NC BikePAC
Freedom
Through Action
PACs Deserve Your Support
It
seems that political action committees (PACs) have become a favorite media
target in recent election cycles. PACs are often portrayed as nefarious
political insiders, somehow thwarting the public good for their own selfish
purposes. I am constantly surprised by these false characterizations. In my
experience, PACs are the public.
PACs are simply one way for
individuals who share a common goal or interest to inform their elected
officials and ensure their political representation. In that sense, PACs are
merely tools. While one may certainly disagree with the policy objectives of any
given PAC, the utility of PACs as a voice for the people is an important thread
in the fabric of our political system.
“Behind any successful PAC
are people, be they laborers, business people or professionals. The PAC serves
to educate, to increase interest in candidates and issues by raising money and
to stimulate individual’s involvement in the political process. PACs are school
teachers licking envelopes for their endorsed candidate; they are sportsmen
circulating flyers on candidates’ positions viewed as favorable to them, they
are real estate agents setting up a phone bank to help get out the vote for
their favored candidate.” Quoted from Kenneth Brandt,
Pennsylvania House of
Representatives
I would add another example.
BikePAC, which consists of individuals from all walks of life who share a common
interest in motorcycles and have banded together to protect their freedom from
an often overzealous bureaucracy.
The BikePAC example also
gives me an opportunity to shoot down another media stereotype of PACs. Contrary
to popular belief, PACs are not universally crying “gimme, gimme, gimme” and
asking for special privileges for a particular interest group. As often as not,
PACs are organized to try and prevent government intrusion into private
businesses, private lives and private matters.
For a good part of the last
200 years, the beauty of government in America was that you could afford to
ignore it. It was not imperative to become involved in politics. Government was
far off and did not really affect everyday life. In my opinion, that is no
longer the case. Government has become so intrusive and overbearing that one
ignores it at its own peril. Laws and administrative regulations permeate the
lives of individuals in ways that could not have been envisioned in the past.
And that’s where BikePAC comes in. It exists to promote the interest of its
members, not so much asking for special favors as simply asking to be left
alone.
It is hard to say what the
political landscape would look like without PACs. But one thing is for certain,
without their advocacy it would be much more difficult for the average
individual to be heard in the political maelstrom. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said
that government is “the principal obstruction and nuisance with which we have to
contend.” PACs are one of the best means of dealing with Emerson’s “principal
obstruction” and sometimes the only way for the little guy to let his opinion be
known.
Written by Teresa Forcier,
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Reprinted by NC BikePAC, P.O. Box 1554,
Shallotte, NC 28459