Ridge, T gov

=<div>=</div><div><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/07/even-republicans-are-warning-trumps-dhs-is-turning-into-the-presidents-personal-militia/">https://www.alternet.org/2020/07/even-republicans-are-warning-trumps-dhs-is-turning-into-the-presidents-personal-militia/</a></div><div>
</div><div>chertofff ridge</div><div></div>dn 7/12/13JOSH FOX: Well, Tom Ridge had a $900,000 contract to be the chief spokesman for the Marcellus Shale Coalition. At around the same time, we noticed that the Department of Homeland Security, which—of course, Tom Ridge was the first Department of Homeland Security chair—the Pennsylvania Department of Homeland Security started circulating bulletins to law enforcement that listed anti-fracking organizations as possible ecoterrorists, which had no basis in reality. There had never been anything at all violent. These were people doing democratic organizing and organization. But then it was discovered that the Department of Homeland Security was actually circulating those bulletins directly to the Marcellus Shale Coalition and to other gas industry lobbyists and stakeholders. This was a scandal in Pennsylvania, which ended up with the DHS head resigning. But Tom Ridge and a lot of—three Pennsylvania governors in a row—Tom Ridge, Ed Rendell and now Tom Corbett—have heavy ties to the gas industry and go on to advocate for fracking and drilling without disclosing those ties in the media. It’s a situation where, in a <a href="http://public-accountability.org/2013/02/fracking-and-the-revolving-door-in-pennsylvania/" style="line-height: 24px; color: rgb(51, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: 0px;">report</a> by the Public Accountability Initiative called "Fracking and the Revolving Door in Pennsylvania," they describe as having the regulatory agencies and the democracy itself being taken away from the citizens. And that’s really the journey and the question behind this new film. The film is—you know, the first film features a lot of people lighting their water on fire. This is a film about the natural gas industry lighting our democracy on fire.sky is pink http://vimeo.com/44367635 stats on lobby $  ridge 99K$, corbet 1.6mil==IS NRA a front for more than gun mfg?hodai:

Three strikes called for mandatory life imprisonment for a third felony

conviction. In some states this was interpreted as life imprisonment for

a third violent offense conviction, while in others, such as

California, the law was enacted in such a way as to include those

convicted of petty offenses such as shoplifting. [PLN was the first

media to report the instrumental role the NRA played in bankrolling Washington’s Three Strikes law in 1993 (the first in the nation) and Washington State’s “Hard Time for Armed Crime” initiative in 1995.]

The NRA campaign, dubbed “CrimeStrike,” headed by victim’s rights

advocate and former Arizona Chief Assistant Attorney General Steve

Twist, was seen by many as a reactionary strike at the Clinton

administration’s gun control efforts when it moved into high gear in

CrimeStrike was the campaign which set forth the precept that

“guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” As such, CrimeStrike

promoted state and federal tough-on-crime legislation and derided any

lawmaker backing gun control as being “soft on crime.”

With memories of the Willie Horton disaster of the failed 1988 Michael

Dukakis presidential campaign still fresh in the minds of most American

legislators, this accusation invariably hit a raw nerve among Democrats

and elicited kneejerk support of the laws.

While the NRA was busy

pushing these laws through CrimeStrike, ALEC was pushing its agenda in

Pennsylvania with the help of former Herbert-Walker Bush U.S. Attorney

General William Barr and ALEC member, then-Pennsylvania governor, and

future director of the Department of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge.

