Baldwin called hypocritical for ALEC donations
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s campaign is making a big deal out of Republican challenger Leah Vukmir’s ties to the probusiness American Legislative Exchange Council.
The Democrat’s first TV ad of the general election hit Vukmir, a state senator from Brookfield, for helping shepherd several pieces of ALEC-inspired legislation on phone rates, nursing homes and paid family leave.
The ad dinged Vukmir, chairman emeritus of the group’s board, for accepting nearly $70,000 from ALEC members with the claim she “pushed their agenda in Wisconsin.”
But it turns out Vukmir isn’t the only candidate in the race who received contributions from ALEC-allied businesses and individuals.
So has Baldwin. Federal records show that over the years, Baldwin has received $20,050 in campaign donations from companies that have or had ties to ALEC, plus a little over $4,000 from individuals who worked with ALEC-allied firms. That’s a relative pittance to the tens of millions of dollars Baldwin has raised over the years in two races for U.S. Senate.
State Farm Insurance, UPS, Comcast, Dow, FedEx, Nucor, Alkermes, Verizon and Century Link gave donations to Baldwin through their political action committees. The firms have ties to ALEC according to the Center for Media and Democracy ALEC Exposed website.
Vukmir campaign manager Jess Ward was eager to seize on the contributions to Baldwin.
“This is exactly what Wisconsinites hate about swampy D.C. politicians — the blatant hypocrisy. Senator Baldwin should immediately take her disingenuous ad down,” Ward said.
The Baldwin campaign’s response? Absolute nonsense.
“Any comparison between Tammy Baldwin and Leah Vukmir clearly shows who is standing up for Wisconsin and who is taking their orders from lobbyists and corporate special interests,” Baldwin campaign spokesman Bill Neidhardt said.
Baldwin’s campaign pointed to major differences in legislation that the candidates support. It said Vukmir used an ALEC model bill to overturn local ordinances on paid sick leave. Baldwin is a co-sponsor of the FAMILY Act to boost paid family leave.
Baldwin’s campaign said that Vukmir took an ALEC model bill that weakened nursing home safety rules. Baldwin helped introduce a bill that already passed the House, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act.
Vukmir also has long-standing ties with ALEC. She was the group’s national legislator of the year in 2009, was appointed to the board in 2013 and became national chair in 2016.
She is proud of her association with ALEC, recently telling the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “If they’re going to hit me for being a part of an organization that supports free markets, limited government and federalism, returning power back to the states, well that for me is the essence of what it means to be a conservative.”