This Week at CMD

As the year comes to a close, CMD continues to expose the dangerous and divisive machinations of the Right. This week, we broke the story that Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff, headlined a gala in Atlanta to launch a new network of ultra-Right and insurrectionist legislators Tuesday night – even as the House voted to hold him in criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to testify about the Jan. 6 Capitol invasion.

Earlier this month, we revealed that the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) – despite claiming to stick to economic policy – has taken a leading role in the Right’s new culture wars. At its policy summit in San Diego, ALEC held a well-attended forum for legislators on its model bills to silence educators who teach about the realities of racism in America.

And last week’s scoop about ALEC’s bill penalizing financial firms that divest from fossil fuels made the rounds in national media, and nearly 40 climate organizations wrote a letter to state treasurers urging them to follow the science, not corporate special interests.

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The Latest From CMD 

 

Insurrectionist Mark Meadows Flies to Atlanta to Help Launch Far-Right State Caucuses

Faced with criminal contempt charges in House Jan. 6 probe, former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows headlines an event tonight to kick off right-wing “anti-establishment” legislative caucuses.

 

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ALEC Forum Promotes Manufactured Controversy Over the Factual Teaching of Racism in K-12 Schools

Around seventy lawmakers, lobbyists, and researchers gathered yesterday at the American Legislative Exchange Council’s policy summit in San Diego to hear speakers push actions and model legislation in the GOP’s manufactured culture war over the supposed teaching of critical race theory in public schools.

 

MSNBC Features CMD's Reporting on ALEC and 'Critical Energy Theory'

On the heels of our scoop that the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) approved a model bill penalizing financial companies that divest from fossil fuels, The New Republic reporter Kate Aronoff, who wrote an article based on our reporting, joined All In with Chris Hayes on MSNBC to discuss the news.

Watch the clip here.

Climate Groups Blast ALEC for Legislation Against Fossil Fuel Divestment and Regulation

In response to our reporting, 38 climate organizations sent a letter to the executive directors of  the National Association of State Treasurers and the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers, and Treasurers. The letter urges officials to heed the call of scientists, financial experts and the International Energy Agency (IEA) by moving state funds to a 1.5°C-aligned pathway and decreasing the exposure of those funds to the fossil fuel and other carbon-intensive industries.

 
 

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CMD Around the Web

 

In addition to the attention from MSNBC and the coalition of environmental groups, our ALEC scoop has been making the rounds online, with coverage from numerous national publications.

  • Esquire: Our Republicans Do Love Their Slogans
  • Jacobin: Fossil Fuel Companies Are Turning the US Into a Repressive Petrostate
  • Vice: 'Woke Capitalism' Discriminates Against Fossil Fuels, Conservative Lawmakers Say
  • Gizmodo: Republicans' New Obsession Is Fighting 'Woke Capitalism'
  • Common Dreams: 'Alarming': ALEC's New Model Bill Would Penalize Banks for Divesting From Fossil Fuels

Additional outlets have cited our more of our work:

  • The Guardian: The network of election lawyers who are making it harder for Americans to vote
  • Accountable Northwest: “Freedom” Foundation, Washington Policy Center Share Funder with White Nationalist Hate Group
 

Thank you for supporting the Center for Media and Democracy and reading our work at Exposed by CMD.

Arn H. Pearson
Executive Director
 
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