-- by Campaign Staff at ColorOfChange.org [3]

Last week, ALEC acknowledged that it was reeling after its corporate sponsors -- some of which pay hundreds of thousands of dollars [4] at times for membership in the right-wing group -- started dropping [5] like flies. In a statement [6] that sidestepped any admission of wrongdoing for pushing voter suppression and Stand Your Ground/Shoot First bills nationwide, ALEC announced, "We are eliminating the ALEC Public Safety and Elections task force that dealt with non-economic issues, and reinvesting these resources in the task forces that focus on the economy."

We already knew [7] this was a PR stunt. But in an recent interview [8], the Republican state legislator who chaired the disbanded committee confirms it:

Republican State Rep. Jerry Madden of Texas chairs the Public Safety Task Force and although he is disappointed the committee is disbanding, he said many of the issues will be transferred to other committees.

"ALEC's decision won't impact the important issues we've worked on," Madden told The Christian Post. "But I will say this, these groups are targeting ALEC because when conservatives get together, we influence state and federal policy in a major way and these groups are scared of us -- and should be."

So it appears that supporters of voter suppression and dangerous gun laws need not fear. ALEC intends to merely shift that work elsewhere within the organization. And ColorOfChange members and our allies aren't, as Madden suggests, "scared" of ALEC. But he's right to say that we won't fall [9] for the shadowy group's efforts to benefit the rich and powerful at the expense of people of color, workers, and the environment. And we'll continue to make sure that major corporations with ties to ALEC are aware that they're funding a toxic agenda.