The religious right has been stumping for Bush in their sermons, through their church organizations and through their communications to their minions. I have heard stories of preachers telling their congregation that good christians
must vote for Bush in the upcoming election. I have long questioned why we give these people tax exemption when they use it to push candidates in EVERY election and essentially use my dollars to push issues I vehemently disagree on.
Given these facts, one would think the repugs would avoid the subject altogether, much less poke the other side for its involvement in such activities lest their guys get some heat in the process. But then again I also assumed the Bush camp would be outright fools to ever mention Kerry's vietnam past at the expense of highlighting Bush's lack of a credible military history, and they did that as well.
It now turns out that
the IRS is investigating the NAACP for posting a speech critical of Bush on its website:
"WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Service (news - web sites) has informed the NAACP that it is investigating whether the civil rights organization improperly "intervened in a political campaign" when it posted on its website a speech by Chairman Julian Bond that condemned the Bush administration's policies."
Now, I realize some or even many of you may be religious and wouldn't necessarily agree with my position on church tax exemption, but this is just ridiculous. The GodTV networks have been playing swift boat ads and the anti-Kerry movie (yes they are on cable so the FCC is out of the loop, BUT they are using tax dollars to do it), they are pushing pastors across the country to stump for Bush and more.
This begs the question: do we support and defend the NAACP and as a result be forced to ignore groups on the other side doing these activities, or do we push for tougher tax-emption rules and regulations as they relate to political involvement by ALL groups?