Google's "I'm Shocked, Shocked.." Moment
by Deacon Blues
In their own “your winnings, sir” moment, two giants of the social media economy have now decided that the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is too controversial for them.
Facebook will possibly end its relationship with a controversial conservative policy organization over its stance on climate change, The Chronicle learned Tuesday.
The social media giant in Menlo Park would be the second Silicon Valley giant in recent days to sever ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council, known as ALEC. On Monday, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt told a radio show that the company would end its membership with the group.
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Google’s departure “really puts Facebook and Yahoo in an uncomfortable position,” said Jay Riestenberg, a research analyst with Common Cause who follows ALEC.
Facebook may be next out the ALEC door, a company spokesperson told The Chronicle on Tuesday.
Really? Climate change was the tipping point for you with ALEC? Did you ever, you know, “google” ALEC to find out everything else they’ve been pushing all these years? Why is climate change a tipping point for Schmidt and Google, and now perhaps the rest of these new economy firms, when these same firms looked the other way all these years while ALEC did everything it could to throw minorities, seniors, and students off the voting rolls through bogus “voting fraud” campaigns?
Unfortunately, it seems that these titans of the new economy had gotten everything they could out of ALEC’s efforts to bulldoze state legislatures and deliver the goods for their companies. Whereas voter suppression didn’t bother Google, Facebook, or Yahoo, global warming seems to have been a step too far for their public images.
Despicable. The NAACP and the ACLU should be asking these companies why they tolerated ALEC this long. I know the answer.