Democracy

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) had its 40th anniversary meeting in Chicago, Illinois, at the posh Palmer House (a Hilton Hotel) from August 7-9. ALEC claims that 1,200 people attended its meeting this year; the conventioneers included state legislators, corporate lobbyists, and right-wing operatives. ALEC was greeted by more than twice as many protestors, who came out to speak out against ALEC's regressive policies.

The year was 1973. Richard Nixon said he was "not a crook." John Dean said there was "a cancer on the presidency." Pinochet was taking over Chile; George Wallace was still in charge of Alabama. Gasoline was 40 cents a gallon and the minimum wage was $1.60 an hour.

In Illinois, a group of legislators gathered to remake America. On their minds: "limited government," "free markets," "federalism" ... and let's not forget the girls.

The North Carolina legislature voted Thursday to approve the most restrictive voter suppression measures in the country, making it the first state to pass new laws after the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act. But the move comes the same day that the Department of Justice announced plans to use other means to protect voting rights.

This week, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a non-profit government watchdog group, released a report -- "The Worst Governors in America," and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker came in sixth in the top category. The report has an amusing circus theme and dubs Walker a "Ringmaster," but it is heavily documented and footnoted to reliable sources and primary documents. The criteria CREW used when assessing the nation's governors were the following: corruption, transparency, partisan politics, pressuring public officials, cronyism, self-enrichment, scandal and mismanagement.