Cunningham on health care bill: Of course, I took it from ALEC

Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, took all of the bows on cable talk shows for her role in sponsoring Missouri's so-called "Health Care Freedom Act" last year, but she didn't have anything to do with writing the bill.

As pointed out last year in The Turner Report, the bill was written by the American Legislative Exchange Council, one of dozens of primarily right wing bills handed to Missouri legislators (and legislators across the U. S.), who go back to their states, put their names on them, and claim to be representing their constituents.

In a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, Mrs. Cunningham acknowledges that the bill came ready-made from ALEC:

"It's really no secret," Cunningham said. "I learned about the idea through ALEC and brought it back to Missouri."

This week, more than a dozen Missouri lawmakers and their families and about 30 lobbyists for Missouri companies and political organizations are in New Orleans to attend ALEC's annual conference. While there, they will help craft legislation that could make its way to state Capitols around the nation — including Missouri's.

ALEC is a free-market advocacy group that has been around for more than 35 years, and while it has occasionally garnered criticism, it has managed to mostly fly under the radar. Because the group is a nonprofit, it is not required to disclose its donors. Its model bills are listed on its website but can be accessed only by members.

In other words, we can expect more of the same from Mrs. Cunningham and her fellow GOP legislators during the 2012 session.