It is outrageous that every time some politicians get caught breaking laws, they call for new laws. You would think the people who write the laws would know them better than anyone else, and would know not to break them.

N.C. House Speaker Jim Black was exposed before the state Board of Elections for participating in election law violations. Among other things, Black was involved in a scheme to circumvent the limits placed on the amount an organization can give to a candidate.

Black’s response is that new election laws are needed. “I think we need to clarify the laws and the rules,” he told members of the Board of Elections.

And the Democratic State Chairman chimed in with the suggestion that the limit on contributions be lowered. How do you solve the problem of taking contributions in excess of the present limit, by lowering the limit? The same people who attempt to circumvent the present limit will find ways to circumvent a lower limit.

The solution is not to pass new laws. The solution is to enforce the laws presently on the books.

Further allegations against Black include accepting checks from several contributors that did not contain the names of payees; filling in the name of Michael Decker on the payee line of three checks and giving them to Decker. Finally, he accepted $27,625 in illegal corporate contributions.

The laws against corporate contributions do not need to be clarified, they need to be obeyed. There is no ambiguity in the law. Corporate contributions are illegal. Speaker Black needs to spend his time playing by the rules, not changing the rules.

To no one’s surprise, the North Carolina Democratic Party agrees with Black. In fact, the Democratic Party Chair, Jerry Meek, blames the system not the actions of individuals. “I’ve spoken to many members of the legislature,” said Meek. “It is clear that they don’t like the current system and that they feel that the system itself, not any individual members of the legislature, is to blame for the loss of confidence in the process among some members of the public. It is essential that our legislatures go to work during the short session to implement reforms that restore full public confidence in State government.”

The low esteem most citizens have for politicians is because too many politicians act like the laws they write are not intended for them, the elite governing class, but for all other citizens.

During his testimony before the Board of Elections, Black attempted to sidestep all guilt from election law violations by insisting that the campaign laws were the problem. He said he would fix them so no one could do what he is being accused of doing. We’re all familiar with that technique. It’s called “turning the tables.”

Black didn’t have a problem with the campaign finance laws until actions were called into question, and now he is concerned about reforming the law.

reprinted from www.jwpcivitasinstitute.org

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