Grover Norquist Power Extends Beyond Americans For Tax Reform, A Brief look at Who is Really Running Your State Legislature and Training Private Companies To Get What they Want

We often associate Grover Norquist Americans for Tax Reform, but Mr. Norquist power extends farther than the No Tax Pledge. Besides working in the past at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, lobbying and working with some of the corrupt in the Republican Party, Grover has been recognized for coining the phrase for then the First George Bush ‘No New Taxes’; According the Americans Rights at Work Website Grover Norquist also has another group called the Alliance for Worker Freedom (AWF). The Alliance for Worker Freedom (AWF) is a special project of Grover’s Group Americans For Tax Reform, but then there a problably a countless number who are also associated with ATR such as the Center For Fiscal Accountability located in California. According to SourceWatch ATR is also a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC is considered part of the Koch dynasty in politics so to speak that were not to supposed know about, but thats another story, since they do everything undercover.

Probably out of all the groups that Grover Norquist deals with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is probably the mostly powerful and they are in your state Running and Directing things from Private Corporation to your Political Leaders on how to push a Conservative Agenda a government with less regulation, the EPA, School Vouchers, etc., etc., etc.

I find it funny though on certain occasions they try to say this group supports ATR, when the fact is ATR created it. That has been the case a couple of times. On the Center for Fiscal Accountability (by the website is very similar to ATR) boasts how they are joined by 45 groups and that they support Paul Ryan’s Budget Resolution. I didnt go through the whole list, but as I mentioned before the Alliance for Worker Freedom and Center for Fiscal were created by ATR. So it shouldn’ come as a surprise they support each other and support the same thing, I guess were not supposed to know it.

The American Legislative Exchange Council is considered very powerful. According to Sourcewatch.org behind the scenes this group they are involved in corporations in directing state legislature I would assume for their own agenda. You maybe wonder how that is possible. Well in some states if not all don’t have all the resources and accesses to a staff to keep them current on issues. But in our State Legislators while their maybe interns the law makers in some states don’t have personal staff compare to a Senator or House of Representative in the Federarl Government, making it quite possible for those with their own agenda help create a push for laws that benefit them and their business. ALEC brags that they have had over 1,000 bills introduced by Legislatures every year.
But under The American Legislative Exchange Council is probably working state by state on issues important them you will find the ATR working. I recently blogged about about some of the latest activitives of ATR and to know surprise they were definitely trying to put their stamp or views on legislature proposals on some states, A Glance at Some of The Activities of Americans For Tax Reform Have Been Up too this Year

ALEC is nothing more than a Conservative Think Tank going state state coaching your Legislatures and Corporations to push Conservative Political Agendas. I have included a description of what ALEC calls model Legislature

The Republicans you elected to run your state the country aren’t things its these groups  and people like Grover Norquist, the Koch Brothers, the Chamber of Commerce that are controlling everything.  The Koch Brothers giving to their many Conservative causes donated to ALEC 1997-2009: $608,858.  They have a long history of working across the country developing all these groups are connected but we the American people are not supposed to suspect.

Some of the goals of ALEC have been the Voter ID Bills as well as drafting the Arizona Immigration Bill with Kansas Republican Kris Kobach.  The Nation also did a article on ALEC which you may find interesting:  “Alec Exposed:  Rigging Elections”

The information below comes courtesy of The ALEC website.

Model Legislature

ALEC is one of numerous organizations in America that provide a forum for the creation of model legislation. Among all of those organizations, ALEC may be unique in several respects:

• ALEC is a nonprofit organization and it is nonpartisan. We have both Democrat and Republican members.
• Our mission is to advance the principles of free markets, limited government and individual liberty.
• ALEC has a broad membership that engages state legislators, the private sector, the federal government and the general public.

