Deroy Murdock on why ‘election integrity matters at CPAC
National Review Editor Deroy Murdock delivers a speech on preserving election integrity at CPAC.
We all know that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer want to cancel your voice in public debate, but now they also want to cancel your choice at the ballot box.
Sitting atop Pelosi and Schumer’s "to-do" list for the 117th Congress is not getting your children back to school, helping the small business you’ve spent decades building reopen its doors, or getting vaccines in the arms of your grandparents. Rather, their top priority is HR1, the so-called "For the People Act."
The same Declaration of Independence that established America as a country based on unalienable rights also established us as a country based on government by the consent of the governed. This legislation would undermine that sacred principle by fundamentally rewriting the rules of American politics and campaign finance laws to ensure Democrats control Congress and the White House for years to come, if not forever.
Their main goals are threefold. First, they want to put the Democratic stronghold of Washington, D.C., in charge of running elections -- stripping the states of their constitutionally delegated authority to run elections in order to expand the number of potential Democratic voters.
Second, they want to fund political campaigns with taxpayer dollars in order to bolster their candidates' campaign coffers.
MCCARTHY WARNS DEMOCRAT-BACKED HR 1 IS PELOSI POWER GRAB MEANT TO ERODE ELECTION CONFIDENCE
Finally, they want to weaponize federal agencies to target and silence conservatives and their donors.
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To put Washington in charge of elections, Pelosi and Schumer’s bill would strip your state of its ability to draw congressional districts, opting instead for an ‘independent’ commission.
As we have seen in California, Colorado, New Jersey, and other states, these commissions have failed to take partisanship out of redistricting and have favored Democrats over Republicans. Additionally, the bill will prohibit your state from choosing its voter qualifications and will wipe out election laws your state has on the books.
The federal overreach doesn’t stop there. States will be required to automatically register any eligible voter based on inaccurate, duplicative federal databases, give 16-year-olds and felons the vote (contradicting the 14th Amendment), institute Election Day and online voter registration, and provide "no-fault" absentee ballots, meaning voters can cast an absentee ballot for basically any reason they choose.
EVERY HOUSE DEMOCRAT SIGNS ON SWEEPING HR 1, GOP ARGUES IT WOULD 'UNDERMINE' ELECTION INTEGRITY
And on the off chance that doesn’t completely handicap Republicans from ever taking back control of Congress, the bill changes the Federal Election Commission (FEC) from a panel of six to five members, helping to all but guarantee one political party (Democrats) controls the enforcement of the "For the People Act." Will they treat Republican states the same? If the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) under former President Obama tells us anything, we highly doubt it.
On the campaign finance front, Pelosi and Schumer want to use your tax dollars to fund political campaigns. Their bill will create a six-to-one taxpayer matching for individual campaign donations up to $200. If you donate $200, the federal government will spend $1,200 of taxpayer funds. That means millions of your taxpayer dollars would fund candidates you despise. If that isn’t disturbing enough, the bill would allow politicians to take a salary from their campaign donations (i.e. your tax dollars).
If you are concerned about voter fraud, the "For the People Act" will cause you to lose sleep. The bill wipes out states Voter ID laws, opening the door for voter fraud. Additionally, the bill will codify fraud-prone mail-in ballots based off of inaccurate voter files and nationalize the practice of ballot harvesting, making it such that such that campaign staffers and political operatives can deliver, collect, and drop off absentee ballots. What could go wrong?
And, by the way, while conservatives fight the cancelation of our voices in American politics, Pelosi and Schumer are weaponizing the IRS to deny tax-exempt nonprofit status to entities whose political and policy positions do not align with the Left’s agenda.
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Time and again, when provided the opportunity to lead, Pelosi, Schumer, and congressional Democrats show us what their view of leadership really is – putting themselves and their insatiable need for power over the American people.
The "For the People Act" is about taking away the rights of Republicans to have their voices heard, choose their candidates, and participate in free and fair elections. We say, unequivocally, "no."
Republican Ted Budd represents North Carolina's 13th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.
Republican Jody Hice represents Georgia's 10th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.
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