It would make sense to be this weary if life presented the only “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”. Unfortunately, we our government is populated by fools and tools.
Senator Durbin of Illinois wasted a time working diligently to live up to his nickname “Dick”. I assure him he’s done well.
Durbin evidently has nothing better to do than to start an investigation into whether or not people are members of, or associated with an organization called the “
American Legislative Exchange Council” (ALEC), a privately funded and supported conservative think tank. Wikipedia defines a “think tank” as:
“an organization that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology and culture. Most policy institutes are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax exempt status”.
ALEC, on its website describes itself and its purpose as follows:
…members share a common belief that "government closest to the people" is "fundamentally more effective, more just, and a better guarantor of freedom than the distant, bloated federal government in Washington, D.C."
John Nichols in a 2011 Op-Ed piece in
The Nation magazine said ALEC is: “a collaboration between multi-national corporations and conservative state legislators".
That’s interesting because “
THE Dick” (as he’s affectionately known in impolite society much like Ivana Trump’s formerly loving appellation for her ex-husband “
THE Donald”) has NO problem with liberal, tax exempt and thus Democrat Party aligned organizations such as:
Center for American Progress, Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, Economic Policy Institute, Center for International Policy, Center for Economic and Policy Research and the Center for War/Peace Studies, and others. (thinktanks.findthedata.org)
These organizations accumulate money for their political interests and party. In order; from the Center for American Progress with $28 Million in contributions on downward to the Center for Economic and Policy Research contributing $2.06 Million, they establish a monetary platform to foster liberal causes in the legislatures and the White House.
And “
THE Dick” is threatened most because there are conservative organizations out there with as much pull, push and punch (cash) available as any money grubbing, progressively, politically active think tanks available as he does.
But “
THE Dick” finds it un-American to challenge his and his cronies’ socialist policies. He thinks anybody without their letterhead pinpointing a Progressive identity should be taxed to insolvency then given the coup-de-grace delivered by witch-hunters issuing indictments and trials through his personally chaired Star Chamber.
ALEC embraces a host of corporate industries contributing in exchange for considerations concerning their interests; just like the liberals. This bothers “
THE Dick”. He believes political alliances are bad unless they’re his at which point it’s okay to accept contributions from such “concerned corporate citizens”. If hypocrisy was manure this guy and his co-conspirators would be swatting flies and sprouting mushrooms because they flourish in the darkness of their soulless progressivism.
ALEC works best at the state level. They lobby for and push legislation beneficial for the interests of the conservative base in America. This threatens the Washingtonian elite such as Durbin. They have no real control of the grassroots elements of American political endeavor. Non-traditional organizations epitomized in the Tea Party movement and its penchant for “organization without organization” (meaning small, vocally active and politically adroit organizers of people ready to demonstrate their displeasure at the top of the voices) are threatening because they defy past definitions of political venture. No membership rolls, no appreciably large monetary accounts, fast, hard shows of force noted in the size of protest assemblies are things people like Durbin don’t know how to handle. They don’t fit neatly into the imperial playbook’s plan to keep the public barefoot, ignorant and perpetually screwed by morally impotent crack-wipes like Durbin.
So, when all else fails (under Alinsky’s Law) you attack the enemy for crimes you’re guilty of and say it’s heinous for others to do the same under any circumstances. It’s old, it’s tired, but worst of all, it’s obvious now.
And that, my friend, is why, on the edge of this week’s end, I say with great fatigue: “That’s a wrap”. We need some freshened air.
Thanks for listening