In 1995, the Pennsylvania legislature passed several tough-on-crime

bills based on ALEC proposals and model legislation. In 2005, while

serving as Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, state

Rep. John Perzel, an ALEC member and Pennsylvania House Majority Leader

from 1995 to 2003, joined GEO Group’s board of directors.===

<h3>Former <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Department_of_Homeland_Security" title="Department of Homeland Security" class="mw-redirect">Department of Homeland Security</a> Advisor <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge" title="Tom Ridge">Tom Ridge</a> named as "strategic adviser" to the Coalition</h3>

On July 30, 2010, the MSC named former <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Department_of_Homeland_Security" title="Department of Homeland Security" class="mw-redirect">Department of Homeland Security</a> Advisor <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge" title="Tom Ridge">Tom Ridge</a> their strategic adviser. The group announced that his communications and policy groups will be paid $75,000 a month for help in such areas as public outreach, education and coalition building.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Marcellus_Shale_Coalition#cite_note-7" title="">[8]</a> Ridge was a two-term <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Republican" title="Republican" class="mw-redirect">Republican</a> governor in <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pennsylvania" title="Pennsylvania" class="mw-redirect">Pennsylvania</a>, serving from 1995–2001.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Marcellus_Shale_Coalition#cite_note-8" title="">[9]</a>

Ridge will be joined by Duncan Campbell, who was his Chief of Staff during his stint at the DHS and currently works with him at Ridge Global as the Managing Director of Operations<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Marcellus_Shale_Coalition#cite_note-9" title="">[10]</a>

Handling the chore of lobbying the Legislature will be two former aides from Ridge's days as governor, Mark Holman and Mark Campbell.

According to his biography on the Ridge Policy Group website, Holman "served President George W. Bush and Governor Ridge as Deputy Assistant to the President for the Office of Homeland Security immediately following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He also served as Governor Ridge’s Chief of Staff from 1995-2000. [He] has also worked in both branches of Congress. He started his public career with the late Senator John Heinz, (1980-1982), and later served as Chief of Staff for then Congressman Ridge, (1983-1992). [He] managed Governor Ridge’s first campaign for Congress in 1982 and later managed his first gubernatorial campaign (1993-94). He served on President <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=George_H.W._Bush" title="George H.W. Bush" class="mw-redirect">George H.W. Bush</a>’s campaign committee in 1980 and 1988. He also served on President Reagan’s 1980 campaign."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Marcellus_Shale_Coalition#cite_note-10" title="">[11]</a>

Campbell also has extensive insider political experience. According to his Ridge Policy Group biography, "He served as a congressional chief of staff (1992-1994), a gubernatorial deputy chief of staff (1995-2001) and chief of staff to Governors Tom Ridge and Mark Schweiker (2001-2002)."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Marcellus_Shale_Coalition#cite_note-11" title="">[12]</a>

---

Thomas J. Ridge (Tom Ridge) was the first Secretary of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Department_of_Homeland_Security" title="Department of Homeland Security" class="mw-redirect">Department of Homeland Security</a> (DHS). He headed DHS from January 2003 to February 2005. After leaving the post, he formed a Washington, DC consulting firm, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ridge_Global" title="Ridge Global">Ridge Global</a>. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_note-0" title="">[1]</a>

He "is President and Chief Executive Officer of Ridge Global, LLC, Washington, D.C., a global strategic consulting company. He has held that position since July 2006. From April 2005 to July 2006, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Thomas_Ridge&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Thomas Ridge (page does not exist)">Thomas Ridge</a> LLC. From October 2001 to February 2005, Mr. Ridge was Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Prior to his service as Secretary of Homeland Security, he was Governor of Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2001. He is a director of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Exelon" title="Exelon">Exelon</a> Corporation and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Vonage&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Vonage (page does not exist)">Vonage</a>. A Hershey director since 2007, he is a member of the Governance Committee." <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_note-1" title="">[2]</a>

<ul>

<li>Director, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Hershey" title="Hershey">Hershey</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_note-2" title="">[3]</a></li>

<li>Director, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Action_Forum" title="American Action Forum">American Action Forum</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_note-3" title="">[4]</a></li>

<li>Trustee, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Institute_for_Defense_Analysis" title="Institute for Defense Analysis" class="mw-redirect">Institute for Defense Analysis</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_note-4" title="">[5]</a></li>

