Bitcoins have become a form of currency that some of us — myself included — need to understand.

As of this moment, I don’t quite get it.

That makes the decision by Republican U.S. senatorial candidate Steve Stockman to accept campaign contributions in this manner all the more bizarre — as if Stockman himself isn’t bizarre enough.

http://www.texastribune.org/2014/01/03/stockman-enters-legal-grey-area-bitcoin-donations/

It’s called “virtual currency,” kind of like virtual video games. You pay it by swiping some computer image across a scanner that records the amount and logs it into a data base. The Texas Tribune reports that Stockman told Business Insider that he would accept contributions in this form and then confirmed it on Twitter and Facebook.

Stockman’s candidacy against incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is a long shot to begin with. He’s challenging the senior senator in the Republican primary this March. His chances of winning are slim and none, but it’s the slim part that worries many of us, given Stockman’s proclivity for goofy statements oddball policy stances.

The Tribune notes correctly that Stockman has flouted campaign finance laws already. He fired staffers and has faced questions about how money moves around his campaign coffers.

The Bitcoin makes it easier for contributors to give anonymously, so one might be unable to judge the motives behind the contribution.

Stockman calls the digital currency issue a matter of “freedom.” I prefer to think that accountability ought to matter as well.

If you give to a candidate, put your name on it, own up to it … for the record. Then let others determine whose interests are being served.