Thursday, November 28, 2002
We realize that times change, and we must change with the times, but we can't help but wonder how the Founding Fathers would react to the latest action by the Federal Elections Commission.
By a 5-1 vote the other day, the FEC agreed to let candidates for federal office pay themselves salaries from the political donations they gather. The only commissioner to vote against it wasn't opposed in principle, he was uncomfortable with a provision that would result in some candidates being allowed to pay themselves more than other candidates. That's because the new regulation allows candidates to pay themselves the salary of the office being sought, or the amount they were making when they became a candidate, whichever is lower.
So a lawyer making $200,000 a year could pay herself $155,000 if she were running for Congress, while a teacher making $50,000 a year could only pay himself $50,000 to run.
This republic survived for 226 years without candidates paying themselves to run for office, there is no compelling reason to start now.
In fact, the reasons given to support this change of regulation are contradictory.
One the one hand, proponents say, it will be another way of making it more difficult for incumbents to hold on to their seats in the face of stiff competition. On the other hand, proponents says that it will encourage more candidates to run.
Can the FEC be oblivious to the fact that the more candidates there are in a race, the better chance the incumbent has of prevailing?
A little sacrifice, please
Running for the House, the Senate, the presidency or vice presidency -- the only races governed by FEC edicts -- is a privilege and a personal choice, which requires a degree of sacrifice by any serious candidate. It is enough that a candidate's supporters are willing to pay for a candidate's bumper stickers and advertisements. They shouldn't be expected to pay for groceries, the mortgage or braces for junior's teeth.
And, while it is one thing for a successful candidate to be beholden to his supporters for money that was spent on the campaign, beholden takes on a whole new meaning when the money went directly into the candidate's pocket.
The abuses this rule invites are predictable and inevitable. The results are going to get ugly, with the public ultimately holding politicians in even lower regard than they do today, if that can be imagined.
The FEC has done the system it is designed to oversee and the nation that relies on that system a disservice. It has fundamentally undermined the concept of public service by encouraging creation of a class of professional candidates.