churches cannot endorse a candidate or engage in partisan advocacy. --- and should be held accountable when they do. who is keeping the IRS from prosecuting these churches and religious organizations?
Attorney General Eric Holder, the IRS, and ACLU lawyers plan to hold briefings for hundreds of black pastors to advise them how to best “participate” in the 2012 elections, according to The Washington Examiner. In other words, the pastors will be taught by the federal government how to campaign for President Obama in a “legal” fashion. We will have representatives from nine denominations who actually pastor somewhere in the neighborhood of about 10 million people, and we’re going to first of all equip them with the information they need to know about what they can say and what they cannot say in the church that would violate their 501c3 status with the IRS,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., told MSNBC today. …We want to let [the pastors] know that there is a theological responsibility to participate in the political process,” Cleaver summarized. Welcome To The Soviet Socialist Republics of Amerika, Having central government officials tell church officials what their “theological responsibility” is, at the behest of the ruler of the country, sounds like a directive right out of the old Soviet Union, or perhaps the current “elected” officials of Cuba or North Korea. And only black churches will receive this “advice.” The implication is that black churches have a pass to campaign for Barack Obama, but white churches or any others will similarly have, by implication, a threat hanging over their tax exempt status should they campaign against Barack Obama. This is the coercive power of the State in a blatant and racist power grab to rig the election in favor of the Anti- President. Coming on the heels of the lawsuits filed by Catholic organizations against Obama’s attack on their religious freedom, does anyone doubt this is retaliation against non-black churches? What Happened To Separation of Church and State? It’s well known that liberals only care about separation of church and state when the church is against a liberal state. For example, when churches were stridently anti-Bush, the media wrote stories supporting them against any IRS investigation into violations of their tax exempt status. Now, being against Obama gets you stories in favor of revoking said church’s tax exempt status. Even though the bishop never explicitly said not to vote for Obama in 2012, Americans United (for the Separation of Church and State) said his controversial remarks still ran afoul of the law. When can we expect them to similarly complain about Holder and the IRS doing this? In this case, the IRS is going to actively tell churches how to campaign on only one side. The federal government is going to use black churches to effectively campaign for the Anti-President, and the media will have no problem with it. And why would they? They are also arms of the State. Where then are the infamously rabid “separation of church and state” lawyers of the ACLU? Oh, that’s right. The ACLU, the biggest litigation-happy bunch of liberal, hypocritical trolls masquerading as “civil rights” crusaders in history, is actually helping the government with its little tax law skirting project. “In fact, we’re going to have the IRS administrator there, we’re going to have the Attorney General Eric Holder there, we’re going to have the lawyers’ organization from around the country, the ACLU — all giving ministers guidance about what they can and cannot do,” he noted. Bragging About Election Law Violations. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, whose Congressional Black Caucus, says quite plainly what his little project is all about. Cleaver said they would not tell pastors which candidate to support. They will let them know who to regard as the bad guys, though (hint: not Democrats). “President Obama is going to get 95 percent of the [African American] vote,” and wants to keep that turnout high. And using the Attorney General of the United States and the IRS to directly do that constitutes multiple violations of the Hatch Act. The most obvious one is this: May not knowingly solicit or discourage the participation in any political activity of anyone who has business pending before their employing office. Every one of these churches (and the churches not getting the special “advice,” for that matter), by virtue of their tax exempt status, perpetually has business pending before the IRS. That’s what makes this particular and blatant partisan encouragement of black churches to pontificate on policy so egregious. It Is Once Again Time To Impeach This President. These officials should be brought up on charges, and so should anyone involved in this in the Obama campaign or White House. It’s time for a new special prosecutor, and it’s long time for the House to begin impeachment….as if they didn’t already have enough reasons. Maybe John Boehner could dry his tears and detach his lips from Obama’s behind long enough to do his job as Speaker for a change. Catholic and any other non-black church should file a massive combined suit against the federal government immediately, citing racial and religious discrimination, and complaints to the Federal Election Commission should be filed as well. On Nov 6, 9:22 am, Keith In Tampa <[email protected]> wrote: > A thin line here, no question..... > > *"The tax code allows a wide range of political activity by houses of > worship, including speaking out on social issues and organizing congregants > to vote. But churches cannot endorse a candidate or engage in partisan > advocacy. The presidential election has seen a series of statements by > clergy that critics say amount to political endorsements. Religious leaders > say they are speaking about public policies, not candidates, and have every > right to do so." > * > > On Tue, Nov 6, 2012 at 4:12 PM, plainolamerican > <[email protected]>wrote: > > > > > > > > > For the past three years, the Internal Revenue Service hasn't been > > investigating complaints of partisan political activity by churches, > > leaving religious groups who make direct or thinly veiled endorsements > > of political candidates unchallenged. > > Associated Press > > New York > > Nov 5, 2012 > > > The IRS monitors religious and other nonprofits on everything from > > salaries to spending, and that oversight continues. However, Russell > > Renwicks, a manager in the IRS Mid-Atlantic region, recently said the > > agency had suspended audits of churches suspected of breaching federal > > restrictions on political activity. A 2009 federal court ruling > > required the IRS to clarify which high-ranking official could > > authorize audits over the tax code's political rules. The IRS has yet > > to do so. > > > Dean Patterson, an IRS spokesman in Washington, said Renwicks, who > > examines large tax-exempt groups, "misspoke." Patterson would not > > provide any specifics beyond saying that "the IRS continues to run a > > balanced