ALEC Bills in Wisconsin
In the 2010 elections, Republicans emerged with seven more governor’s mansions. They also won control of 26 state legislatures, up from 14. In many trifecta states, where a new Republican majority won control of both houses and the governorship, an odd thing happened. A steady stream of almost identical bills –- bills to defund unions, require Photo ID's make it harder for democratic constituencies to vote, bills to privatize schools and public assets, bills to enshrine corporate tax loopholes while crippling the government’s ability to raise revenue, bills to round up immigrants –- were introduced and passed. An almost identical set of corporations benefited from these measures.
It is almost as if a pipeline in the basement of these state capitols ruptured simultaneously, and a flood of special interest legislation poured out. The blowout preventer –- political power-sharing –- was disabled. The source of the contamination? The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
This week, the Center for Media and Democracy unveiled its ALEC Exposed website to display an archive of over 800 ALEC "model bills." This archive will allow reporters and citizen journalists to identify the ALEC bills moving in their states. We encourage researchers to search for some of the measures written about below.
It is now apparent that Thomson was the enthusiastic frontman for a slew of ALEC ideas and legislation –- most famously “Welfare to Work” and “School Choice.” In 1990, Milwaukee’s school voucher program for low-income children was the first in the nation, the camel’s nose under the tent for a long-term agenda with the ultimate goal being the privatization of public schools.
Wisconsin’s new governor, Scott Walker, has decided to follow in Thompson’s footsteps, pushing half dozen ALEC-inspired bills in his first weeks and months in office, yet remaining silent about the roots of these public policy “innovations.”
However, former Wisconsin Corrections Administrator, Walter Dickey, says he paid close attention to the debate over Truth in Sentencing in Madison. "There was never any mention that ALEC or anybody else had any involvement" in the crafting of the bill, Dickey says. The authors of the bill, their goals and interests were never disclosed to the public. Instead, their agenda was presented as in the best interests of the Wisconsin criminal justice system and taxpayers.
In 2011, Walker is drawing on his experiences as a loyal ALEC foot soldier to introduced many ALEC priority measures “by request of the Governor.”
After running on a platform of jobs and economic development, Scott Fitzgerald started opening up about his big plans for the state shortly after the election in 2010: “Listen we have new majorities, if you talk to the members of the House of the Representatives and the way they view the world right now, the more feathers you ruffle right now the stronger you are going to be politically. I don't ever remember an environment where that existed before. It was always go along, get along. A little on the edges, yeah we would take a few shots here and there at some political enemies, but in the end we all just want to be on the same page. That just doesn't exist right now. I’ve never seen that before, it gives us a lot of leeway and a lot of chain to make some significant changes.”
He announced to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that his first “shot” would be a “Voter ID” bill that would disenfranchise traditional Democratic constituencies, like the poor, black and elderly, who are less likely to have official photo identification. Model Voter ID legislation was produced by ALEC in the summer of 2009, after Barack Obama became President of the United States.
Fitzergald’s second strike? Only reporters paying close attention might have noticed a December 2010 interview in which Fitzgerald was asked about making Wisconsin a “Right to Work” state, or a hostile work environment for private sector unions. “I just attended an American Legislative Exchange Council meeting and I was surprised about how much momentum there was in and around that discussion, nothing like I have seen before,” said Fitzgerald enthusiastically.
This was the first, but not the last time the name of ALEC would surface in the lexicon of Wisconsin’s new world order that Democratic legislator Mark Pocan dubbed “Fitzwalkerstan.” We now know that Scott Fitzgerald has long been a member of ALEC, and has served as the Wisconsin “State Chairman” for many years. Economic interest statements show that in 2010 and 2011, Sen. Scott Fitzgerald received almost $3,000 from ALEC to attend their conferences. In 2011, Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald received $1,329. The legislators loaded up on a huge variety of ALEC model bills and brought them home to Wisconsin.
This week, the Center for Media and Democracy unveiled its ALEC Exposed website to display an archive of over 800 ALEC "model bills." This archive will allow reporters and citizen journalists to identify the ALEC bills moving in their states. We encourage researchers to search for some of the measures written about below.
