FEC Public Hearing

By Zac Nickerson

Last Wednesday the Federal Election Commission (FEC) held a public hearing on advance notice of proposed rulemaking following the Supreme Court decision in the McCutcheon v. FEC case. Campaign for Liberty was in attendance, making your voices heard and fighting against overregulation and privacy infringement. Our Vice President of Policy, Norm Singleton, spoke on the fifth panel of the day, and our Director of Communication, Megan Stiles, gave a speech during the second round of individual witness testimony. I also gave the following speech during the first round of individual witness testimonies:

Good afternoon.

My name is Zachary Nickerson. I am first and foremost an American voter from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I am also currently interning at Dr. Ron Paul's nonprofit organization Campaign for Liberty.

I would like to thank and applaud the commission on this open conversation today.

At the risk of being redundant I will keep my comment brief.

I would like to respectfully submit to the commission that the FEC should not impose any new regulations making it harder for ordinary people to participate in the political process, as such regulations only benefit incumbent politicians.

While on the surface it would seem that money corrupts our great American political process may I remind the commission that the money itself is not the issue. The problem is that, as the Bible states in first Timothy 6:10, “the love of money is the root of all evil”. Therefore regulating the right of the people to financially express themselves only infringes on that right and restricts those that without regulation would be free to operate financially or otherwise in our political process. Any further regulation implemented will not change the greed of certain politicians which is the real problem but will only inhibit the American voter.

I would also like to respectfully remind the commission that forced disclosure of funds donated does not benefit the American voter but rather violates their right to privacy. Some would ask, what does the donor have to hide, but withholding identity does not imply that something is being hid, it simply strengthens personal safety and limits any hindrance borne from political opposition.

I would also respectfully add that my comments apply to voting individuals whether they act alone or in a group. Exercising their right to assemble should not be viewed in a negative way but rather a great example of our American political system and process.

So to recapitulate, I would urge the commission to refrain from any further regulation and going forward respect and fight for the rights of the American voter regardless of their financial status or affiliations. I feel that the recent Supreme Court decision has rightly directed the commission in this direction.

Thank you very much.

The Washington Post did me the ‘honor’ of mentioning me in their recent report on the public hearings. You can view that here.

Campaign for Liberty was also joined by many other Liberty-loving organizations and individuals arguing for the importance of right of privacy, right of assembly, and limited government, cautioning the FEC against any further regulations.