1999 Ron Paul 97:1 Mr. PAUL.
Mr. Chairman, campaign finance
reform is once again being painted as the solution
to political corruption in Washington. Indeed,
political corruption is a problem, but today’s
reformers hardly offer a solution. The
real problem is that government has too much
influence over our economy and lives, creating
a tremendous incentive to protect one’s own
interests by ‘investing’ in politicians. The problem
is not a lack of federal laws, or rules regulating
campaign spending, therefore more laws
won’t help. We hardly suffer from too much
freedom. Any effort to solve the campaign finance
problem with more laws will only make
things worse by further undermining the principles
of liberty and private property ownership.
1999 Ron Paul 97:2 The reformers are sincere in their effort to
curtail special interest influence on government,
but this cannot be done while ignoring
the control government has assumed over our
lives and economy. Current reforms address
only the symptoms while the root cause of the
problem is ignored. Since reform efforts involve
regulating political speech through control
of political money, personal liberty is compromised.
Tough enforcement of spending
rules will merely drive the influence underground
since the stakes are too high and
much is to be gained by exerting influence
over government — legal or not. The more
open and legal campaign expenditures are,
with disclosure, the easier it is for voters to
know who’s buying influence from whom.
1999 Ron Paul 97:3 There’s tremendous incentive for every special
interest group to influence government.
Every individual, bank or corporation that does
business with government invests plenty in influencing
government. Lobbyists spend over a
hundred million dollars per month trying to influence
Congress. Taxpayers dollars are endlessly
spent by bureaucrats in their effort to
convince Congress to protect their own empires.
Government has tremendous influence
over the economy, and financial markets
through interest rate controls, contracts, regulations,
loans, and grants. Corporations and
others are ‘forced’ to participate in the process
out of greed as well as self-defense — since
that’s the way the system works. Equalizing
competition and balancing power such as between
labor and business is a common practice.
As long as this system remains in place,
the incentive to buy influence will continue.
1999 Ron Paul 97:4 Many reformers recognize this and either
like the system or believe that it’s futile to
bring about changes and argue that curtailing
influence is the only option left even if it involves
compromising the liberty of political
speech through regulating political money.
1999 Ron Paul 97:5 It’s naive to believe stricter rules will make
a difference. If enough honorable men and
women served in Congress and resisted the
temptation to be influenced by any special interest
group, of course this whole discussion
would be unnecessary. Because Members do
yield to the pressure, the reformers believe
that more rules regulating political speech will
solve the problem.
1999 Ron Paul 97:6 The reformers argue that it’s only the fault
of those trying to influence government and
not the fault of the Members who yield to the
pressure or the system that generates the
abuse. This allows Members of Congress to
avoid assuming responsibility for their own
acts and instead places the blame on those
who exert pressure on Congress through the
political process which is a basic right bestowed
on all Americans. The reformer’s argument
is “stop us before we succumb to the
special interest groups.”
1999 Ron Paul 97:7 Politicians unable to accept this responsibility
clamor for a system that diminishes the
need for politicians to persuade individuals
and groups to donate money to their campaign.
Instead of persuasion they endorse coercing
taxpayers to finance campaigns.
1999 Ron Paul 97:8 This only changes the special interest
groups that control government policy. Instead
of voluntary groups making their own decisions
with their own money, politicians and bureaucrats
dictate how political campaigns will
be financed. Not only will politicians and bureaucrats
gain influence over elections, other
nondeservers will benefit. Clearly, incumbents
will greatly benefit by more controls over campaign
spending — a benefit to which the reformers
will never admit.
1999 Ron Paul 97:9 The media becomes a big winner. Their influence
grows as private money is regulated.
It becomes more difficult to refute media propaganda,
both print and electronic, when directed
against a candidate if funds are limited.
Campaigns are more likely to reflect the conventional
wisdom and candidates will strive to
avoid media attacks by accommodating their
views.
1999 Ron Paul 97:10 The wealthy gain a significant edge since
it’s clear candidates can spend unlimited personal
funds in elections. This is a big boost for
the independently wealthy candidates over the
average challenger who needs to raise and
spend large funds to compete.
1999 Ron Paul 97:11 Celebrities will gain even a greater benefit
than they already enjoy. Celebrity status is
money in the bank and by limiting the resources
to counter-balance this advantage,
works against the non-celebrity who might be
an issue-oriented challenger.
1999 Ron Paul 97:12 This current reform effort ignores the legitimate
and moral “political action committees”
that exist only for good reasons and do not
ask for any special benefit from government.
The immoral “political action committees” that
work only to rip-off the taxpayers by getting
benefits from government may deserve our
condemnation but not the heavy hand of government
anxious to control this group along
with all the others. The reformers see no difference
between the two and are willing to violate
all personal liberty. Since more regulating
doesn’t address the basic problem of influential
government, now out of control, neither
groups deserves more coercive government
rules. All the rules in the world can’t prevent
members from yielding to political pressure of
the groups that donate to their campaigns.
Regulation cannot instill character.
1999 Ron Paul 97:13 Additionally, the legislative debate over
campaign finance reform has seemingly focused
upon the First Amendment guarantee of
freedom of speech, as interpreted and applied
by the courts. The constitutional issues, however,
are not limited to the First Amendment.
To the contrary, pursuant to their oaths of office,
members of Congress have an independent
duty to determine the constitutionality
of legislation before it and to decide, before
ever reaching the First Amendment, whether
they have been vested by the Constitution
with any authority, at all, to regulate federal
election campaigns. Congress has no authority
except that which is “granted” in the Constitution.
Thus, the threshold question concerning
H.R. 417 is whether the Constitution
has conferred upon Congress any authority to
regular federal election campaigns. The authority
to regulate such campaigns is not
found among any enumerated power conferred
upon Congress.
1999 Ron Paul 97:14 More regulation of political speech through
control of private money, without addressing
the subject of influential government only
drives the money underground, further giving
a select group an advantage over the honest
candidate who only wants smaller government.
1999 Ron Paul 97:15 True reform is not possible without changing
the role of government, which now exists to
regulate, tax, subsidize, and show preferential
treatment. Only changing the nature of government
will eliminate the motive for so many
to invest so much in the political process. But
we should not make a bad situation worse by
passing more bad laws.
Notes:
1999 Ron Paul 97:12
only to rip-off the taxpayers probably should be unhyphenated:
only to rip off the taxpayers.
1999 Ron Paul 97:12
neither groups deserves more coercive government rules probably should be
neither group deserves more coercive government rules.
1999 Ron Paul 97:13
any authority to regular federal election campaigns probably should be
any authority to regulate federal election campaigns.