program that follows up on potential noncompliance." > > > However, attorneys who specialize in tax law for religious groups, as > > well as advocacy groups who monitor the cases, say they know of no IRS > > inquiries in the past three years into claims of partisanship by > > houses of worship. IRS church audits are confidential, but usually > > become public as the targeted religious groups fight to maintain their > > nonprofit status. > > > "The impression created is that no one is minding the store," said > > Melissa Rogers, a legal scholar and director of the Center for > > Religion and Public Affairs at Wake Forest University Divinity School > > in North Carolina. "When there's an impression the IRS is not > > enforcing the restriction — that seems to embolden some to cross the > > line." > > > The issue is closely watched by a cadre of attorneys and former IRS > > officials who specialize in tax-exempt law, along with watchdog groups > > on competing sides of the church-state debate. > > > Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which seeks > > strict limits on religious involvement in politics, and the Alliance > > Defending Freedom, which considers the regulations unconstitutional > > government intrusion, scour the political landscape for any potential > > cases. While Americans United gathers evidence it hopes will prompt an > > IRS investigation, the Alliance Defending Freedom jumps in to provide > > a defense. Neither group knows of any IRS contact with houses of > > worship over political activity since the 2009 federal ruling. > > > Nicholas Cafardi, a Duquesne University Law School professor and Roman > > Catholic canon lawyer who specializes in tax-exempt law, said he has > > heard of no IRS inquiries over churches and politics in the last three > > years. Neither has Marcus Owens, a Washington attorney who spent a > > decade as head of the IRS tax-exempt division and is now in private > > practice. > > > Owens, who was with the IRS through 2000, said the agency had once > > initiated between 20 and 30 inquiries each year concerning political > > activity by churches or pastors. He said he knows of only two recent > > cases the IRS pursued against houses of worship or pastors, and > > neither involved complaints over partisan activity. > > > "What the IRS is desperate to do is to avoid signaling to churches and > > pastors that there is no administrative oversight," Owens said. "The > > IRS has been vigilant with regard to civil fraud and criminal cases, > > but those aren't all that common." > > > The tax code allows a wide range of political activity by houses of > > worship, including speaking out on social issues and organizing > > congregants to vote. But churches cannot endorse a candidate or engage > > in partisan advocacy. The presidential election has seen a series of > > statements by clergy that critics say amount to political > > endorsements. Religious leaders say they are speaking about public > > policies, not candidates, and have every right to do so. > > > The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has recently taken out full- > > page ads in major newspapers, featuring a photo of renowned evangelist > > Billy Graham, urging Americans to vote along biblical principles. > > Graham met last month with Mitt Romney and pledged to do "all I can" > > to help the Republican presidential nominee. > > > In a survey last week by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 40 > > percent of black Protestants who attend worship services regularly > > said their clergy have discussed a specific candidate in church — and > > the candidate in every instance was President Barack Obama. > > > This Sunday, Roman Catholic Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria, Ill., > > ordered all the priests in his diocese to read a statement urging > > Catholics to vote and stating that, "Catholic politicians, > > bureaucrats, and their electoral supporters who callously enable the > > destruction of innocent human life in the womb also thereby reject > > Jesus as their Lord." > > > In Texas, a pastor of a small independent church posted a sign on the > > front of the building that read, "Vote for the Mormon, not the > > Muslim." Romney is the first Mormon nominee for president by a major > > party. Opponents of Obama, who is Christian, have spread false rumors > > that he is Muslim. > > > Renwicks made his comments Oct. 18, at a Washington seminar on tax- > > exempt organizations presented by the American Law Institute- > > Continuing Legal Education. Responding to a moderator's question about > > the status of church audits, Renwicks said, "we're basically holding > > any potential church audits — they're basically in abeyance. > > > "I haven't done a church audit in quite some time," said Renwicks, > > according to a recording of the talk provided by the American Law > > Institute. "There were one or two — what I'd call somewhat, maybe > > potentially egregious cases — where I thought maybe, we need to go out > > there, but even those were put in abeyance until we get the signature > > issue resolved." > > > An IRS reorganization in 1998 put responsibility for authorizing the > > audits in the hands of lower-ranking IRS officials. A Minnesota > > pastor, who faced an audit over his 2007 endorsement from the pulpit > > of Rep. Michele Bachmann, argued the IRS was violating its own rules. > > In 2009, a federal judge agreed, prompting a formal IRS rule-making > > process that continues today. > > > Dean Zerbe, a former senior counsel to the Senate Finance Committee > > who specializes in tax fraud and abuse, said the audits are "an > > extremely hellish area for the IRS to deal with." > > > The agency has to balance enforcement with churches' First Amendment > > rights. Even when the federal agency finds an outright violation, the > > penalty for houses of worship is usually little more than a warning. > > The IRS has revoked nonprofit status in just a handful of these cases > > since the rules for religious groups were adopted in 1954. > > > Last month, more than 1,500 pastors, organized by the Alliance > > Defending Freedom, endorsed a candidate from the pulpit and then sent > > a record of their statement to the IRS, hoping their challenge would > > eventually end up in court. The Alliance has organized the event, > > called "Pulpit Freedom Sunday," since 2008. The IRS has never > > contacted a pastor involved in the protest. > > > "I think people are misled to think the IRS wakes up every morning > > wanting to knock on the door of a church or synagogue," said Zerbe. > > "Most senators blanch at the idea of having an IRS agent in the pews > > listening to what's going on from the pulpit. ... I think the IRS in > > some ways reflects that similar discomfort." > > > -- > > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > > For options & help seehttp://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > > * Visit our other community athttp://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
