ALEC attempts to muzzle states' Attorneys General

And in the process, the people themselves will be muzzled:

OVERBY: Yeah, one proposal is called the ALEC Attorney General Authority Act. And to really boil it down, it would give state legislatures more power to tell attorneys general when they can and cannot file lawsuits. Just for example, it says the attorneys general's client is the state, not necessarily the people of the state.

Before I continue, here's a question for SEC members to ask themselves: If the Parmley fiasco had not occurred, which brought about today's hastily-called meeting, would Don Vaughan still be an active member of ALEC and in attendance this weekend in Charlotte? I think you know the answer to that.

This bill comes from a law firm in Mississippi. One of the firm's clients is a big utility company, Entergy. And in Mississippi the Democratic attorney general has a three-year lawsuit going against Entergy. His question is whether Entergy manipulated prices and overcharged consumers. So this seems like the kind of case that could be reined in by the ALEC Attorney General Authority Act.

It may have originated from that circumstance, but if you've been paying attention, you'll know there's also a very strong North Carolina connection as well:

Every citizen has a right to lobby our government; lots of us even join groups to help amplify our voices at the State Capitol. That’s the American way.

But most North Carolinians wouldn’t dream of asking our fellow citizens to give us a tax break to subsidize our lobbying.

That’s not true of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Common Cause has discovered compelling evidence that ALEC is a corporate lobby masquerading as a charity. It devotes its $7 million annual budget to lobbying for laws that will boost the profits of its member corporations but it pays no taxes and solicits corporate contributions with a promise that donors can deduct gifts on their annual tax returns.

That’s not right. As attorney general, the person we elect to enforce state laws, you shouldn’t stand for it.

I’m writing to ask that you act promptly on Common Cause’s request for an investigation of ALEC’s state tax status and its compliance with North Carolina lobbying laws. It’s appalling that elected officials and corporations would be part of such a scheme.

Use the page to which I linked to tell AG Roy Cooper what needs to be done. And you can add (like I did) an additional warning about his office, and his ability to protect the citizens, being under imminent attack by the corporate flunkies at ALEC.