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The Republican Study Committee is the group that's even more extreme than Paul Ryan (they thought his proposal didn't cut Medicaid enough). Now they'll be working together with ALEC, even as new groups leave every week:
The Republican Study Committee is laying the groundwork for a new informal partnership with the American Legislative Exchange Council, even as dozens of major corporations cut ties with the conservative nonprofit for its support of controversial voting and gun laws.
The RSC is working quietly with ALEC to host a gathering next Friday at the Heritage Foundation in hopes of establishing an ongoing relationship with the group that would allow federal lawmakers to exchange ideas with state legislators.
The conservative nonprofit has come under fire for promoting voter identification measures like those that have passed in at least eight states and are the subject of dozens of legal challenges in state and federal courts. ALEC has also promoted "Stand Your Ground" laws, which allow a person to use force in self-defense without an obligation to first attempt to flee. Those laws came under increased scrutiny after a neighborhood watch volunteer killed an unarmed teenager in Florida earlier this year.
More than 35 corporations, most recently General Electric Co. and Sprint Nextel Corp., have dropped their memberships with ALEC in the past year, and liberal groups, led by the African-American advocacy group Color of Change, continue to pressure other member companies such as Duke Energy and eBay Inc. to cut ties with the organization.
"It is really telling," said Rashad Robinson, the executive director of Color of Change. "As major corporations disassociate themselves with this organization because it is so outside the mainstream, that Republicans are rushing to them."
Paul Teller, the executive director of the RSC, embraced the nonprofit and said the RSC has long supported the group's agenda.
I'll just bet you do.
