Lisa Graves's News Articles

News

The Trap Shoot Must Go On: Guess Who'll Be Shootin' with ALEC Members in Salt Lake? (The NRA and a Machine Gun Corp)

by Lisa Graves — July 19, 2012 - 7:45am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Right Wing, Crisis Management, Front Groups, Issue Management, Third Party Technique, Corporations, Public Relations

    • Madison, WI -- Three months after the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) issued a PR statement that it was eliminating its Public Safety and Elections Task Force, which was previously led by the National Rifle Association (NRA), the NRA announced that it would still be hosting its regular annual shooting event at ALEC's summer convention, in Salt Lake City on July 28. For the past several years, on the Saturday of ALEC's annual meeting, the NRA has regularly hosted an outing for ALEC legislators and lobbyists to go shooting together -- with complimentary guns and ammo plus plenty of food and drink (this time it is a barbeque).

    Op-Ed

    Trained on Koch: Daily Caller Claims Fake Rebuttal of CMD on ALEC Role Promoting "Stand Your Ground" Laws

    by Lisa Graves — June 18, 2012 - 10:54am
  • Topics: Corporate Campaigns, ALEC Exposed, Crisis Management, Right Wing, Third Party Technique, Corporations, Democracy, Propaganda, Public Relations

    • Tucker Carlson's website, the "Daily Caller," recently posted a story claiming that a Florida state legislator had rebutted a purported claim by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) that the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) "drafted" Florida's "Stand Your Ground" (SYG)/"Castle Doctrine" law. But we did not make that claim.

    Op-Ed

    Wal-Mart Does Good by Leaving ALEC

    by Lisa Graves — May 31, 2012 - 2:48pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Democracy, Ethics, Public Relations

    • It's big news when one of the largest corporations in the world changes its policy. And, today, the really big news is that Wal-Mart announced it was leaving the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which has been called "a corporate lobby masquerading as a charity."

    The Center for Media and Democracy launched ALECexposed almost a year ago to shine a spotlight on ALEC. CMD's analysis and ongoing investigation have fueled hundreds of news articles and other reports exposing deeply troubling information about ALEC's operations and extreme agenda. And, CMD has served as a research engine that has helped empower hundreds of thousands of people to speak out against ALEC's agenda and activities. Through ALEC's task forces, corporate lobbyists are voting behind closed doors as equals with legislators on templates to change our laws.

    Special Report

    CMD Special Report: ALEC's Gun Agenda Flourished with Koch Industries on Board, as with other Koch-Funded Groups (Part Two)

    by Lisa Graves — May 16, 2012 - 9:58am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Crisis Management, Corporations, Democracy

    • PART TWO: ALEC's Extreme Gun Agenda Was No Secret Since Koch Joined its Board

    A new examination of the gun agenda of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) reveals numerous extreme bills advanced on the watch of Koch Industries as a leader and funder of ALEC. Koch has had a seat on ALEC's board for almost two decades, as many NRA bills became ALEC's "policy" and priority. An exploration of other entities funded by David or Charles Koch shows that this is no outlier and that other Koch-fueled organizations have also helped advance the NRA's efforts in a variety of ways.

    Special Report

    CMD Special Report: New Documents Confirm Koch Was on ALEC Crime Task Force Led by NRA (Part One)

    by Lisa Graves — May 14, 2012 - 1:22am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Crisis Management, Corporations, Democracy

    • PART ONE: New documents show that Koch Industries had a seat on the controversial "Public Safety and Elections Task Force" of the American Legislative Exchange Council as of at least 2011. (Part two of this special report detailing the extent of the gun agenda over the past two decades is available here.)

    ALEC announced it was dropping that task force in the wake of the controversy over the tragic shooting of Trayvon Martin and so-called "Stand Your Ground" (SYG) laws. However, the co-leader of that task force, Rep. Jerry Madden (R-TX), revealed ALEC's announcement to be a PR maneuver when he reassured The Christian Post that his task force's work would continue through other ALEC task forces.

    News

    Right-Wing Operatives Take Up ALEC's Voter Suppression Agenda

    by Lisa Graves — April 19, 2012 - 3:22pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations

    • Just as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) tried to distance itself from its role pushing parts of the NRA's gun agenda and making it more difficult for American citizens to vote, a controversial right-wing operation has announced that it will step in to help carry forward the "voter ID" agenda. The "National Center for Public Policy Research" (NCPPR) announced Wednesday that it will form a "Voter Identification Task Force."

    This comes in response to ALEC's announcement Tuesday that it will dismantle its "Public Safety and Elections Task Force" through which corporate lobbyists and elected officials voted behind closed doors to approve "model" legislation that creates obstacles to American citizens voting through restrictive voter ID bills, as well as other damaging legislation, such as reckless gun laws that have been cited to protect violent vigilantes from being held accountable.

    News

    Resources for Investigating ALEC/NRA Gun Bills

    by Lisa Graves — March 30, 2012 - 10:00am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations

    • The "Stand Your Ground" or "Shoot First" law that may protect the man who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February is the template for an American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) "model bill" that has been pushed in dozens of other states. The bill was brought to ALEC by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and was unanimously approved by an ALEC task force co-chaired by Wal-Mart and stocked by other special interests. Additionally, the corporate board members of ALEC, like AT&T, Koch Industries, and Kraft Foods, help facilitate the spread of these laws by financially underwriting its operations. The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) has compiled this list of resources to help reporters and other citizens expose ALEC and its agenda, as well as the long and close relationship between ALEC and the NRA.

    Op-Ed

    ALEC Politician Claims ALEC Meetings Are "Open to the Public." Really?

    by Lisa Graves — January 12, 2012 - 4:04pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Journalism, Public Diplomacy, Corporations, Democracy, Media, Public Relations

    • Confronted with a report by ProgressVA stating that through the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) corporate lobbyists get access to legislators "behind closed doors," ALEC politician Bill Howell dismissed the claim and told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that all ALEC meetings were open to the public.

    Really?

    That would be breaking news to both traditional press and the online media that have been blocked from ALEC meetings and are increasingly being threatened with arrest.

    News

    Bosma and Daniels Push "Right to Work" Amid Controversies over Financial Backers

    by Lisa Graves — January 10, 2012 - 9:44am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy, Labor

    • Governor Mitch Daniels (R-Indiana) and the state's Speaker of the House, Brian Bosma (R-88), are spearheading an effort to pass the controversial, corporate-backed "Right to Work" (RTW) bill, which has sparked huge protests by Hoosiers. The bill's opponents have called it the "Right to Work (for Peanuts)" bill, the "'Right to be Fired' Without Cause" bill, and other names.

    Op-Ed

    Supremely Unseemly Conduct by Supreme Court Justices Spurs Call for Mandatory Ethics Rules

    by Lisa Graves — January 9, 2012 - 2:10pm
  • Topics: Right Wing, Corporations, Democracy, Ethics, U.S. Government

    • Madison, WI, January 9, 2012—The Center for Media and Democracy today joined a coalition of public interest organizations in calling for the United States Supreme Court to agree to follow the Code of Conduct for U.S. judges.

    CMD joined the Alliance for Justice, American Association of University Women, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Common Cause, Communications Workers of America, CREDO Action, Equal Justice Society, League of United Latin American Citizens, National Employment Lawyers Association, People for the American Way Foundation, and U.S. Public Interest Research Group in a letter to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. The letter calls on the Court to "take it upon itself to agree to be bound by the Code," and "do so unequivocally and publicly." (The coalition's letter to Chief Justice Roberts is uploaded down below.)

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