DES MOINES – Governor Terry Branstad will deliver a featured address this week at the 40th annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). However, his speech to the controversial organization has not been publicized by the Governor and is not listed on his public schedule.
“It’s no surprise that the Governor wants to keep this a secret,” said Matt Sinovic, executive director of Progress Iowa. “The more the public learns about ALEC and their secretive influence in our legislature, the more controversial it becomes. But despite his desire for political cover, the Governor should be inviting the public to participate in the democratic process, not attempting to deceive them.”
“The public has a right to know what the Governor is saying to this controversial group, whether tax dollars are being spent on his trip to Chicago, and what other legislators are attending the meeting. Unfortunately, as a founding member, the Governor has played a major role in ALEC’s 40-year effort to undermine democracy, and it appears he will continue those efforts this week.”
Branstad’s picture appears on the ALEC website as a featured speaker, with no date or time listed for the general public to attend. In the past, ALEC meetings have been closed to the general public despite the use of Iowa tax dollars for legislative memberships in the organization.
ALEC has received mounting criticism over the past year and a half, due to their promotion of legislation such as the “shoot first” laws that gained national attention after the shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida. In Iowa, ALEC has provided model legislation to suppress voter rights, withdraw from regional environmental partnerships, and require ‘intellectual diversity’ reporting from our college campuses.
Branstad is a founding member of ALEC, the group media has called a “stealth corporate lobbyist” for its secretive influence and extreme conservative agenda. Branstad received ALEC’s Pioneer Award in 1996 and has received more than $200,000 in campaign donations from ALEC’s corporate funders.
Maybe our current D.C. administration has no clue about being transparent. In fact they are a joke. Cause their platform was to be more transparent. Other than this article and the environmental matters I don’t know of any other matters that Branstad has not been transparent about. He needs to slow down and accept responsibility. More so more than ever. But he failed to take responsibility about the speeding issue. So F him. More politicians thinking they are above the law. That is a major part of the problem. No Maybe about it. For that he should be removed, immediately. It is a tip of the iceberg problem.
Transparency transparency transparency! Transparency, damn it! Damn republicans are so non-transparent about what they are doing. I believe Branstad is secretly giving money away illegally. He should take a lessen from our grand democrats on how to be more transparent. Is anyone else so fricking tired of these two party’s bullshit constant sessions? When are we going to elect people that only want to create a better world for you and me and can prove they can/are doing so with results? I vote no more republican and no more democrat. Both have/are failing us.
Either you are out right lying or are so ignorant that actually think the current administration is transparent.
More clap trap from Matt Sinovic.
Any organization that he does not perceive to be his brand of far left liberal is “controversial”. There is nothing secretive about ALEC’s influence on state legislatures – just take a look at their web site and their position is there for all to see.
Just because they go about their business in a quiet thoughtful manner does not mean secretive – but it is a stark contrast to the grandstanding and barking from ineffective groups like Sinovic’s.