Under Barack Obama, Americans continue to suffer violations of their rights, which have been many. On Jan. 13, Forbes published Obama’s top 10 offenses against the Constitution. The authors noted he has continually and blatantly encroached on “the strictures of our founding document,” especially as pertains to the separation of powers.
Number six on Forbe’s list of Obama’s violations was the profiling of conservative organizations by the IRS. The agency compiled a “be on the lookout” (“BOLO”) list to identify groups “engaged in political activities.” The list contained “buzz words” such as Tea Party, Patriots and Israel. The targeting by the IRS began in 2010 and supposedly ended in May 2013.
It would appear the IRS isn’t through targeting conservatives, according to a recent Washington Times report:
The Internal Revenue Service is getting a special new power: a ‘license to kill’ groups that oppose the Obama agenda. [These powers] will let the IRS destroy certain groups, especially those connected to the Tea Party, by imposing a tax on their work and messages during campaign seasons. Even the value of volunteer work could be taxed.
Suspicions point directly to Obama and IRS chief counsel William Wilkins as the ones behind this insidious move. In April of 2012, Obama met with Wilkins in the Roosevelt Room of the White House two days before the IRS “issued its key internal directives” targeting the Tea Party and other conservative groups.
The IRS wants to create a new bureaucratic definition that re-labels those common voter information activities by re-naming them “Candidate-Related Political Activity,” or CRPA for short. This is actually a gag rule. But the IRS’s new speech restrictions do not apply to labor unions, trade associations, political parties, or other non-profit groups such as 501(c)(3)’s, according to the Times.
The impact will be felt the most by Tea Party and conservative groups and organizations that have 501(c)(4) status. Under this agenda, some liberal groups could also be affected but Obama is “notorious for selective enforcement.” This means those friendly to Obama’s agenda would get a pass, while conservatives would be driven out of business.
Groups that would feel the administration’s wrath include the Faith and Freedom Coalition, Club for Growth, Americans for Prosperity, and the National Rifle Association. Among those that would not are People for the American Way, American Civil Liberties Union, USAction, and the Democratic Leadership Council.
Here’s how the IRS “license to kill” would work:
Anything that mentions or has any connection to a candidate or public official is deemed restricted speech (CRPA), even when it otherwise meets the organization’s goals. Details of all communications must be reported to the IRS whenever it occurs within 60 days of a general election or within 30 days of primaries.
The restrictions also apply regarding procedures to select party officers, such as a precinct, district or state party chairman, plus nominations or confirmations of an appointed official such as a judge, agency head or cabinet officer.
These communications must all be reported to the IRS so they can be compiled, catalogued and taxed. Donations made during those periods would be treated 100 percent as campaign contributions, and taxed.
The IRS would also restrict voter registration drives, candidate forums and debates, voter guides, voting record listings of incumbents and public statements of officers and leaders of (c)(4)s the reference incumbents and candidates.
Unless Congress acts immediately to block these new IRS regulations, they will “deliver a death blow” to as many as 100,000 grassroots non-profits groups that have 501(c)(4) status. It’s these groups that get important information in the hands of the public concerning things like political issues.
