Of course they do. This will only affect Right side groups, because the IRS under Commissar Obama will not enforce those rules against left leaning group
(The Hill) A group of Democratic senators urged the Obama administration on Thursday to cap the amount of political activity that tax-exempt 501(c)(4) groups can engage in at 5 to 15 percent.
The 15 senators, in public comments on a proposed regulation change that grew out of the IRS targeting controversy, said that the rules need to ensure that 501(c)(4)s can’t use their tax-exempt status to go around campaign finance rules.
“You will undoubtedly receive complaints from certain corners that these proposed rules will infringe on First Amendment speech rights,†Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and the other senators wrote to the Treasury Department and the IRS.
“Such complaints are without merit: these rules would not restrict anyone’s right to speak, or to spend money to influence elections,†the senators added. “If implemented properly, the rules will only close a loophole that has until now allowed donors to evade campaign finance law disclosure requirements.â€
The GOP should counter with a requirement to limit political activity for the unions, NAACP, ACLU, oh, and heh, Organizing For Action, the 501(c)(4) group that exists specifically to push Mr. Obama’s political positions. Virtually every tweet is about Obama and his policies. The tweet using his name. The Twitter handle is BarackObama. Is that promoting social welfare, or politics?
And why are they proposing rules? Should this not be done by Congress? Is this not what the Legislative branch is for? Loopholes used to be closed by legislation. Perhaps Chuck Schumer and the other Dems realize that the 1st Amendment specifically forbids them from passing that legislation.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Thursday raised a slew of objections, arguing the administration is seeking to create a “no speech zone” through “breathtaking overreach.”
“This unworkable proposal demonstrates the obvious: the IRS has neither the expertise nor the authority to regulate First Amendment political speech, and should not be used by the administration for political ends,†said Lily Fu Claffee, the Chamber’s general counsel and chief legal officer.
“The proposed rule tramples speech that has never been regulated before, and puts the tax rules in hopeless conflict with themselves and other laws. We urge Treasury and the IRS to withdraw their fundamentally unsound proposal.â€
Interestingly, most of the senators (as listed at the story) are in purely safe seats, so do not have to worry about any of the money and support from liberal 501(c)(4) groups. Not that any of them would need to worry about the IRS investigating them, not with a hardcore Progressive boss who likes to target private citizens and entities who oppose him.
In addition to calling for no more than 15 percent political activity, the Democratic senators also urged Treasury and the IRS to exempt nonpartisan voter registration efforts from the definition of candidate-related activity.
And all the far left groups will deem themselves as “non-partisan”, and most are on the left. Best comment from the story
Money in politics is no threat to democracy, compared to the ignorance of the masses.
Meanwhile, The Lonely Conservative covers Obama stating that he will veto the Stop IRS Abuse bill if it reaches him.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
