Rick Perry: GOP has 'lost moral legitimacy' on race

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry told a crowd of conservative policymakers Wednesday that Republicans have "lost our moral legitimacy as the party of Lincoln" and suggested that the party has only itself to blame for alienating huge numbers of African-Americans.

Perry's striking critique of his own party came during his keynote address at the American Legislative Exchange Council's annual meeting, a conservative public policy conference held this year at the JW Marriott in Downtown Indianapolis.

Two hours later — as if affirming Perry's critique — about 175 protesters gathered a few blocks away to protest ALEC, and the conservative movement to which it belongs, for "systematically targeting people of color" by promoting policies ranging from "stand-your-ground" laws to mandatory minimum sentencing.

Founded in the 1970s, ALEC, a free-market policy group consisting primarily of conservative state legislators and business leaders, has become increasingly influential in setting policy agendas in statehouses across the country.

But it also has come under fire from critics who say that the group's practice of peddling model bills to lawmakers across the country has given corporate lobbyists a troubling level of influence over public policy nationwide.

State to locals: You can't do that. Or that.

In his remarks at the opening luncheon of the ALEC conference, Perry offered an impassioned defense of conservatism, even as he criticized conservative politicians for ignoring the historic context that pervades American race relations.

As an example, Perry noted that he is "an ardent believer in states' rights" — but states' rights also were used to argue for discriminatory policies such as school segregation in the South.

"There has been and will continue to be an important and legitimate role for the federal government in enforcing civil rights," he said. "Too often Republicans, myself included, have focused our argument" on the importance of the 10th Amendment guaranteeing states' rights, but not the 14th Amendment guaranteeing equal protection under the law.

Perry reflected at length on the notion of justice, alternating between sharp-worded criticisms of President Barack Obama and the Black Lives Matter movement, who he said overlooked the contributions of police, and a critique of white Americans, who he said "are sometimes too quick to dismiss" complaints of injustice.

He told the story of Alfred Dewayne Brown, a black man from Houston who was wrongfully sentenced to death row after prosecutors withheld evidence that could have aided his defense. The Houston Chronicle won a Pulitzer Prize for a series of columns that led to his conviction being overturned.

“Sometimes we forget that the IRS isn’t the only agency capable of abusing its authority," Perry said. He went on to argue that limited government principles would help, not hurt, African-Americans.

"The best welfare program in America is a job," he said. "... Democratic policies have made it too hard for the poor to find work.”

A few blocks away, at the Indiana Statehouse, protesters laid out the case against ALEC and the policies it supports. While the protest began with just under 200 people, huddled under trees for shade, hundreds more joined as they marched to the JW Marriott, where ALEC was meeting.

Dominic Dorsey, the founder and president of Don't Sleep, a social justice advocacy group, argued that ALEC-backed legislation has disproportionately hurt African-Americans.

ALEC previously supported mandatory minimum sentencing and "stand-your-ground" self-defense laws. Florida's "stand-your-ground" law famously came under scrutiny after the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin. His killer, George Zimmerman, was acquitted of second-degree murder after shooting the unarmed teen.

"We shout, 'Black lives matter,' but ALEC is shouting back, 'No they don't,'" Dorsey said. "Just ask the family of Trayvon Martin."

But while ALEC once supported mandatory minimum sentencing, which Dorsey blames for high incarceration rates, the group recently has advocated for criminal justice reform that would grant judges more leeway in giving nonviolent offenders reduced sentences.

"Such a sentencing structure would help to reduce the cost of incarceration without compromising public safety," the group wrote in policy papers distributed at the conference.

Another protest speaker, Lisa Graves from the Center for Media and Democracy, described a "democracy in crisis" because of ALEC's outsized influence in state lawmaking.

Graves' group compiled a database of more than 800 pieces of ALEC model legislation, helping the public to trace the origins of bills introduced in their own states. It also identified more than 40 Indiana politicians with ties to the group.

Back at the conference, Perry lamented the tarnished image of conservatism, saying that in the era of President Ronald Reagan, "you knew that conservative principles would make your life better."

Even as most state governments are Republican-controlled, "at the national level, we’re losing," Perry said. "And we can blame it on bad politicians all we want. We can blame it on the media, who’s always stacking the deck against us.

"But here’s the truth — winners don’t make excuses."

Pence back on for ALEC's annual meeting in Indianapolis

Call IndyStar reporter Brian Eason at (317) 444-6129. Follow him on Twitter:@brianeason.