Brendan Fischer's News Articles

News

Pennsylvania Voter ID Ruling May Lead to Confusion at Polls

by Brendan Fischer — October 3, 2012 - 7:42am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Election 2012, Democracy, Politics

    • A Pennsylvania court has found that the state's American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)-inspired voter ID law would likely disenfranchise voters and partially blocked its enforcement for the November 2012 election. Ballots cast by voters who do not have ID will still be counted, but the state will still be able to ask for identification and run ads telling voters to obtain ID before election day, potentially leading to confusion at the polls.

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    Obama No Longer "Disastrous?" Koch's Americans for Prosperity Returns to "Issue" Ads

    by Brendan Fischer — October 3, 2012 - 7:12am
  • Topics: Election 2012, Politics

    • After a court decision in March required nonprofit groups running phony "issue ads" to disclose their donors, David Koch's Americans for Prosperity (AFP) shifted to ads expressly calling for President Obama's defeat in the November 2012 elections. At the time, they claimed the change in tactics was only because the president's record was "disastrous," but now that the decision has been overturned and AFP can again run issue ads while keeping their funders secret, they have reverted to their old strategy. Is it because the group no longer thinks the president's record is "disastrous?"

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    Open Records Correspondence With ALEC Legislators in Wisconsin

    by Brendan Fischer — October 1, 2012 - 12:05pm

    On October 1, 2012, the Center for Media and Democracy and Common Cause filed suit against five Wisconsin legislators after they repeatedly failed to comply with their legal obligation to provide public records pertaining to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). 

    News

    Romney: an "Investment" for the 1%?

    by Brendan Fischer — September 24, 2012 - 7:25am
  • Topics: Democracy

    • "People can invest what they want," billionaire industrialist David Koch recently told Politico.

    Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules against Voter ID, for now

    by Brendan Fischer — September 18, 2012 - 2:12pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Right Wing, Democracy, Propaganda, Race / Ethnic Issues

    • The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has vacated a lower court ruling that had upheld the state's voter ID law, setting the stage for the law to be blocked before the November elections.

    News

    Will Pennsylvania Follow Wisconsin's Lead on Voter ID?

    by Brendan Fischer — September 18, 2012 - 7:00am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Democracy, Race / Ethnic Issues, Wisconsin Protests

    • Last month, a Pennsylvania court upheld the state's American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) - inspired voter ID law, but in hearings on appeal that state's supreme court has given the law a harsh reception. Might the Pennsylvania Supreme Court follow Wisconsin's lead and throw out the voter ID law before the 2012 election?

    News

    Wisconsin Judge Strikes Down Sections of Walker's Act 10 as Unconstitutional

    by Brendan Fischer — September 14, 2012 - 4:47pm
  • Topics: Economy, Labor, Wisconsin Protests

    • A Wisconsin judge has struck down as unconstitutional sections of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's controversial collective bargaining law, Act 10, at least as applied to municipal and school district employees, who are the majority of public workers in the state. Act 10 prompted months of protests after it was introduced in 2011, and inspired a hard-fought recall effort that Walker survived in June of this year.

    News

    Paul Weyrich's Troika Reunited: ALEC Partners with Republican Study Committee at Heritage Foundation

    by Brendan Fischer — September 12, 2012 - 7:44am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Right Wing, Front Groups, U.S. Congress, Think Tanks

    • Three right-wing organizations founded nearly forty years ago by conservative activist Paul Weyrich are rediscovering their shared origins. The Republican Study Committee, a caucus of 169 right-wing Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, is establishing a partnership with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the controversial "corporate bill mill" for state legislators, and their first meeting is scheduled at the Heritage Foundation headquarters. Each of those three organizations -- the RSC, ALEC, and the Heritage Foundation -- were founded in 1973 by Weyrich. (Weyrich passed away in 2008.)

    News

    ALEC Member "American Chemistry Council" Drops $649K on Wisconsin U.S. Senate Race

    by Brendan Fischer — September 6, 2012 - 7:52am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Election 2012, Corporations, Democracy, Politics, Wisconsin Protests

    • The chemical industry trade group American Chemistry Council, a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), has spent $648,600 on ads supporting Tommy Thompson, a former ALEC member and the Republican candidate for Wisconsin's open U.S. Senate seat.

    News

    Wisconsin Lawmakers Exploit Loophole to Hide ALEC Ties

    by Brendan Fischer — September 5, 2012 - 7:00am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy, Politics

    • Wisconsin state legislators are routinely deleting emails concerning their involvement with the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), exploiting a loophole that exempts the Legislature from records retention rules that apply to all other state and local government officials.

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