In my readings, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has been appearing more and more. A recent article was "Koch, Exxon Mobil Among Corporations Helping Write State Laws Across U.S." Alison Fitzgerald, Bloomberg, 2011-07-20,
ALEC arranges meetings with legislators and corporate representatives to write model legislation. This legislation is often introduced verbatim into legislative agendas. Raegan Weber, an ALEC spokeswoman, says the group simply facilitates the sharing of information and “good conservative policy.” ALEC’s mission is to promote free markets, limited government, federalism and individual freedom, according to its website. “All of our policies are in line with those principles,” said Weber.
To me these nice-sounding words mean unrestricted operation for big corporations, government that stays out of the way of big corporations, government at the state level that is easier to control, and individual freedom for executives. George Orwell's Newspeak is alive and well.
Missing in all these fine words are democracy and small-r republicanism. The people and things public (res public) are left out of the picture.
