other who was fired because her stories didn’t toe the party line, it’s clear this is a right-wing group disguised as a journalism outfit. It’s long past time for the ILCA to expel them.

Comment by Marty Funkhouser Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:16 pm
ALEC is not new and Democrats have never had an issue until now. This is like a Republican war on the sierra club.

Comment by shore Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:21 pm
Amen to Funkhouser. There is a story in the firing mentioned in this comment which should be told.

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:24 pm
Strange. Durbin, Lopez-Calderon, etc. claim to be very worried about connections to ALEC.

But they have no problem with Tuesday’s news concerning Illinois politicians (Trotter, Rush, Davis) advocating for Robert Mugabe, or their connections to those indicted for violating federal law by illegally lobbying them on behalf of Mugabe: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-08-06/news/chi-2-chicago-men-charged-in-zimbabwe-plot-20130806_1_zimbabwe-officials-sanctions-2-chicago-men

For the record: ALEC? Scary. Bad. Mugabe and the atrocities he has committed in Zimbabwe? We’re good.

OK.

Comment by Keep Calm and Carry On Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:33 pm
“Durbin asks the nonprofit news organization”

A news group that also does not disclose donors, was founded by partisans and is staffed by former political operatives for prominent politicians?

Durbin wrote a letter to ThinkProgress?

Comment by Keep Calm and Carry On Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:49 pm
ALEC’s goal is to turn back progress across the country in state legislatures and in Congress. Now that the Koch brothers have helped elect extremely conservative legislatures in some parts of the country, their vision is becoming law. Not sure why it’s wrong to ask the question of what the supposedly independent “Franklin Center” is to ALEC?

Comment by Chicago Cynic Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 1:03 pm
===ALEC is not new and Democrats have never had an issue until now===

It’s true that ALEC is not new, but now that some of their tactics have been exposed, people are paying more attention to it and asking questions about its funding.

The NRA and affiliated gun manufacturers used ALEC to craft model concealed carry legislation up to and including so-called “stand your ground” bills. Stuff like that has lost ALEC some corporate support from companies like Microsoft that no longer wish to be associated with it.

I don’t think Durbin is crossing any lines simply by asking questions. Most advocacy groups are proud to mention their supporters and provide info about what they do. The fact that ALEC is so defensive about simple questions is very telling to me. They have something to hide.

Comment by 47th Ward Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 1:04 pm
===You don’t like general right-wing lobbying? Okay well unelect people who listen to that sort of thing.===

Wait. Are you saying that elections are it? How do you make it an issue in an election if you don’t gin it up?

I also think that the ALEC thing is way overblown, and doesn’t make much difference in Illinois. But for a political pro, you don’t seem to know much about how public debate can influence elections.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 1:10 pm
The dogs are barking at each other….

Comment by Liberty First Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 1:11 pm
@47th

Ironically i think the letter from Durbin was in preparation for a hearing on those same Stand Your Ground laws. Which seems to me Durbin is barking up the wrong tree. It isn’t ALEC that is the issue for him here it is the popularity of these laws with most voters. See the Quinnipiac poll from july (businessweek).

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-08-02/more-americans-are-standing-up-for-stand-your-ground-laws.

Comment by Mason born Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 2:14 pm
ALEC doesn’t make much difference in Illinois?

I realize Democrats have a wide margin, but some of these folks strike me as fairly influential in Springfield.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_American_Legislative_Exchange_Council#Illinois

Mike Bost R, Illinois House of Representatives[16]
Phil Crane R, formerly United States House of Representatives and 1980 candidate for President of the United States[58]
Tom Cross R, Illinois House of Representatives[20]
Kirk Dillard R, Illinois Senate[4][20]
Henry Hyde R, Founder, former United States House of Representatives, now deceased[58]
Renée Kosel R, Illinois House of Representatives[4]
Carole Pankau R, Illinois Senate[16]
Dennis Reboletti R, Illinois House of Representatives[23]
David Reis R, Illinois House of Representatives[23]
Dale Risinger R, Illinois Senate[49]
Chapin Rose R, Illinois House of Representatives[20]
Dan Rutherford R, Illinois Senate[17]

Comment by crazybleedingheart Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 2:21 pm
crazybleedingheart, that’s an old list. Risinger and Pankau are long gone, for example.

Also, while some of those folks are pretty conservative on some issues, they aren’t on others. I’m not sure what your point is except to say everybody affiliated with ALEC is somehow bad. That’s goofy.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 2:28 pm
Also, Common Cause identified just one law that looked like an ALEC proposal. It was for charter schools. The bill passed with overwhelming, bipartisan margins. It had liberal and conservative co-sponsors. Not exactly nefarious. http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=0079&GAID=11&GA=97&DocTypeID=SB&LegID=54707&SessionID=84&SpecSess=

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 2:32 pm
“Mason born” is right that this is all about Durbin’s upcoming crusade against so-called “stand your ground” laws – which, as Stverak alluded, are a STATE matter. So the more historic irony/outrage here is the Senate was intended by the Founders to be a check AGAINST federal encroachment on the sovereignty of states. That is why Senators were originally elected by the state legislatures and not the public: to ensure that Congress – inspired by popular passions - didn’t start usurping their provincial autonomy.

Comment by grand old partisan Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 2:35 pm
Rich – maybe I’m missing something here, but is it your contention, per your headline, that Watchdog.org has crossed some sort of line? If so, what line is that? And is it really even in the same universe as the line a government official crosses when they begin harassing and intimidating citizens based on ideology??

Comment by grand old partisan Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 2:41 pm
RE: ALEC Model Bills in Illinois - Rep. Jeanne Ives introduced at least five ALEC model bills this year, one which was co-sponsored by Rep. Tom Morrison. One was a so-called “Right to Work” bill, the others were based on versions of the “Public Employee Bargaining Transparency Act” and related model bills (HB3160, HB3310, HB3289, HB2689, HB3290). Those are just the ones I had time to pay attention to. I’m sure more could be identified if someone took the time to look. http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed

Comment by schwartzee Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 3:26 pm
===Rep. Jeanne Ives introduced at least five ALEC model bills this year===

She is perhaps the least influential member of the Illinois House. So, it’s not even a nice try.

And even then, so what? She’s very, very conservative. Wouldn’t you expect that from her? She doesn’t have the right as a legislator to use those ALEC models?

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 3:30 pm
Rich: Duh, I know she’s the least influential and very conservative. My point was simply that ALEC bills are being introduced here. Also I agree that it’s no surprise from her and that she has the right to consult ALEC. You seemed to imply that there was only one ALEC bill introduced with your post at 2:32pm. I was only pointing out that you’re wrong - there were at least 5 from just one rep.

Comment by schwartzee Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 3:46 pm
===You seemed to imply that there was only one ALEC bill introduced===

Not at all. I said one law. There’s a difference. A huge difference. Mopey bills get introduced by the thousands. Not that many become actual laws.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 3:58 pm
My bad, Rich. I should read more carefully before posting comments declaring that you’re wrong. LOL

Comment by schwartzee Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 4:04 pm
Just don’t claim to be independent, investigative journalists, if you’re really just another advocacy group.

Comment by walkinfool Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 4:35 pm