Political Process Works

All Americans, even executives of big airlines or other unpopular industries, have the right to petition their government and support the candidates of their choice. Such special-interest lobbying and campaign contributions are fundamental freedoms. At the same time, bribery and influence peddling must not be tolerated. Our federal campaign laws are designed to strike a difficult balance between protecting the rights of unpopular “special interests” and preventing outright corruption. Our current law does that well. However, if we define all special-interest influence as corrupt, that balance is impossible to strike.

Campaign reform advocacy groups and their allies in the media have done a great disservice to Americans by perpetuating the jaundiced and simplistic view that campaign contributions are the functional equivalent of bribes. Armed with this misconception, citizens find it too easy to dismiss policies that they do not like or understand as the product of a corrupt system. That’s one reason modern politics is so contentious and that too many Americans doubt the legitimacy of their government.

If political donations and lobbying by the airline industry actually sway members of Congress, then they are rational investments from the perspective of airline workers and stockholders. But most research on the role of money in politics suggests that such a success would be the exception rather than the rule. If those expenditures have no effect, then perhaps they are frivolous. Either way, special-interest pleading is not a symptom of something rotten, but of the way democracy works in a free and open society.

The secret to democracy is tolerance of unpopular views and groups—a willingness to disagree with a policy but grant that it can be supported by people of good will and intentions. I don’t know whether we should bail out the airlines or not; I haven’t studied the issue enough to know. But I am confident that my elected representatives are informed and will make a reasonable decision. It may not be the decision I prefer, but that doesn’t mean the political process is corrupt; in fact, it means the process is working.

Jeffrey Milyo is an assistant professor at the Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies.