The enormously powerful, hidden group who decided they

The American Legislative Exchange Council is made up of a bunch of extremely wealthy individuals and corporations, including the Koch brothers. They've worked quietly ever since the 1970s to influence the direction of our country--not just economic but what they feel should be our moral and social direction. Now they are running candidates for President and Vice President. Romney came under their influence when he accepted ALEC's candidate Paul Ryan as his running mate, and with him their backing.

You'll recognize how ALEC's agenda has become our nation's here in this list.

"ALEC’s agenda extends into almost all areas of law. Its bills undermine
* environmental regulations and deny climate change; 
* support school privatization;
* undercut health care reform; 
* defund unions and limit their political influence; 
* restrain legislatures’ abilities to raise revenue through taxes; 
* mandate strict election laws that disenfranchise voters; 
* increase incarceration to benefit the private prison industry, among many other issues."

From Bloomberg Business Week: “The American Legislative Exchange Council, a nonprofit based in Washington, brings together state legislators, companies, and advocacy groups to shape “model legislation.” The legislators then take these models back to their own states.About 1,000 times a year, according to ALEC, a state legislator introduces a bill from its library of more than 800 models. About 200 times a year, one of them becomes law. The council, in essence, makes national policy, state by state.”

From SourceWatch.org: "ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills.

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) describes itself as the largest “membership association of state legislators,” but over 98% of its revenue comes from sources other than legislative dues, primarily from corporations and corporate foundations.^[1] After the 2010 congressional midterm elections, ALEC boasted that “among those who won their elections, three of the four former state legislators newly-elected to the U.S. Senate are ALEC Alumni and 27 of the 42 former state legislators newly-elected to the U.S. House are ALEC Alumni.”

From the NY Times: “We know its mission is to bring together corporations and state legislators to draft profit-driven, anti-public-interest legislation, and then help those elected officials pass the bills in statehouses from coast to coast,” said the president of Common Cause, Bob Edgar. “If that’s not lobbying, what is?”

From Right Wing Watch: "Founded in the early 1970s to promote right-wing policies at the state level, the American Legislative Exchange Council's focus has shifted to favor the promotion of state legislation and regulation that benefits its corporate sponsors. A fact that should come as no surprise given its funding by right-wing foundations and corporate membership fees ranging from $5000 to $50,000. The council boasts a large clearinghouse of research, model bills, and legislative strategies to promote its agenda."