Today, the National Center for Public Policy Research said in a press release:
Today, at the YUM! Brands annual shareholder meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, company CEO David Novak was faced with the results of a new National Center for Public Policy Research poll showing the American people do not agree with recent controversial Yum! Brands decisions.
Yum! Brands, owner of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, recently blackballed a conservative organization over Voter ID and lobbied the government to allow food stamps to be used in its fast food restaurants.
At issue? The America Legislative Exchange Council and the smear campaign by leftist organizations trying to take them down.
Investor’s Business Daily writes yesterday:
The left is targeting ALEC for the simple reason that it’s been effective in promoting pro-business, free-market ideas and policies, mainly by drafting model legislation that lawmakers can use as a template in their own legislatures.
What is ALEC? ALEC is a membership organization of conservative state legislators. It’s really the conservative alternative to the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL). ALEC monitors activity in the states, releases white papers on issues, and drafts and publishes model legislation.
I know these things because I worked there for eight years.
It’s the model legislation that has the leftist panties in a wad. Never mind that it’s just proposed legislation. The legislation still has to be introduced in each respective state, approved and signed into law by that state’s governor.
Oh the horrors that some of the legislation actually passes.
In April, ALEC issued the following statement:
WASHINGTON – Alan P. Dye, legal counsel to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), issued the following statement in response to the frivolous IRS complaint by Common Cause against ALEC:
“The attacks on the American Legislative Exchange Council are based on patently false claims being made by liberal front groups that differ with ALEC on philosophical terms.
“The current complaint mostly ignores applicable law and distorts what it does not ignore. After three decades of counseling clients on nonprofit and federal disclosure requirements, it’s clear to me that this is a tired campaign to abuse the legal system, distort the facts and tarnish the reputation of ideological foes.
“Without question, Common Cause is a partisan front group masquerading as an ethics watchdog.”
What’s the method of attack on ALEC? ALEC, like many non-profits is funded by grants and contributions from the dreaded private sector.
Corporations like Yum! Brands have been targeted and in many cases convinced to drop their sponsorship of ALEC.
The National Center for Public Policy Research press release goes on to say:
“In April, YUM! discontinued its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) under pressure from a tiny fringe left-wing radical group known as Color of Change,” Danhof told Novak during the meeting. “Color of Change was founded by former Obama Administration Czar Van Jones, who was encouraged to resign after it was alleged that he is a 9-11 ‘truther.’ ALEC supported voter ID laws, which some on the fringe left falsely consider ‘racist.'”
Never mind free speech. Never mind the free exchange of ideas.
The left doesn’t want other ideas even getting to the table.
But if the polling results are accurate, it may be Yum! Brands that aren’t getting to the table.
