With Senate Democrats again pushing legislation to require forced donor disclosure by non-profit organizations, it’s more important than ever to understand the campaign of intimidation being conducted against the only significant public policy organization — on the left or right — that has disclosed a large number of donors. It’s the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and as I’ve previously written, the campaign against ALEC shows what the DISCLOSE Act is really about.
American Commitment has obtained a copy of a letter that was sent by Color of Change, the racial grievance group founded by self-proclaimed communist and disgraced former Obama green jobs czar Van Jones, that was been sent to at least 40 companies who are publicly disclosed ALEC sponsors. The letter, included below in its entirety, can only be described as a shakedown. It includes links to produced radio spots attacking the target companies and tying them to the Trayvon Martin tragedy. This is being deployed as an excuse to shut up a key free market voice. One organizer admitted it, saying: “The Trayvon Martin thing was like a gift.”
As the Supreme Court recognized in the landmark 1958 case NAACP v. Alabama, membership organizations have a right to protect the privacy of their supporters so that those supporters can engage in political speech without fear of retribution. The DISCLOSE Act violates that principle and is therefore both unconstitutional and profoundly anti-speech, especially in light of how ALEC is being treated. The same left-wing activists pushing the DISCLOSE Act are not praising ALEC for its voluntary disclosure, but pouncing on it as a weakness and using it to silence their political opponents.
You can sign our petition to fight back. And you should urge your senators to vote NO on the DISCLOSE Act at 202-224-3121.
COC-ALEC
ALEC Shakedown Shows Danger of DISCLOSE
