S.M. Oliva: FEC Fears the Dead Will Corrupt Politics
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Raymond Groves Burrington, a Tennessee day trader, died in 2007. In his will, he left 25 percent of his estate to the Libertarian Party (LP). the Federal Election Commission (FEC) told the LNC it could not accept the Burrington estate's bequest—at least not all at once—due to campaign finance laws. The LP sued, and the FEC retorted that there was no need to rule on the issue, because "there is no reasonable expectation that the Contribution Limit will restrict a bequest to the LNC again," given its minor party status. Yet, the FEC maintains the contribution limit is necessary to prevent the "corruption" of a politically irrelevant group like the LP. S.M. Oliva says this makes no sense. After all, how could a dead man corrupt a party?