</ul>

<h2>Contents</h2>

[<a class="internal" id="togglelink">hide</a>]</div>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#Belated_lobbyist_registration">1 Belated lobbyist registration</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#Background">2 Background</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#Timeline">3 Timeline</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#Other_affiliations">4 Other affiliations</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#SourceWatch_resources">5 SourceWatch resources</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#External_links">6 External links</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#References">6.1 References</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#Articles">6.2 Articles</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#Biographical_notes">6.2.1 Biographical notes</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#General_Articles">6.2.2 General Articles</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

</ul>

</li>

</ul>

</td></tr></tbody></table>

</a><h2><a name="Belated_lobbyist_registration" id="Belated_lobbyist_registration" /><a name="Belated_lobbyist_registration" id="Belated_lobbyist_registration">Belated lobbyist registration</a></h2>

<a name="Belated_lobbyist_registration" id="Belated_lobbyist_registration">In June 2008, Ridge filed a lobbying disclosure form on his work for the government of </a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Albania" title="Albania">Albania</a> -- nearly two years late. Ridge signed a $480,000, one-year contract with Albania in September 2006, to help the country "develop an overall homeland defense strategy based on land, air and sea security." The contract identified Ridge as the "lead on strategic advice" for the Albanian government. Ridge's firm, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ridge_Global" title="Ridge Global">Ridge Global</a>, no longer works for Albania. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_note-Albania-5" title="">[6]</a>

A spokesperson for the firm said Ridge didn't think he needed to disclose his Albania work. But the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Justice_Department" title="Justice Department" class="mw-redirect">Justice Department</a>, which maintains a database of lobbyists working with foreign entities, thought he did. The Department contacted Ridge's firm, "after a story about Ridge's work appeared in the press." According to a September 2006 <a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/04/europe/EU_GEN_Albania_US_Ridge.php" class="external text" title="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/04/europe/EU_GEN_Albania_US_Ridge.php" rel="nofollow">Associated Press article</a>, Ridge's "main priority" was "to help Albania meet its goal of joining <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=NATO" title="NATO" class="mw-redirect">NATO</a> in 2008." Albania began <a href="http://www.nato.int/issues/nato_albania/index.html" class="external text" title="http://www.nato.int/issues/nato_albania/index.html" rel="nofollow">accession talks with NATO</a> in April 2008. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_note-Albania-5" title="">[6]</a>

</a><h2><a name="Background" id="Background" /><a name="Background" id="Background">Background</a></h2>

<a name="Background" id="Background">"Prior to his current appointment, Secretary Ridge served as Assistant to the President for the </a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Office_of_Homeland_Security" title="Office of Homeland Security">Office of Homeland Security</a>. Previously, he was a twice-elected Governor of Pennsylvania, serving from 1995 to 2001. In addition, he was elected to Congress in 1982 and was re-elected six times.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_note-Homeland_bio-6" title="">[7]</a>

"After he received his law degree, Secretary Ridge was in private practice before becoming assistant district attorney in Erie County. He also served as an infantry staff sergeant in Vietnam, earning the Bronze Star for Valor. He is a graduate of Harvard University and received his J.D. from Dickinson School of Law."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_note-Homeland_bio-6" title="">[7]</a>

<h2><a name="Timeline" id="Timeline">Timeline</a></h2>

<ul>

<li><a name="Timeline" id="Timeline">Ridge was born August 26, 1945, in Munhall, near Pittsburgh, but was raised in Erie, PA.</a></li>

<li>Cathedral Preparatory School; B.A. with honors (cum laude) Harvard University (1967); and Dickinson Law School.</li>

<li>Drafted while in second year at Dickinson (1968) [Note: another source says end of first year] and served in Viet Nam; Bronze Star for Valor.</li>

