The Detroit Free Press recently published
IRS tells churches to stay out of abortion politics, an article originally published by the
Sioux Falls Argus Leader:
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The Internal Revenue Service is warning religious leaders in South Dakota that their churches' tax-exempt status could be jeopardized if they campaign against a challenge to a law that bans nearly all abortions in the state, a proposal that could be on the November ballot. -- CORRINE OLSON, SIOUX FALLS ARGUS LEADER
It's not just South Dakota, and its not just abortion. From a news release dated June 1st, the IRS website, the IRS "Reminds Charities to Avoid Election Activities During Election Season":
While the vast majority of charities and churches do not engage in politicking, an increasing number did take part in prohibited activities in the 2004 election cycle," IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson said. "The rule against political campaign intervention by charities and churches is long established. We are stepping up our efforts to enforce it. (Emphasis added)
More (including action items) below the fold ...
In the spirit of JFK's 1961 Inaugural Address:
"ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country", liberals can help take back America from
dominion by the Republican Theocracy by a simple act of civic charity. Assist the IRS when religious organizations violate the law.
There can be little doubt that the Republican Party has been hijacked by right wing fundamentalist theocrats whose ultimate objective is the subordination of democratic institutions in favor of religious dogma:
Our aim is to gain dominion over society. - Pat Robertson
How?
...take working control of the Republican Party. - Pat Robertson
This Republican Party of Lincoln has become a party of theocracy. U.S. Representative Christopher Shays, R-CT
We're not fighting "conservatives". True conservatives and moderates in the Republican Party are endangered and irrelevant. The real opponent of liberals and progressives are Christian fundamentalists. As we have seen during the past decade, and especially during the 2004 election cycle, fundamentalist churches and faith based charitable institutions have been instrumental in suborning the democratic process through illegal advocacy:
While the vast majority of charities and churches do not engage in politicking, an increasing number did take part in prohibited activities in the 2004 election cycle," IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson said. "The rule against political campaign intervention by charities and churches is long established. We are stepping up our efforts to enforce it. (Internal quotes omitted.)
To that end:
The IRS has put procedures into place for the 2006 election season to more quickly address instances of potential prohibited activity on the part of charities, churches and other tax-exempt organizations. The procedures are meant to ensure that public referrals as well as activities the IRS itself uncovers are reviewed expeditiously and treated in a consistent, fair and nonpartisan manner. (Emphasis added).
While issue advocacy is protected speech, Section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations are prohibited from engaging in activities that favor or oppose any candidate for public office. Examples of prohibited behavior listed on the IRS's website include:
- Voter education or registration activities conducted in a biased manner that favors (or opposes) one or more candidates.
- Partisan comments by organization leaders in official organization publications or at official functions of the organization.
- Biased or selective candidate appearances.
- Issue advocacy that functions as political campaign intervention by favoring or opposing a candidate.
- Voter guides that focuses on a single issue or narrow range of issues, or if the questions are structured to reflect bias.
- Business activities of the organization, such as selling or renting of mailing lists, the leasing of office space, or the acceptance of paid political advertising, in a manner that favors or excludes any particular candidate.
- Church or charitable web sites that favors or opposes a candidate for public office, including the biased use of links to other websites that contains material favoring or opposing a candidate for public office.
From a strategic point of view, our goal should be to starve the theocrats from their support base: Taxpayer supported institutions, e.g. churches and so-called "faith based" institutions. Attacking the pillars of the christofacists can't be fought in DC; it's an effort that must be fought "village by village", all across America.
With the apathy that exists today, a small, well-organized minority can influence the selection of candidates to an astonishing degree. (Pat Robertson, The Millennium, 1990)
Enter the net roots.
Unlike the IRS, the net roots has literally hundreds of thousands of activists that can monitor the actions and activities of politically active charitable organizations, gather evidence of illegal political intervention, and, evidence in hand, report the illegal activity to the IRS and local media.
Here are a few thoughts along those lines;
- Identify local branches of your favorite christofacist organization. Gather data. Be prepared.
- Infiltrate activist churches. Monitor church bulletin boards. Carry a tape recorder and camera enabled cell phone.
- Subscribe to and monitor christofacist newsletters for examples of biased voter education or registration activities, or examples of candidate advocacy.
- Monitor christofacist websites. Download/offload examples of candidate advocacy.
- Early in the campaign, make written requests to use christofacist facilities, mailing lists, or attempt to place candidate advocacy adds in their newsletters. Make a careful record of their (expected) refusal. Then, when they illegally allow right-wing candidates to use their resources for political gain, object to their biased activity with the IRS and in the local media.
- Increase public visibility of the hate-speech common to leaders of these types of organizations. Associate the candidate with the hate-monger in the eyes of the public through news releases, letters to the editor, or campaign materials. Force the right-wing candidate to publicly repudiate the christofacist organization.
- Write op-ed pieces decrying government intervention and support for particular religious sects.
- Attend public "meet the candidate" forums. Force the candidates to take a stand on separation of church and state. Bring examples of christofacist hate speech for memorable sound-bites to increase the odds that the local media will cover the story.
- Support the local and national chapters of the ACLU.
- Do you give to the United Way or other charitable groups? Demand that your contribution be funneled to progressive organizations.
- Where local christofacists have taken the reins of power and allowed religious documents or prayers, form a Wicca and demand equal access. When they don't, hey, that's what the ACLU donation was for.
Add your own ideas in the comments below.
Make no mistake, our challenge is not to defeat conservatives. That fight is over, and conservatism lost. The challenge of the new century is to defeat the Christian Ayatollahs.