IRS list reveals concerns over Tea Party 'propaganda'

[JonLP24]

Source: AZCentral.com

WASHINGTON — Newly uncovered IRS documents show the agency flagged political groups based on the content of their literature, raising concerns specifically about "anti-Obama rhetoric," inflammatory language and "emotional" statements made by non-profits seeking tax-exempt status.

The internal 2011 documents, obtained by USA TODAY, list 162 groups by name, with comments by Internal Revenue Service lawyers in Washington raising issues about their political, lobbying and advocacy activities. In 21 cases, those activities were characterized as "propaganda."

The list provides the most specific public accounting to date of which groups were targeted for extra scrutiny and why. The IRS has not publicly identified the groups, repeatedly citing a provision of the tax code prohibiting it from releasing tax return information.

More than 80% of the organizations on the 2011 "political advocacy case" list were conservative, but the effort to police political activity also ensnared at least 11 liberal groups as of November 2011, including Progressives United, Progress Texas and Delawareans for Social and Economic Justice.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/free/20130917irs-tea-party-propaganda.html

[Cryptoad]

1. Sounds like

they were doing their job!

[Enrique]

4. yes they were

and the people hyping this as a scandal are people that don't want them doing that job.

[jmowreader]

2. Let me see if I understand this right

Political activism isn't tax deductible.

If you have a group that does nothing but political activism, on either side of the political divide, you apply to make it tax-exempt, the IRS reads your literature and finds out you do nothing but political activism, and as a result of reading your own words flags your group for review, that's a BAD thing?

Look guys, I already subsidize your Jesus club through my taxes. I do NOT want to subsidize your Obama Is A Muslin club at the same time.

[backscatter712]

11. Exactly. Non-profits are supposed to be non-political. They're supposed to be charities and such.

People have always bent those rules, but the teabaggers are breaking them entirely - spewing blatant right-wing political propaganda, while claiming non-profit status and the associated tax breaks.

Thus the IRS is telling them they can't take the tax breaks if they're going to be political.

[George II]

3. It's been pointed out several times over the last few months...........

......that the IRS was equally diligent about investigating liberal or Democratic organizations. That just doesn't get as much press because the rightwingers have more blowhards like Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, etc. that won't report both sides of the story.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. Right. The 80-20 ratio could be from huge preponderance of Tea / R crime:

Ts and Rs seem to think that the rules don't apply to them. This is quite apparent in a number of statements they make from time to time. It is also characteristic of Right Wing Authoritarians.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

8. I thought that Fox News was "fair and balanced"

and "they report, you decide"?

You mean, we've all been lied to for so many years?

[certainot]

5. that's being very cruel. if a jerk stands on your corner and screams lies about you all day

and you never get in his face in return, that becomes the truth. common wisdom. it part of the fabric of american society that obama is a muslim and global warming is a hoax.

it's conventional wisdom, not propaganda, if 1200 of the loudest radio stations in the country scream it all day, protected by call screeners, prompted by paid callers, and sporting the logos of the state uni and pro sports teams.

there are 50 mil a week, many in states with no free alts for politics while working and driving, who get that messaging- straight from the think tanks.

those teabaggers and the loons in congress and media who ride them are legit and acceptable as long as no one gets up in front of the carnival barkers and talks back. and besides the limited limbaugh boycott, that hasn't happened the last 25 years.

as long as that continues, how dare the IRS say those teabagger orgs are propagandizing.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

7. Everyone knows the motive was the Tea Party was threatening establishment Republicans in primaries.

[SansACause]

9. So Obama = Hitler might mean they were a political organization?

Wow, did not see that coming.

[christx30]

10. That's obviously a charitable

position to take. Many times while I am downtown, I pass by churches doing the soup kitchen/Obama is a Muslim from Kenya/coat drive, I feel a warm stirring in my heart. I'm surprised that others can't see that.