<li>Practices law with David Gifford (1972).</li>

<li>Erie County Public Defenders' Office (1973-1975).</li>

<li>Assistant District Attorney (1975-1976).</li>

<li><a name="Timeline" id="Timeline">Runs </a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=George_Herbert_Walker_Bush" title="George Herbert Walker Bush">George Herbert Walker Bush</a> Presidential Campaign in Erie County, PA.</li>

<li>Returns to District Attorney's office (1980-1982).</li>

<li>Congressman 21st District (1982-1994).</li>

<li>Announces candidacy for Governor (1993).</li>

<li>Governor of Pennsylvania (1995-2001).</li>

<li>Office of Homeland Security (October 18, 2001).</li>

<li>Appointed to National Red Cross Governance Board by President <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=George_Walker_Bush" title="George Walker Bush">George Walker Bush</a> (April 17, 2003).<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_note-7" title="">[8]</a></li></ul>

<h2><a name="Other_affiliations" id="Other_affiliations">Other affiliations</a></h2>

<ul>

<li><a name="Other_affiliations" id="Other_affiliations">Trustee, </a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_the_Study_of_the_Presidency" title="Center for the Study of the Presidency">Center for the Study of the Presidency</a></li>

</ul>

In 2010, Tom Ridge was given a one-year contract to be the public face of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Marcellus_Shale_Coalition" title="Marcellus Shale Coalition">Marcellus Shale Coalition</a>. The Coalition paid Ridge and his <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ridge_Policy_Group&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Ridge Policy Group (page does not exist)">Ridge Policy Group</a> $900,000 for the contract.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_note-8" title="">[9]</a>

</a><h2><a name="SourceWatch_resources" id="SourceWatch_resources" /><a name="SourceWatch_resources" id="SourceWatch_resources">SourceWatch resources</a></h2>

<ul>

<li><a name="SourceWatch_resources" id="SourceWatch_resources"> </a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Albania" title="Albania">Albania</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Department_of_Homeland_Security" title="Department of Homeland Security" class="mw-redirect">Department of Homeland Security</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Department_of_Homeland_Security_appointments" title="Department of Homeland Security appointments">Department of Homeland Security appointments</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Government-industry_revolving_door" title="Government-industry revolving door">Government-industry revolving door</a></li></ul>

<h2><a name="External_links" id="External_links">External links</a></h2>

<h3><a name="References" id="References">References</a></h3>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a name="References" id="References"> </a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_ref-0" title="">↑</a> "<a href="http://www.ridgeglobal.com/company_overview/our_people/gov_ridge_bio/index.asp" class="external text" title="http://www.ridgeglobal.com/company_overview/our_people/gov_ridge_bio/index.asp" rel="nofollow">The Honorable Thomas J. Ridge</a>," Ridge Global website, accessed June 2008.</li>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_ref-1" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.thehersheycompany.com/about/directors.asp" class="external text" title="http://www.thehersheycompany.com/about/directors.asp" rel="nofollow">Directors</a>, Hershey, accessed May 27, 2009.</li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_ref-2" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.thehersheycompany.com/about/directors.asp" class="external text" title="http://www.thehersheycompany.com/about/directors.asp" rel="nofollow">Directors</a>, Hershey, accessed May 27, 2009.</li>

<li id="cite_note-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_ref-3" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://americanactionforum.org/about" class="external text" title="http://americanactionforum.org/about" rel="nofollow">About</a>, American Action Forum, accessed December 23, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-4"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_ref-4" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.ida.org/aboutus/leadership/boardoftrustees.php" class="external text" title="http://www.ida.org/aboutus/leadership/boardoftrustees.php" rel="nofollow">Trustees</a>, Institute for Defense Analysis, accessed September 2, 2009.</li>

<li id="cite_note-Albania-5">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_ref-Albania_5-0" title="">6.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_ref-Albania_5-1" title="">6.1</a> "<a href="http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0623ridge_albania.html" class="external text" title="http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0623ridge_albania.html" rel="nofollow">Ridge Finally Files Albania Work</a>," O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub req'd), June 23, 2008.</li>

