Democracy

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Walker-Related "John Doe" Trials Get Underway This Fall

by Mary Bottari — October 8, 2012 - 7:40am
  • Topics: Democracy, Politics

    • The secret "John Doe" criminal investigation of Governor Scott Walker's former staff and associates during the time he served as Milwaukee County Executive has resulted in 15 felony indictments so far.

    News

    Obama Campaign Chases Big Checks while Decrying Citizens United and Unlimited Fundraising

    by Brendan Fischer — October 3, 2012 - 8:54am
  • Topics: Election 2012, Corporations, Democracy, Politics

    • President Barack Obama rode into office in 2008 on a wave of small donations that some expected would change politics. The small-dollar strategy is still helping Obama fill his campaign accounts, but the electoral landscape has changed rapidly over the past four years and candidates' official campaigns are being overshadowed by unlimited spending from nominally "independent" groups funded by a handful of ultra-wealthy donors.

    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.

    News

    "Moyers & Company" ALEC Exposé Features CMD

    by PRW Staff — October 3, 2012 - 7:00am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Democracy

    • Bill Moyers' special "The United States of ALEC" aired nationwide this past weekend on his PBS show "Moyers & Company." The documentary threw a spotlight on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and featured the work of the Madison-based Center for Media and Democracy and its award winning "ALECexposed" project.

    Press Release

    Center for Media and Democracy and Common Cause File Open Records Lawsuit Against ALEC Members in Wisconsin

    by PRW Staff — October 1, 2012 - 12:05pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy

    • Evidence Shows Officials Using Personal Email Accounts to Evade Sunshine Law

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 1, 2012

    CONTACT: Brendan Fischer, Brendan@prwatch.org

    MADISON -- The Center for Media and Democracy and Common Cause filed suit today against five Wisconsin legislators who also are members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) over their failure to provide ALEC-related records sought under Wisconsin's Open Records Law.

    News

    CMD Special Report: ALEC's (Corporate) Love Affair with Fracking

    by Sara Jerving — September 27, 2012 - 10:50am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy, Energy, Environment

    • Sometimes you can judge a book by its cover. Just one look at the cover of the brochure for this year's annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) reveals where some of the corporate bill mill's loyalties lie: with the "natural" gas industry. The full-page ad on the brochure's inside cover -- paid for by the American Gas Association, a trade group for gas utilities companies -- identifies just one of the corporate underwriters that litter the pages of the conference booklet shared with all of the elected representatives and unelected corporate lobbyists who attended the convention at the luxurious Grand America resort.

    News

    "Moyers & Company" ALEC Documentary Launches This Weekend

    by PRW Staff — September 27, 2012 - 8:17am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy

    • Bill Moyers will be examining the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) this weekend on his weekly television show "Moyers & Company." The show entitled "The United States of ALEC" will highlight the work of the Madison-based Center for Media and Democracy and its many allies in the effort to expose ALEC's inner workings.

    Press Release

    Secret, Big Funding of "Small Business" Group Exposed at New Website -- NFIBexposed.org

    by PRW Staff — September 26, 2012 - 8:00am
  • Topics: Front Groups, Democracy, Lobbying

    • PRESS RELEASE: September 26, 2012
    CONTACT: Harriet Rowan harriet_rowan@prwatch.org

    Launch of ALEC Exposed-style website highlights big business funding of "small" biz group, the National Federation of Independent Business, and its partisan agenda.

    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.

    News

    "Won't Back Down" Film Pushes ALEC Parent Trigger Proposal

    by Mary Bottari — September 19, 2012 - 9:00am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Front Groups, Issue Management, Public Diplomacy, Third Party Technique, Children, Corporations, Democracy, Education

    • -- by Mary Bottari and Sara Jerving

    Well-funded advocates of privatizing the nation's education system are employing a new strategy this fall to enlist support for the cause. The emotionally engaging Hollywood film "Won't Back Down" -- set for release September 28 -- portrays so-called "Parent Trigger" laws as an effective mechanism for transforming underperforming public schools. But the film's distortion of the facts prompts a closer examination of its funders and backers and a closer look at those promoting Parent Trigger as a cure for what ails the American education system.

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