ALEC in Wisconsin
Decades ago, ALEC targeted Wisconsin as a test case for their agenda. Tommy Thompson, who served as a state legislator from 1966-1987 and then as governor for a record 14 years, was an early ALEC member and supporter. "Myself, I always loved going to these meetings because I always found new ideas. Then I'd take them back to Wisconsin, disguise them a little bit, and declare that 'It's mine,'" he told an ALEC conference in 2002.It is now apparent that Thomson was the enthusiastic frontman for a slew of ALEC ideas and legislation –- most famously “Welfare to Work” and “School Choice.” In 1990, Milwaukee’s school voucher program for low-income children was the first in the nation, the camel’s nose under the tent for a long-term agenda with the ultimate goal being the privatization of public schools.
Wisconsin’s new governor, Scott Walker, has decided to follow in Thompson’s footsteps, pushing half dozen ALEC-inspired bills in his first weeks and months in office, yet remaining silent about the roots of these public policy “innovations.”
The Men From ALEC
More than anyone else, three men have dominated the radical, transformative agenda in the state of Wisconsin. All three have long been ALEC members and active participants. The three are Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald.Governor Scott Walker
Scott Walker was an active member of ALEC when he was a state legislator in the years from 1993-2002, even listing his ALEC membership in his Wisconsin Blue Book profile. As a young legislator in the 1990s, Walker worked with then Governor Tommy Thompson in a successful effort to pass ALEC’s Truth in Sentencing bill. The bill would benefit the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), which housed overflow Wisconsin inmates out of state for many years. At the time the bill passed, CCA was the corporate co-chair of ALEC's "Criminal Justice Task Force.”However, former Wisconsin Corrections Administrator, Walter Dickey, says he paid close attention to the debate over Truth in Sentencing in Madison. "There was never any mention that ALEC or anybody else had any involvement" in the crafting of the bill, Dickey says. The authors of the bill, their goals and interests were never disclosed to the public. Instead, their agenda was presented as in the best interests of the Wisconsin criminal justice system and taxpayers.
In 2011, Walker is drawing on his experiences as a loyal ALEC foot soldier to introduced many ALEC priority measures “by request of the Governor.”
The Fitzgerald Brothers
The Republican wave that gave Scott Walker the governorship in November, 2010, also gave the GOP control of both houses. The Senate Majority Leader is Scott Fitzgerald. The Speaker of the Assembly is Jeff Fitzgerald. The Fitzgerald brothers were born in Chicago, but moved to Dodge County, Wisconsin, as students. In recent years, they played a critical role in moving the state GOP further to the right, and are now Scott Walker’s chief lieutenants.After running on a platform of jobs and economic development, Scott Fitzgerald started opening up about his big plans for the state shortly after the election in 2010: “Listen we have new majorities, if you talk to the members of the House of the Representatives and the way they view the world right now, the more feathers you ruffle right now the stronger you are going to be politically. I don't ever remember an environment where that existed before. It was always go along, get along. A little on the edges, yeah we would take a few shots here and there at some political enemies, but in the end we all just want to be on the same page. That just doesn't exist right now. I’ve never seen that before, it gives us a lot of leeway and a lot of chain to make some significant changes.”
He announced to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that his first “shot” would be a “Voter ID” bill that would disenfranchise traditional Democratic constituencies, like the poor, black and elderly, who are less likely to have official photo identification. Model Voter ID legislation was produced by ALEC in the summer of 2009, after Barack Obama became President of the United States.
Fitzergald’s second strike? Only reporters paying close attention might have noticed a December 2010 interview in which Fitzgerald was asked about making Wisconsin a “Right to Work” state, or a hostile work environment for private sector unions. “I just attended an American Legislative Exchange Council meeting and I was surprised about how much momentum there was in and around that discussion, nothing like I have seen before,” said Fitzgerald enthusiastically.
This was the first, but not the last time the name of ALEC would surface in the lexicon of Wisconsin’s new world order that Democratic legislator Mark Pocan dubbed “Fitzwalkerstan.” We now know that Scott Fitzgerald has long been a member of ALEC, and has served as the Wisconsin “State Chairman” for many years. Economic interest statements show that in 2010 and 2011, Sen. Scott Fitzgerald received almost $3,000 from ALEC to attend their conferences. In 2011, Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald received $1,329. The legislators loaded up on a huge variety of ALEC model bills and brought them home to Wisconsin.
Together with other ALEC members, such as powerful Joint Finance Committee Chair Robin Vos (ALEC State Chairman for Wisconsin) and Senator Leah Vukmir, Chair of Wisconsin’s Health Committee (who also serves as chair of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force), the Fitzgerald brothers are rushing dozens of ALEC specials through the legislature and onto the Governor’s desk in anticipation of August 2011 recall elections for nine State Senators that might turn the Senate from Republican to Democratic control.
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