<li id="cite_note-Homeland_bio-6">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_ref-Homeland_bio_6-0" title="">7.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_ref-Homeland_bio_6-1" title="">7.1</a> <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/results/leadership/bio_372.html" class="external text" title="http://www.whitehouse.gov/results/leadership/bio_372.html" rel="nofollow">"Tom Ridge -- Department of Homeland Security: Secretary of Homeland Security"</a>, White House, undated, accessed June 2008.</li>

<li id="cite_note-7"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_ref-7" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.redcross.org/press/disaster/ds_pr/030417ridge.html" class="external text" title="http://www.redcross.org/press/disaster/ds_pr/030417ridge.html" rel="nofollow">"Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge Appointed by President Bush to American Red Cross Board of Governors"</a>, Media Release, April 17, 2003.</li>

<li id="cite_note-8"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_Ridge#cite_ref-8" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/08/ex-gov_tom_ridges_job_with_mar.html" class="external text" title="http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/08/ex-gov_tom_ridges_job_with_mar.html" rel="nofollow">"Ex-Gov. Tom Ridge's job with Marcellus Shale Coalition ends,"</a> AP, August 05, 2011.</li>

</ol>

<h3><a name="Articles" id="Articles">Articles</a></h3><a name="Biographical_notes" id="Biographical_notes" /><a name="Biographical_notes" id="Biographical_notes"></a><a name="Biographical_notes" id="Biographical_notes" /><a name="Biographical_notes" id="Biographical_notes" /><a name="Biographical_notes" id="Biographical_notes" /><a name="Biographical_notes" id="Biographical_notes" /><a name="Biographical_notes" id="Biographical_notes">

</a><h4><a name="Biographical_notes" id="Biographical_notes" /><a name="Biographical_notes" id="Biographical_notes">Biographical notes</a></h4>

<ul>

<li><a name="Biographical_notes" id="Biographical_notes"> </a><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20030817122539/http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/ridge/" class="external text" title="http://web.archive.org/web/20030817122539/http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/ridge/" rel="nofollow">Tom Ridge, Governor</a>, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, page archived from August 17, 2003.</li>

<li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20050203194645/http://www.hscb.org/tomridgebio.htm" class="external text" title="http://web.archive.org/web/20050203194645/http://www.hscb.org/tomridgebio.htm" rel="nofollow">"About Us: Tom Ridge"</a>, Homeland Security Cultural Bureau, page archived from February 2005.</li>

</ul>

</a><h4><a name="General_Articles" id="General_Articles" /><a name="General_Articles" id="General_Articles">General Articles</a></h4>

<ul>

<li><a name="General_Articles" id="General_Articles">Jeffrey St. Clair and Alexander Cockburn, </a><a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/ridge2.html" class="external text" title="http://www.counterpunch.org/ridge2.html" rel="nofollow">Tom Ridge in Vietnam. Tarnished Star</a>, CounterPunch, October 1, 2001.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.npr.org/news/specials/response/home_front/features/2001/oct/ridge.html" class="external text" title="http://www.npr.org/news/specials/response/home_front/features/2001/oct/ridge.html" rel="nofollow">Security Chief Ridge: 'The Task is Enormous'</a>, NPR.org, October 8, 2001.</li>

<li>Angus Love, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20041009143926/http://www.guerrillanews.com/newswire/172.html" class="external text" title="http://web.archive.org/web/20041009143926/http://www.guerrillanews.com/newswire/172.html" rel="nofollow">Who Is Tom Ridge?</a>, Guerrilla News, October 18, 2001.</li>

<li>John W. Dean, <a href="http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20020412.html" class="external text" title="http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20020412.html" rel="nofollow">Tom Ridge's Non-Testimonial Appearance Before Congress: Another Nixon-style Move By The Bush Administration</a>, FindLaw's Legal Commentary, April 12, 2002.</li>

