Wal-Mart Joins Exodus From Conservative Legislators’ Group

Wal-Mart is the latest major corporation to cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council, the nonprofit policy organization that has come under attack for promoting controversial voter-identification and “stand your ground” self-defense laws, Bloomberg reports.

A spokeswoman for the retail giant said it was suspending its membership because the council, known as ALEC, had strayed “from its core mission ‘to advance the Jeffersonian principles of free markets.’”

About a dozen big firms, including Coca-Cola and Kraft Foods, have broken with ALEC in recent months, as has the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as civil rights and government watchdog groups stepped up criticism of the council for its stands on social and electoral policies.

In a Wall Street Journal opinion column, Bob Edgar, a former Democratic congressman and the head of watchdog group Common Cause, asserts that ALEC engages in political lobbying and should be stripped of its status as a tax-exempt charity.

Common Cause has filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service against the council. Said Mr. Edgar of ALEC: “They wine and dine and write legislation for our elected officials behind closed doors at posh resorts and guide that legislation into law in the statehouses.”