Undercover at ALEC

The American Legislative Exchange Council held its States & Nation Policy Summit in Washington, DC from Dec. 4-6, 2013. The secretive group is a tax-exempt non-profit that brings together legislators and corporate lobbyists to hash out public policy, and it claims to be a non-partisan educational charity. I went undercover and talked to a Republican lawmaker from Montana who said that the conference was anything but non-partisan. We get some corroboration on his story from the speech of Senator Ted Cruz, who tells ALEC to "Stand Your Ground," seemingly a reference to the controversial ALEC model bill often cited in the killing of Florida teen Trayvon Martin. Although ALEC may be best known for Stand Your Ground and voter suppression legislation, it has also made strident efforts in privatizing public education. Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, explains the impact of ALEC on public schools.