For whatever reason, the people who make Camel cigarettes decided to disclose that they had made large contributions to Grover Norquist and the Koch brothers last year. I suppose that the disclosure is commendable, but I wonder what type of social welfare they thought they were promoting when they paid for right-wing attack ads. The whole 501(4)(c) thing is a scam that big corporations use to fund right-wing politics. The IRS should have pounded these groups into dust, and yet they gave every single one of them tax-exempt status. Sure, they slow-footed them a bit and asked some impertinent questions, but they ultimately gave them what they wanted, which was the right to raise unlimited amounts of money from corporations in a naked effort to get Mitt Romney elected president, and to do it without disclosure or taxation.
The IRS should not be partisan in any sense, but they also shouldn’t be stupid. These 501(4)(c) groups are not involved in social welfare. They are involved primarily in politics, usually for the furtherance of Republican aims.
Isn’t Steven Colbert’s point that they didn’t even need to apply relevant? Sure the IRS slow-walked them, but that didn’t keep them from doing business, just their bad lawyers’ advice.
The Tea Party has “Party” right in the name….why was it ever an issue if they were a political vs “social welfare” organization?
(shrug) reality matters little to teabaggers and “progressives”. all that matters is their joint zeal to get rid of holder, and their joint zeal to get Obama.
“progressives”, teabaggers, and the media all want a scandal. so a scandal there is.
I forget from whom I first head this, but I agree that Homeland Security should also have investigated these groups.
Like I said initially, the appropriate policy is a top-to-bottom audit of all 501(c)(4) organizations. I suspect that politics are not the only shady things going on behind that legal curtain.
Have an IG audit to clean house in the IRS staff and then go through all of the 501(c)(4)s without distinction to validate their social welfare bona fides. Might also look at executive salaries as an index to commitment to social welfare.
Why is the administration so cautious about this?
While I agree in part, I honestly believe that the Congress should authorize this review and actually be a responsible adult for once. Clarify its original law and instruct the President to conduct the necessary review to bring about compliance with the true spirit and intent of the 1959 legislation. Provide for a reasonable period of time for all existing 501-c-4’s to comply with the law or give up the tax exemption and claim on anonymity for their donors.
Congress should authorize this review and behave as the responsible adult? Sure they should, but have you gotten a look at this House? It’s controlled by malevolent children.
Unfortunately, the media’s frame on this story is almost set in concrete by now. It’s wrong, but that’s just too fucking bad for us, and for the service of justice and truth. Obama has all but apologized, and he forced out the Bush appointee who had been overseeing the IRS. It’s a “second-term scandal”.
I’m glad to join BooMan in adding pertinent facts to discussions whenever possible, but it’s beginning to feel like they’re sandbags dropped in the middle of the Atlantic.
But instead the IRS and Obama and a bunch of Dem congress members abjectly apologized instead of standing up and defending a perfectly reasonable set of decisions. The law gives the IRS the burden of making judgement calls based on no guidance. There is still no evidence that their conclusions were based on partisan reasons.
But above all, we must all fly into panic and rage if the oligarchs launch one of their “offended” whining campaigns. I have yet to stumble upon a Conservative or Tea Party Soup Kitchen. Their claims to be social service organizations are laughable and everybody knows it. The IRS was just doing its best to meet the demands of Yet Another Insane Law.
The Citizens United decision opened the floodgates for corporate and wealthy individual election funding activities. However, The NYTimes pointed out:
Congressional efforts to strengthen disclosure requirements failed, but were they even necessary? How exactly can donors legally fund political activities AND remain anonymous?
Exactly. Unfortunately, Obama’s immediate apology calling the investigation a “disgrace” and firing the director, precludes any action. As a Civil Servant with 23 years experience, I can assure you that no IRS Civil Servant will touch these Tea Party groups now with ten foot tongs. Obama has given them carte blanche to operate with impunity.
Acorn, Shirley Sherrod, Van Jones. And Clinton was equally quick to run away from Lani Guinere and Joycelyn Elders and others that I’ve forgotten. (He only fought for himself when the heat was on.)
Yet in the IRS matter, liberals will blame Citizens United and not Obama for “legalizing” secret donations. Completely oblivious that they’re as rank political partisans as the Bushies.