http://austinist.com/2014/01/03/steve_stockman_is_taking_your_bitco.phpSteve Stockman now accepting bitcoin donations in his Senate campaignJanuary 3, 2014
General pot-stirrer and libertarian cartoon character Steve Stockman, eyeing to unseat Senator John Cornyn, is now accepting Bitcoin donations. Business Insider spied the U.S. Rep. for Texas at the launch of NYC Bitcoin Center this week hobnobbing with the Center's founder, Nick Spanos. (That QR code in the photo works, if you have any desire to donate to Steve Stockman's campaign with your Bitcoins.)
But, uh, are Bitcoins even allowed under campaign finance laws, which stipulate donation transparency? Maybe? Per the Texas Tribune:
A spokesman with the Federal Elections Commission could not say whether Bitcoin donations are legal. In November, the FEC considered whether to explicitly allow federal candidates and political action committees to accept Bitcoin donations as in-kind donations. The committee deadlocked, 3-3. The commission has not taken up the issue since the November vote, a spokesman said.
Stockman, as he is wont to do, is a loud, booming supporter of the digital currency. He told the Bitcoin news site (adjusts seat) newsBTC that he intends to fight for "a clear-cut bill that is designed to keep federal, state, and local government from interfering with bitcoin and the bitcoin economy."
There's also this overlong video of him extolling the Gospel of Bitcoin. “One day, you’re printing so much the currency will become worthless and that’s why it’s important to have gold and other things that are static that no one can fluctuate at a rapid rate,” Stockman says. “And that’s why it’s so good to have Bitcoin. It’s a fixed amount of currency at a fixed rate. So it’s very good for the market.”
Which is all too fitting, given how Stockman has shown a habit of skirting campaign finance rules—last year he fired two of his staffers for improperly donating to his campaign and last month the FEC started investigating sketchy donations from Indian casinos financiers.
