by
Teresa Forcier
(The
writer represents Crawford County in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.)
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.
One of my predecessors in the Pennsylvania House of
Representatives, Kenneth Brandt, often voiced similar sentiments and once wrote
the following,
"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
individuals involvement in the political process. PACs are schoolteachers
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."
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 to 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 his
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 it principal obstruction" and
sometimes the only way for the little guy to let his opinion be known.
BIKEPAC, PO Box 564, Mechanicsburg, PA
17055-0564