Scrambled Regs Pushed off by IRS
The Obama administration never met a rule it didn't want to postpone. But last week, the President finally delayed something we can all agree with. Leading up to the midterm elections, most people probably mistook the IRS as the Democrats' party headquarters. From stripping conservatives' tax-exempt status to disproportionately auditing tea party donors, the tax agency has been the President's political base camp.
Early this year, the Wall Street Journal stumbled on the next phase of Republican targeting: a change to the regulations governing 501(c)(4) lobbying groups like FRC Action. "With one little IRS rule, [the White House] can shut up hundreds of groups that post a direct threat by restricting their ability to speak freely in an election season..." Under the proposal, the IRS would subject lobbying groups like FRC Action to taxation and reporting on everyday activities like: grassroots lobbying, candidate forums, candidate debates, voter registration, voter guides, and general issue advocacy.
Obviously, the goal is to drive these groups out of business by making it too difficult to operate. Movements like the Tea Party, which was built on the backs of 501(c)(4)s, would be forced to transition into PACs (Political Action Committees), where all donors are reported. This gives the Left the opportunity to harass and intimidate donors to conservative organizations until there is no opposition to their radical policies. The effect is an information blackout, where candidates won't be held as accountable for their votes on unpopular policies like ObamaCare.
Liberals will do anything to keep their IRS intimidation factory afloat -- but even they couldn't withstand the public outcry the proposed change sparked. The IRS announced last Thursday that it would kick the can down the road until after the 2014 elections -- in part because of the "volume of substantive input" from every day Americans. Congressman Dave Camp (R-Mich.), who, as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, introduced a bill to block the rules from taking effect, just shook his head that the IRS introduced the plan in the first place. "This proposed rule was wrong from the start," he said. "Hopefully, the White House will think twice before ever trying to go down this path again."
If it does, it will have plenty of mail to read. According to government officials, the Treasury Department could barely contain the complaints, shattering records for the numbers of public comments received -- more than 150,000. And while no victory is permanent in this administration, we congratulate the thousands of you who made your voices heard. Even the IRS conceded that scrapping these plans was a direct result of the earful it got from everyday Americans. As discouraging as the headlines can be, your involvement is not without effect. When enough people speak out, there's no limit to the impact we can have -- together!
From FRC.org