<li>Jim Lehrer, <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/fedagencies/jan-june02/ridge_5-9.html" class="external text" title="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/fedagencies/jan-june02/ridge_5-9.html" rel="nofollow">Newsmaker: Tom Ridge</a>, "Online NewsHour", PBS, May 9, 2002.</li>

<li>Jessica Reaves, <a href="http://www.time.com/time/pow/article/0,8599,393066,00.html" class="external text" title="http://www.time.com/time/pow/article/0,8599,393066,00.html" rel="nofollow">Person of the Week: Tom Ridge. Now for the hard part: After a week in which the Senate gave him a cabinet-level position, the Homeland Security chief is preparing to take on the toughest job in Washington</a>, Time.com, November 22, 2002.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.goerie.com/risingson/" class="external text" title="http://www.goerie.com/risingson/" rel="nofollow">Ridge's journey to the national stage</a>, The Rising Son; updated January 21, 2003. Locally produced biography of Tom Ridge.</li>

</ul>

<div id="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:People" title="Category:People">People</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Politics" title="Category:Politics">Politics</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Homeland_security" title="Category:Homeland security">Homeland security</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Lobbyists" title="Category:Lobbyists">Lobbyists</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:United_States" title="Category:United States">United States</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Albania" title="Category:Albania">Albania</a></div>

</div>

===

in these times:

Meet the New War,  Same as the Old War

Questions of justice aside, the net effect of the Arizona law and the ALEC-modeled legislation passed in other states will be to greatly increase the numbers of undocumented aliens arrested and jailed, by effectively converting each state and county law enforcement officer into an enforcer of federal immigration law.

The immigration dragnet created by the Support Our Law Enforcement Act in Arizona and the Sanctuary Cities Act as disseminated by ALEC is a win-win situation for private prison companies, and this war on immigration is not the first time corporate-backed legislation has filled the prisons and bank accounts of entities such as CCA and GEO Group.

In the early 1990’s, while the ALEC Public Safety (then Criminal Justice) Task Force was co-chaired by CCA, another task force member and current private sector chair, the NRA, began an aggressive campaign to introduce variants of two pieces of ALEC-backed legislation at the state and federal level: the so-called “truth-in-sentencing” and “three-strikes” laws.

Truth-in-sentencing called for all violent offenders to serve 85 percent of their sentences before being eligible for release.

Three strikes called for mandatory life imprisonment for a third felony conviction. In some states this was interpreted as life imprisonment for a third violent offense conviction, while in others, such as California, the law was enacted in such a way as to include those convicted of petty offenses such as shoplifting. [PLN was the first media to report the instrumental role the NRA played in bankrolling Washington’s Three Strikes law in 1993 (the first in the nation) and Washington State’s “Hard Time for Armed Crime” initiative in 1995.]

The NRA campaign, dubbed “CrimeStrike,” headed by victim’s rights advocate and former Arizona Chief Assistant Attorney General Steve Twist, was seen by many as a reactionary strike at the Clinton administration’s gun control efforts when it moved into high gear in 1993. CrimeStrike was the campaign which set forth the precept that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” As such, CrimeStrike promoted state and federal tough-on-crime legislation and derided any lawmaker backing gun control as being “soft on crime.”

With memories of the Willie Horton disaster of the failed 1988 Michael Dukakis presidential campaign still fresh in the minds of most American legislators, this accusation invariably hit a raw nerve among Democrats and elicited kneejerk support of the laws.

While the NRA was busy pushing these laws through CrimeStrike, ALEC was pushing its agenda in Pennsylvania with the help of former Herbert-Walker Bush U.S. Attorney General William Barr and ALEC member, then-Pennsylvania governor, and future director of the Department of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge.

In 1995, the Pennsylvania legislature passed several tough-on-crime bills based on ALEC proposals and model legislation. In 2005, while serving as Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, state Rep. John Perzel, an ALEC member and Pennsylvania House Majority Leader from 1995 to 2003, joined GEO Group’s board of directors.