ALEC adopts model legislation using a multi-step process:

• Interested legislators and private sector members participate in one of nine ALEC task forces. Each task force addresses specific issues that concern both state government and those being governed.
• The task forces use a collaborative process to adopt model legislation that reflects the ALEC principles of free markets, limited government and individual liberty.  While private sector members have a voice at this level, after the model legislation leaves the task force, they have no procedural role whatsoever.
• All model legislation must get final approval from ALEC’s Board of Directors which is entirely comprised of 23 state legislators.
• Model legislation is available to members on the ALEC website (www.alec.org), and the titles of current model bills can be viewed by anyone via the Internet.
• Individual legislators have the option of utilizing model bills adopted by ALEC — and other organizations — to develop their own legislation that will address the needs of their local constituents.

Every state has a legislative process. All bills are subject to legal review, committee hearings, amendments, and floor debate before legislators vote to reject or adopt them.

In June 2011, ALEC Praised 34 states that prevented Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations.

Here is an example of Grover Norquist throwing around his Power in Washington when he isn’t involved in your State somewhere increasing Pledge numbers or pushing a Conservative Agenda among your Political Leaders.  According to SourceWatch.Org :

“K Street Project is “non-partisan research of political affiliation, employment background, and political donations of members in Washington DC’s premier lobbying firms, trade associations, and industries.” Ironically, it shares its name with the project by the Republican Party to pressure Washington lobbying firms to hire Republicans in top positions, and to reward loyal GOP lobbyists with access to influential officials. That projects was launched in 1995, by Republican strategist and ATF founder Grover Norquist working with former House majority leader Tom Delay. The K Street Project is a project by the Republican Party to pressure Washington lobbying firms to hire Republicans in top positions, and to reward loyal GOP lobbyists with access to influential officials.” It was launched in 1995, by Republican strategist Grover Norquist and House majority leader Tom Delay (another controversial person Norquist has worked with.)

Outsource.org associates the K Street Project on their webpage though they do not mention why, but I think the how and why the ‘K Street Project’ would fit into the ALEC scheme of doing things.

“In 2002 the Washington Post reported on the existence of a dossier compiled by the project, keeping tabs on which lobbying firms and individual lobbyists gave to which politicians and parties. An unnamed GOP lobbyist source told the Washington Post that “you will have this list to control access” to the White House, Congress, and Federal agencies. [citation needed]
According to the New York Times, Grover Norquist claimed “it’s an ongoing project that’s been updated over the last several years, and this is the most recent iteration.” Norquist claimed that the object was “letting people know how many R’s and D’s are being hired” by certain interest groups, so that these groups would hire more Republicans to represent them. [citation needed]
As a result of this exposure, a letter circulated in Congress reminding members and Senators that it was a violation of ethical standards to limit lobbyists’ access based on their political contributions”

While Grover Norquist, as a Lobbyist for Freddie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2000, Freddie and Freddie Mac circulated letters through Congress.

Flexing his muscle so to speak or playing the Godfather so to speak, in Washington it is believed Grover through his K Street Project was able to pressure lobby firms to hire Republicans.

The K Street Project is considered to help in the demise of Tom Delay, and as always for whatever reason Norquist remained unharmed.

“The seeds of U.S. Rep. Tom Delay’s downfall were planted in the mid-1990s by something called the K Street Project. The effort to hire pro-Republican lobbyists was supposed to keep the party in power on Capitol Hill.” To listen to NPR’s Transcript on Tom Delay and the K street Project.  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5157988

Some things just say Grover was behind it, and thats also how the Alliance for Worker Freedom (AWF) is a continuous plan or should I say extension of the K Stet Project. The Alliance for Worker Freedom was established in 2003 as a project for the organization Americans for Tax Reform.

According to the American Rights at Work Website

“The Chamber does not pursue its anti-union agenda alone; it coordinates with a number of players in the anti-union movement. For instance, it participates in Grover Norquist’s Alliance for Worker Freedom “Labor Reform Working Group” meetings. The agenda of the December 2005 meeting of this group focused on a range of union-related issues, including card check, project labor agreements, and the Department of Labor’s new database on union information.27 Attendees included Richard Berman, along with representatives from the Chamber, the DOL, the anti-union Associated Builders and Contractors, Senator Bill Frist’s office, and Rep. Charlie Norwood’s office.”

Interesting that Americans for Tax Reform and The Alliance for Worker Freedom both went after Andy Stern the President of the International Union (SEIU):
I guess were not to know there really one in the same.