How the VFW-PAC Works

I can't take credit for this because one of my fellow VFW Post members did all of the work. That said, here is how the VFW-PAC works, PER their by-laws. The editorial comments are my friends.

Let's look at the VFW PAC By-laws to see:

In the first place, the mission of the VFW PAC is simply stated in Article 2 of the By-laws:

ARTICLE II -PURPOSE
The VFW-PAC is established to promote and facilitate the accumulation and distribution of voluntary contributions from employees and members of the Veterans ofForeign Wars of the United States and its subordinate units, (Posts, Districts, CountyCouncils, Departments, Ladies Auxiliary and Military Order of the Cooties) for the support of various candidates for election to federal office in the United States. The established endorsement criteria not withstanding, no Presidential candidate will be endorsed by the VFW-PAC Board of Directors. The VFW-PAC is dedicated to the support of candidates who have taken responsible positions on issues involving national defense and legislation pertaining to our nation's veterans.

I have emboldened the guiding principles of our PAC.  There is no party or ideological criteria; we support only those who support us.

How is that determined?  Simple:

THE ENDORSEMENT POLICY REQUIRES MEMBERS OF
THE SENATE TO CAST A MINIMUM OF 7 VOTES IN
CONCERT WITH THE VFW’S POSITION

THE ENDORSEMENT POLICY REQUIRES MEMBERS OF
THE HOUSE TO CAST A MINIMUM OF 10 VOTES IN
CONCERT WITH THE VFW’S POSITION

In other words, our endorsement of candidates is entirely driven by how much they support issues and bills important to the VFW and it's membership.  There is no other guiding principle.  They either have a demonstrated willingness to vote for issues important to Veteran's and on-duty personnel, or they don't get our support.

Among the charges leveled at the PAC is that they've favored incumbents and that's true. It IS weighted in favor of incumbents, or those already in office running for another seat.  Why?  Because it's unlikely that an opposition candidate will have such a track record if he or she has never held federal office before, so they will not, cannot, be considered by the PAC for support.  The By-laws make it pretty clear that our support is only given to those who have shown a willingness to support us.

So, who looks at the evidence of Congressional voting records and makes the decision of who gets what from us?  Who must they consult before making such a decision?  This is an important question because another charge laid against the PAC in regards to this year's endorsements is that the PAC did not follow established procedure and did not consult with the state departments, local posts and membership.

The By-laws are pretty clear about that too.  The final decisions are made by the Director, the Treasurer and a nine member Board of Director's, ALL of whom are appointed by the National Commander and they DO NOT HAVE TO CONSULT WITH ANYONE.  They may, if they wish, take advice from anyone they chose, but there is no official line of communication with anyone other than themselves.  That's how the system was set up and that's how it's operated.  As anyone who knows something about tax-exempt organizations knows, such an organization operates outside it's published By-laws at great peril to its tax exempt status and the PAC has done nothing at variance with those By-laws when determining who to endorse.

Here's the By-law dictated official duties of the Director and the Board of Directors.  I have emboldened the pertinent parts and I have skipped the official duties of the Treasurer because they do not relate to how a decision to support, or not support, a candidate is made.  You may see the official duties of the Treasurer by accessing the link provided at the end of this message.

ARTICLE VI - DUTIES OF THE DIRECTOR
The duties of the Director shall include, but are not necessarily limited to the following:
A. Coordinate the solicitations of contributions by the Committee;
B. Consult with the Board of Directors and other knowledgeable persons and make recommendations to the committee concerning which parties and candidates for federal office should receive support and in what amount;
C. Direct the Treasurer to disburse funds in amounts authorized by the committee;

ARTICLE VIII - DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
B. Determine, as committee members, those candidates who are deserving of the  support of the committee and in what amounts such support should be given;

The guidelines for making such recommendations and offering such support to candidates was noted above.

Once a list of candidates deserving of our support has been decided upon, the next step is the actual disbursement of funds to help their campaigns.  The By-laws dictate how that is to be done too and what criteria are to be used in choosing how much to give to whom:

ARTICLE X - DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS
In determining how funds shall be distributed, the committee shall consider the recommendations of the Director, each member of the Board of Directors, and other knowledgeable persons. Of primary consideration shall be the candidate's position and/or voting record on issues involving national defense and veterans
legislation.Additional factors include, but are not necessarily limited to:
A. The integrity and character of the candidate.
B. Whether the candidate holds a leadership or policy-shaping position in his party or on a congressional committee or is likely to hold such a position in the future;
C. The nature and strength of the candidate's opposition in primary or general elections;
D. Other sources of financial assistance available to the candidate.

As you can see, the process of deciding who to support, and how much to give them, was arrived at apparently in line with the VFW PAC By-laws.  No personal prejudices were involved and nobody was left out of the loop.  The processes of decision and distribution were done strictly by the book, which none of us should consider a dereliction of duty on their part.  They did what we sent them to do:  offered our support to those who support us.  ALL of the names on that list of endorsements met the established criteria by voting as the VFW wanted them to on issues important to Veterans and current members of the Armed Forces.  That some of those names are surprising to us does not invalidate the idea of supporting those who have a demonstrated willingness to support us.

If we're still outraged and angered over the presence of certain names on the list, perhaps we should ask ourselves this:  Which is more important us?  Supporting Veteran's and our Armed Forces, or supporting the particular ideology we hold?  Should we REALLY withhold financial support for Members of Congress who voted with us simply because they sit on the wrong side of the aisle or hold ideological positions different from ours?  Which is most effective at achieving our goals and achieving our agenda of making sure Veteran's and members of the Armed Forces have the best our nation can offer?- G. Cap.

VFW-PAC By-Laws in Full


While G. Cap & I are diametrically opposed as far as politics go, we are usually on the same page as far as life, in general. He's right on this one. Even I can't argue that. 

What I will say is that there are a few criteria that are borderline, if even not being followed. Am I outraged at the endorsements of the PAC? Of course! Maybe this is reason enough that the PAC be disbanded?