From McDonalds and Wendys, to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Intuit, to Coke and Pepsi, companies seem to be leaving ALEC at an ever increasing speed, as we noted recently.
But what is ALEC?
According to their own website, ALEC - the American Legislative Exchange Council - is a, "Nonpartisan individual membership organization of state legislators which favors federalism and conservative public policy solutions."
In non-legalease, that means they're an unregistered lobby-style group, filled with lawyers, that write heavily conservative-leaning laws, mostly for state legislatures.
According to the thoroughly researched website alecexposed.com, from the Center for Media & Democracy, ALEC is NOT a registered lobbying group, or even a SuperPAC. According to Time magazine, ALEC is a tax-exempt, 501(c)3 group, that is "designed to further small-government and private-sector interests at the local level."
But why would companies be abandoning a group many of them have supported for years? CNN has some answers:
If you want to read more about what ALEC actually is, click through the links below.
More Detail On What ALEC IS
Alec Exposed: What is ALEC?
Why Coke and Others Cut Ties with Conservative Group ALEC
Gates Foundation Will No Longer Make Grants to ALEC Nonprofit
ALEC: What It Does and Why Three Major Corporations Cut Ties
Gates Foundation Will No Longer Make Grants to ALEC Nonprofit
Wendy's Is The Latest Corporation To End Its Membership With ALEC
Wendy's: We're Done With ALEC, Too
ALEC Exposed: The Koch Connection
