NC BikePAC
Freedom Through Action
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.