The Internal Revenue Service is considering a proposed rule change which would effectively silence many 501(c)(4) organizations, such as most Tea Party groups, along with many other “social welfare” organizations, on the thin pretense that the IRS is finding the current rule structure too complicated.
In fact, these are the rules which were being drafted in secret by Lois Lerner, the lady responsible for the current IRS targeting scandal, and for the same reason: to silence opposition to the Obama administration specifically and unlimited government generally. They would essentially give cover to the criminal acts (in my opinion) committed by Lerner and her IRS cronies by allowing them to say “See, what we did would have been fine if the rules had already been passed” — though even that would basically be a lie because of the clearly partisan application of their illegal “standards.”
It is interesting to note that liberal groups, including some initially supportive (because tolerant liberals always like the idea of muzzling their opposition), are now in substantial numbers opposing the proposed rules.
In addition to the obvious partisan intent of these rules, a major issue (and the focus of most of my comment) is that they will cause the IRS to move even further away from being perceived as, if not a barrel of laughs, at least even-handed in its approach to all Americans. Turning the most feared agency of government into a tool of whatever president or party is in power at the time is a recipe for damaging whatever faith the public still has in the federal government, and smacks of banana republic petty tyranny. I would also note that the genesis of these rules will leave them ever and always considered as illegitimate and hyper-partisan, having been written in a probably illegal manner by a woman who probably should face criminal charges for her behavior prior to and including trying to use the IRS to silence conservatives and libertarians.
The IRS is taking comments on the proposed rule until this Thursday, February 27.
I encourage you to comment, as I just did.
Resources for you (just click on any of the below links)
Washington Times article on the rules, including liberal opposition